Hello XSL-List,

Kurt's Databooks work sounds awesome -- and it tracks pretty closely with
my experience integrating Markdown (in entirely ad hoc ways) into XProc
pipelines.

For example, see this custom job:

https://xproc.zone/xproc-lab/xproc-from-above.html

(Produced entirely from Markdown, XSLT and XProc, visible in the
repository.)

Personally, I have more or less given up trying to convince people of
anything they don't already believe (something that always seems dubious
anyway). But I agree that the Declarative Revolution is not over, in fact
it may be just starting. Good ideas never die, they keep getting
rediscovered.

Three cheers for mostly-structured data!

Regards, Wendell







On Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 4:17b/PM Roger L Costello costello@xxxxxxxxx <
xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hi Kurt,
>
> Thank youbthatbs a very interesting perspective, and I appreciate the
kind
> words.
>
> What youbre describing with Markdown and Databooks feels very much
aligned
> with the architectural direction I was trying to capture, but emerging
> through a different path. In particular, the idea that Markdown is becoming
> a de facto interface layerbespecially in the context of AI systemsbis
> something I hadnbt fully considered, but it makes a lot of sense.
>
> Your point about minimizing the need for large JavaScript layers also
> resonates strongly. In the paper, I framed the issue as moving away from
> imperative orchestration toward declarative specifications (pipelines,
> transformations, queries). What youbre describing seems to push in the
same
> direction, but with documentsbMarkdown + metadata + embedded
logicbserving
> as the organizing structure.
>
> The Databooks concept is especially interesting. The idea that a document
> can encapsulate data, metadata, and executable logic starts to look very
> similar to a declarative application model, just expressed in a different
> medium. In a way, it feels like a modern, lightweight counterpart to what
> we were trying to do with XML + XSLT + pipelines, but adapted to todaybs
> tooling and workflows.
>
> I also find it notable that you can embed XML and XSLT within that model.
> That reinforces the idea that these technologies still have a role to play,
> even as the surrounding ecosystem evolves.
>
> Ibd be very interested in seeing where you take this next, especially
> around the bsemantic executionb idea. It feels like therebs a broader
> convergence happening between data-driven, document-driven, and declarative
> architectures.
>
> Thanks again for sharing thisbitbs a very useful perspective and a nice
> complement to the discussion.
>
> Best,
> Roger
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