HTML backend

Dave Carlson wrote:

> ... my initial skim of the spec causes me to wonder if an "HTML"
> back end is the correct approach.  Using the new XSL as a transformation
> language, the spec states that well-formed HTML is simply another target
> output tree from XSL.  You import the HTML 4.0 DTD as the output tree
> namespace, use it in your rules, and you're done.  No back end.  RTF,
> however, is another matter because there is no RTF DTD to transform to.
> 
> Dave Carlson

I agree, most application will generate HTML directly.

Others, that address not only HTML publishing but also printed
publishing (or maybe would just like to 
support multiple versions of HTML), might prefer to format their
documents in two steps.

First convert XML source to an XML tree of formatting objects (FO) then
use another XSL stylesheet
to convert the FO tree to HTML (or whatever else).

By backend I mean such an XSL stylesheet that can convert FO trees to a
target presentation language.

Contrary to hard coded backends they would be highly portable, being
written in XSL, so that they might be written just once for any given
target language and, if needed, might be easily personalised.


Bye.

-- 
Pasqualino "Titto" Assini  ---  assini@xxxxxxxx  
Kamus Internet Consulting  ---  http://www.kamus.it/


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