[XSL-LIST Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message]

Re: why split? [was RE: XSL intent survey]

Subject: Re: why split? [was RE: XSL intent survey]
From: Chris Maden <crism@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 16:29:21 -0500 (EST)
chris maden
[Håkon Wium Lie]
> Chris Maden wrote:
> 
>  > The CSS formatting model is good for what it addresses.  It could
>  > be extended for intelligent formatting objects like these, but I
>  > think its fundamental model of kind-of-thing { property: value }
>  > would either make that extension awkward, or would have to be
>  > removed.
> 
> But XSL uses exactly the same model. In XSL the "kind-of-thing" is a
> formatting object, while in CSS the "kind-of-thing" is most often an
> element. It can also be a page, pseudo-class or pseudo-element --
> the first-line pseudo-element in CSS is an example setting style
> based on the layout of the content, not on its structure. The point
> I try to make is that "intelligent" formatting is orthogonal to the
> property/value axis.

The kind-of-thing *isn't* the same.  In CSS, the thing is an element
or pseudo-element.  It has decorations, and it has content that is
either characters or other things-to-be-formatted.

In XSL, the thing is a formatting object, which may have attributes
(analogous to decorations), but which can have complex content.  The
content may be characters, they may be other formatting objects, but
they may also be additional information about the FO, such as
parameters for the formatter to use when performing the final layout.

This is an important distinction.  CSS could introduce additional
pseudo-elements, but it seems silly to break an elegant simple
formatting model instead of using a more complex language for more
complex tasks.

-Chris
-- 
<!NOTATION SGML.Geek PUBLIC "-//Anonymous//NOTATION SGML Geek//EN">
<!ENTITY crism PUBLIC "-//O'Reilly//NONSGML Christopher R. Maden//EN"
"<URL>http://www.oreilly.com/people/staff/crism/ <TEL>+1.617.499.7487
<USMAIL>90 Sherman Street, Cambridge, MA 02140 USA" NDATA SGML.Geek>


 XSL-List info and archive:  http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list


Current Thread

PURCHASE STYLUS STUDIO ONLINE TODAY!

Purchasing Stylus Studio from our online shop is Easy, Secure and Value Priced!

Buy Stylus Studio Now

Download The World's Best XML IDE!

Accelerate XML development with our award-winning XML IDE - Download a free trial today!

Don't miss another message! Subscribe to this list today.
Email
First Name
Last Name
Company
Subscribe in XML format
RSS 2.0
Atom 0.3
Site Map | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Trademarks
Free Stylus Studio XML Training:
W3C Member
Stylus Studio® and DataDirect XQuery ™are products from DataDirect Technologies, is a registered trademark of Progress Software Corporation, in the U.S. and other countries. © 2004-2013 All Rights Reserved.