Re: Netscape Support for XSL - client vs server rant - for/a

Dan Morrison wrote:

> Niclas Hedhman wrote:
> >
> > It is absolutely clear to everyone who has been
> > working with context separation that <?xsl-stylesheet> DOES NOT belong in the XML
> > document at all. You are introducing styling information into content, which is
> > wrong.
>
> I'm strict about function separation, but this is no more than a
> pointer, which (IMO) is allowed into a pure data structure.

I would then construe that you are not a pure content person, but some kind of mix. In
fact, most "authoring" is both content and style ( to a lesser degree).
If you have a large number of documents, partly related, partly unrelated, how would
you set up the 'pointers' in these?? What if you need to change the layout in 300 out
of the 900 documents?? How could the content writer have the faintest idea how these
will be organised in a wider context?? He/She can not. Of that I am absolutely sure.
I don't write much content. My software make content programmatically, and that shows
this deficiency badly, and I am happy when the "Management" gets control of the
organisation and relationships between content, style and logic.


> The formalised xsl-stylesheet instruction, especially when qualified
> with a media type parameter, is a very very useful hint when it comes to
> interpreting the data in a way the producer intended. You can improve on
> that or adapt, but it sure helps to have a default perspective to start
> from.

Again, even worse. Now the content provider has to figure out which style sheet
belongs to each 'media'...

> In fact, the website is basically off-limits to a version 3 browser (NS)
> which in itself tells me the solution for my day-to-day tasks is not to
> be found in this technology.

This is because the web admin is a bit lazy. Has not made any 'skin' for NS3 and
earlier browsers.

> Those promises may well actually be founded in truth, but without a
> (more than one page) user guide to back it up, I'm not going to
> re-install blind.

Good choice. The Cocoon 2 is on CVS only, still far from Beta, but works in most
regards. The alpha status is more of 'interface instability', than application
stability.


> No-ones fault (boy do I know what it's like keeping your own website
> up-to-date) but it doesn't sell well to the once-burnt.

I suggest that you take your own course for the time being, and take a serious look at
Cocoon 2 in 2000Q4. It should be release class quality at that time.

> And I have been on the [cocoon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ->
> general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] list (quietly) for some time now.

The Cocoon 2 stuff goes on the cocoon-dev mailing list.

Niclas


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