RE: working with XSLFO: validation.

DaveP and all,

I don't see any of your points.

I need means to validate XSLFOs, I describe clear usage secnarios and
reasons, and I'm talking to the XSL (XSLFI) working group.

further comments below.

>> Scenario 1.
>> I transform some XML via XSLT to XSLFO, then I want to convert it to
>> PDF. During the last step the conversion tool (XEP, FOP) 
>> throws myriads
>> of errors at me. Now I need to know if the input document, which is
>> nothing than pure XSLFO, is valid; in order to take the appropriate
>> steps of either altering my XSLT to generate valid XSLFO, or 
>> filing bugs
>> on the converter.
>> 
>> Scenario 2:
>> I author pure XSLFO (which is inflexible, but flexibility is 
>> not always
>> required). So I would like to load a schema/DTD/anything into my
>> favourite XML IDE, and start. Without any validation tool it's time
>> consuming to look up every single detail of the rules for the 
>> structure
>> of FOs. Also, when I author some XML namespace that comes 
>> with a DTD, I
>> get a choice of all valid possibilities at any given point in the
>> document (drop down selections for attribute values etc)
>> 
>> This is why I need XSLFO >validation.
>
>The latter point is quite clearly outside of the xsl-fo domain,
>since they do not expect the fo namespace to be used in an editing
>environment. Your use in a learning environment is outside the scope
>of the rec surely?

I don't see why one shouldn't author XSLFO; but if that's not the
intended use of the spec; what do say about scenario 1?

>Have you read the comments that Renderx make about the DTD they provide?
>It quite specifically states that it is not a complete validation.
>I use it, but with that caveat.

What's your point here? Sure I've read those comments. The RenderX DTD
is not what I want, that's why I ask the W3C for official means to
validate pure XSLFO documents.

Also: if you use it; for what? You repeatedly question the necessity of
validation of XSLFO, but you try to validate XSLFO?

>I'm still not sure I see the rationale for W3C to provide such a tool,
>particularly for xsl-fo.

see scenario one.

I would appreciate any comments from the working group.

Tobi

-- 
Tobias Reif
http://www.pinkjuice.com/myDigitalProfile.xhtml

go_to('www.ruby-lang.org').get(ruby).play.create.have_fun

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