Abbreviated form of XSLT?

This is probably a FAQ, but I haven't found the answer. I've been doing
some background research on XSLT as a programming language. Now I have
grasped the concepts of declarative programming, but there's one important
question left: what is the advantages of having XSLT expressed in XML syntax?

Even if we like XML, it's a quite verbose syntax for programming. Have
there been any attempts on making an abbreviated form of XSLT, like the
abbreviated form of RELAX NG, to make it look more like other programming
languages? I mean keep the concepts of declarative programming, just change
the syntax. Would such work be fruitful and welcome?

Gustaf


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