Re: xsl compact syntax using xquery

On Mon, Mar 31, 2014 at 4:01 PM, Wendell Piez <wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I like to tell dot-and-curly-brace fans that XSLT syntax ends up as a
> kind of "syntax coloring" for experienced users. We don't read the
> tags any more: we can tell what's happening from scanning the match
> patterns, select expressions, LREs, modes and a few other things;
>

True. With Vim colour coding I don't notice the XML syntax at all. It
is no hindrance to me.

>
> and
> it turns out the verbosity of the XSLT tag set is weirdly conducive to
> this kind of "in your head" compiling. Indeed, this verbosity may be
> more apparent than real, since while XSLT claims screen space, the
> list of possible elements in XSLT is actually quite short -- with the
> result that for an experienced user, @match, @select and LREs really
> jump out.
>

The truth is that not allowing yourself to be distracted by syntax is
a skill that (like being multi-paradigm) not enough programmers
master. You should be able to see through the syntax and get at the
underlying concepts in fact I wonder whether unfamiliarity with the
concepts is the underlying factor at play.

I wish I were more perfect in this regard but the truth is  that I
have always had difficulty reading Java.