Re: MSXML happening for a reason !

[Wendell Piez <wapiez at mulberrytech dot com>]

At 12:35 PM 3/16/00 -0700, Mike Brown wrote:
><more_pessimism>
>...
>However I fear that in the real world, a "visual" XSLT processor such as
>IE5 that demands creation of HTML with IE5-specific scripting in the
>result tree, rather than XSL formatting objects, will win out because it
>actually works, right now.
></more_pessimism>

The XSLFO revolution, whenever it comes, will not be less powerful or
profound for happening a little later. But it can only happen on a
standards basis, not a proprietary one. If it does not suddenly overwhelm
the marketplace, and it takes even longer for its advantages to be realized
by those to whom they are not immediately self-evident, that's fine too.
Something with more bang right off may win out for now; but that doesn't
make the basic principle of coupling descriptive encoding with
non-proprietary query, output and behavior specifications, any less
powerful in the longer run.

This is why protecting the integrity of those standards is what's
all-important. To the extent that XSL or any nascent effort at converging
on an open standard is corrupted, the long-term vision is threatened or at
least postponed for another generation or three.

Let Microsoft and all other developers and vendors give us whatever they
please, *within their own namespaces*. That's what the spec says to do, and
it should be jealously guarded in this. Not only does this protect the
integrity of XSL as it is today, it provides a testing ground for XSL v.2.
Whatever Microsoft can contribute to this effort, should be welcomed. They
stand to gain from a continuing role, as do all of us.

-- Wendell Piez


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Wendell Piez                            mailto:wapiez@mulberrytech.com
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