Re: XLS files scrambling

["G. Ken Holman" <gkholman at CraneSoftwrights dot com>]

At 00/06/23 10:06 +0200, George Prezerakos (ETG) wrote:
>       I have created some XSL files that convert data from XML to WML.
>...
>       I would like to scramble those files so that nobody else can read them.

At 00/06/23 15:58 +0200, George Prezerakos (ETG) wrote:
 >We gotta separate between personal and corporate views. Of course I like
 >open source source projects and freeware distribution (and I have actually
 >developed free or low-cost s/w a lot of times).
 >
 >However, when working for a company and writing software for the company's
 >clients you might (just might) be asked to encrypt some stuff. I haven't
 >come across this situation yet but I posted my original question just in 
case.


I support George's desire to be able to scramble an XSLT stylesheet (I've 
got to ask, though, if the subject line was just a typo or a deliberate pun 
to the subject matter).

To this end (and before George's post), I had specifically requested to the 
Sun XSLT compiler developers in Paris to add the ability to request 
obfuscation of the compiled stylesheet in certain circumstances.  This was 
something the developers had not considered, but is something I would value 
and I think Sun's project is the first opportunity where this can be 
effectively accomplished.

I, too, have free XSLT resources available on my web site, but I have 
invested hundreds of hours in other stylesheets I use myself that I have 
not made available to others because I cannot protect the intellectual 
property of what I've put in with my effort.

A number of us on this list are running businesses.  I can give away stuff 
that is very useful to gain awareness of what I have to offer, but I can 
then sell other stuff to make money to live (unlike those on the list who 
can rely on salaries, my wife and I are the entire company).  There will be 
times when I will want to make a running system available without revealing 
how I've developed the contents.

A lot of what is valuable in a stylesheet are the choices in the names of 
constructs, the documentation, and the general structure of the stylesheet 
itself.  The maintainability of the stylesheet is often as important or 
more important than what the stylesheet does itself.

I had asked the Sun folks about the compiled byte code and was told that as 
it stands today a lot of the original stylesheet can be systematically 
derived ... so I specifically asked for obfuscation features that would 
make this more difficult.  Certainly, there are some stylesheet development 
approaches that would choke on obfuscation, but for those stylesheets that 
do not refer to the clear text of the stylesheet file itself, there are a 
number of opportunities for hiding the original work in the stylesheet 
files themselves.

I do not see George's request as nefarious and I think the flames were 
uncalled for.

................. Ken


--
G. Ken Holman                    mailto:gkholman@CraneSoftwrights.com
Crane Softwrights Ltd.             http://www.CraneSoftwrights.com/s/
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