Re: push v. pull (was[xsl] Never use for-each)

[David Carlisle <davidc at nag dot co dot uk>]

> So I guess I'm doing it wrong. How do people
> use a push style and make it easy for designers to make changes? Or is
> this the wrong question?

No, it's probably the right question.

It isn't clear there's a good answer though.

One solution is to train the designers to use xslt. (it ain't that hard,
you know)

Alternatively person (a) designs the thing (for designs I've
seen for journals rather than web pages, this normally means example
pieces of paper with lots of measurments written on in pencil) person
(b) then implements that in the design language. This gets hard if
persons (a) and (b) then leave, and person (c) has to figure out how
those scraps of paper correspond to a few thousand lines of code...

Or maybe the graphical XSLT authoring environments which are starting to
appear (but I haven't used) will get to the point that it really is
possible to edit a visual view of the layout and have the templates all
appear by magic.

I don't know.

Not sure this is the most helpful message I've ever posted to this list.


A slightly more helpful answer might be the following:

I've just noted you said:

> The html structure is hard to follow without actually walking
> through the code.

If in fact you _want_ a structure to the page. ie your web page is
a fixed layout into which you want to pour content coming from your
source. Then this is more like "magazine" or "advertising" layout.
ie strongly design lead, and the content (if not the truth:-) has to be
massaged to fit.
In such a case probably the "pull" method has overwhelming advantages.

If on the other hand your web pages are more content based, a relatively
simple layout that you can specify "in the small" ie specific layout
rules for specific bits: level 2 headings are sans serif in x point,
examples have a green border, .... then this is more like traditional
journal layout specification and is more suited to the multiple template
"push" approach. You don't have an "overall" design for the page, as it
depends on the source, you don't know how many headings you'll have
etc., and your templates implement the individual design rules coming
from the designer.


David

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