Re: [xsl] xml-stylesheet p.i. and other options (was Re: text/xsl...)

[Wendell Piez <wapiez at mulberrytech dot com>]

David, Mike Brown and all,

Thanks for letting us peek into your thinking on this a bit.

In principle, the xml-stylesheet PI seems to me a fairly inoffensive 
beastie. If in implementation it's less than perfect, still it's a PI, 
which a client can freely ignore.

I would like, however, some means of allowing the user a choice, 
client-side. Leaving aside Mike's wish-list (parameter passing; 
predesignating given stylesheets for given classes of users, etc. etc.), 
even this would be a big step to taking XML past the point of being 
just-another-rendering-format (with extra overhead, no less). I don't mind 
using PIs for this (Mike says "I just don't see
why it's a good idea to embed pointers to application business logic in the
middle of an inert data document", but that's what PIs are for, ain't it?).

Having two or more PIs, for example, which the browser could then provide a 
means to select between. The syntax at http://www.w3.org/TR/xml-stylesheet/ 
does describe "alternate" and "title" pseudo-attributes that could be used 
to support this. Is this just something neither major browser has 
implemented, or am I missing something? (I suppose it'd be simple enough to 
try.) An indirection mechanism to a proper catalog-type thing would be good 
too (really good); but I'm willing to get one thing at a time.

Chris writes:

> There is nothing stopping you having 20 xml-stylesheets if you want all
> with different media types.
But I'd like the same media type, and be able to switch between them with a 
pull-down or button. Nothing that fancy (don't need parameter passing just 
yet); just something browser-neutral that lets me show two or more 
different views.

Cheers,
Wendell

At 05:16 PM 6/23/2002, David wrote:

> It seems to me that the xml-stylesheet pi embodies the main use case for
> which XML was developed....
======================================================================
Wendell Piez                            mailto:wapiez@mulberrytech.com
Mulberry Technologies, Inc.                http://www.mulberrytech.com
17 West Jefferson Street                    Direct Phone: 301/315-9635
Suite 207                                          Phone: 301/315-9631
Rockville, MD  20850                                 Fax: 301/315-8285
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Mulberry Technologies: A Consultancy Specializing in SGML and XML
======================================================================


XSL-List info and archive:  http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list