May 20, 2005

By 'If' I'm assuming 'If someone comes up with a coherent spec that omits the type info, it could somehow make its way into the 4Suite post 1.0.' to be the condition and the result if the condition is met?

Copia

Ok. I'm up to the challenge.

I think its safe to assume that Uche knows a thing or two about programming. So, in reality, a simple list of features and capabilities that need to be present should be more than sufficient.

But before I go and spend my time making a feature list of things that must be present I should make sure that by doing so the desired effect would be reached -- that of finding support for XSLT 2.0, or at least a type-less variant of the XSLT 2.0 draft, inside of 4Suite, something I think we all can agree would be absolutely *FANTASTIC* and worthwhile of any effort that might encourage such a development effort.

But I need to be careful here. What I might think is being helpful might instead be construed as something entirely different and do more damage than it would good. Obviously there are plenty of lists of XSLT 2.0 features out there that could easily be used as a starting point so writing Yet Another XSLT 2.0 Feature List is not something that I think is really going to do much good and could potentially be viewed as something quite different so taking such an approach is really risky and to be quite honest, stupid.

I could take the "its all simply a matter of preference... for those who like programming using XML, XSLT 2.0 is just what the doctored ordered. For those that don't, give XQuery a try." But that's not ballsy enough. Its too cliche', too passe', too blah... And such a statement disregards the fact that there are a lot more languages, like Python, that do offer a lot to the world of XML developers that in many ways could be considered preferable.

So what then? How does one take on the task (and not completely waste his time in doing so) of providing a working specification that someone like Uche, in whom a lot of people, including myself, have a lot of respect for, can then take and build support into one of the more powerful open source XML server platforms available.

This is something that is going to require thought. I think that a well thought through argument in favor of XSLT 2.0 coupled with good sample code could definitely help. So maybe thats where I should start.

But before I do that (and I think its the right approach) can I suggest one thing? The power of XSLT 2.0 and XQuery starts with XPath 2.0. As much as EXSLT offers the XML developer, XPath 2.0 is not a part of this project. So thats where my weekend project is going to start. Lets rip through the XPath 2.0 specification and get down to the nitty-gritty. What does XPath 2.0 offer the world of XML software development that XPath 1.0 leaves behind? Conditional logic is one piece but theres more than just conditional logic so lets make this the focus and then move forward from there.

Uche, as mentioned, I have a great deal of respect for you. I think that finding support for XSLT 2.0 from the likes of Fourthought inside of 4Suite.org is something that can not be seen as anything else but a *HUGE* boost to the future of XSLT 2.0. I hope that over the next few days that what I develop can be seen for what it is, that of convincing an influential person such as yourself that developing support for XSLT 2.0 is something very worthwhile. I don't want to make the same mistake that I have in the past of not thinking through my statements and simply publishing what happens to be on my mind at that moment only to discover that I was *COMPLETELY* off-base. Thus, the current caution I have in place to just "pour" my thoughts onto the screen and hope that in-and-of itself this is enough. It wouldn't be. But with the proper time I think I can definitely have at very least a fighting chance. So, I guess we shall see. :)

Wish me luck everbody! :D