[XSLT2.0] format-date() - country

I think that the country argument should be removed from the date
formatting functions in 16.5 of the XSLT 2.0 draft.

<http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt20/#lang-cal-country>:
> The intended use of the country argument is to identify the place
> where an event [...] took place or will take place. [...] For
> example, different countries using the Old Style (Julian) calendar
> started the new year on different days,[...]  The geographical area
> identified by an ISO 3166-1 country code is defined by the
> present-day boundaries of that country, not by the boundaries as
> they existed historically.

The functionality you describe in this paragraph is indeed
interesting, but two questions arise: 1) Who is going to implement
it? and 2) Doesn't the issue of the last sentence destroy the whole
thing?

As to the first point, do you have a particular source in mind for
implementing these formatting routines? To me it seems like extensive
research would be necessary to compile a table of useful corrections
from the information of the country argument. If you think that this
argument is important you should provide a reference implementation.

As to the second point, event with the addition of the the ISO 3166-3
list of old countries (which I'm not sure how complete it is), is a
single country designation really precise enough? What about regional
variance? Your aim is set so high, yet I don't get a clear picture of
what the goal is.

My guess is that someone really needing this functionality will want
to provide the textual representation of the dates himself, probably
in the local language of the original event.

And probably more likely is that, since I presume that noone will
ever implement the wanted behaviour, there will be corrupted data
as people enter non-proleptic dates to get the right display. Show me
an implementation, and I will be glad to be wrong.

Yours sincerely,
Mikael Sterner

Received on Thursday, 27 November 2003 01:29:07 UTC