xmlspec.xsl and diffspec.xsl

From the agenda:

    xmlspec.xsl and diffspec.xsl
    ----------------------------
    Paul sent email about this at
    http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-xml-core-wg/2012Nov/0014

    ACTION to Norm:  Come up with (and implement) a plan to
    reorganize xmlspec.xsl and diffspec.xsl to "do the right thing."

From 2012Nov/0014:

> I gather that it's diffspec.xsl that should be used
> for styling both the diff and non-diff version (with a
> different setting of a global parameter).

Right. If diff markup has been introduced, xmlspec.xsl does the wrong
thing because it simply ignores the diff markup.

> If so, then
> why do we have xmlspec.xsl as it stands now at all?

Because when I started to introduce support for diff markup, I was
trying to do so without changing xmlspec.xsl because it was used by
several specs and I didn't want to break anything.

> I still want to be able to have an xml-stylesheet PI
> in the XML pointing to xmlspec.xsl, but then why don't
> we replace xmlspec.xsl either with a copy of diffspec.xsl
> with show.diff.markup=0 or with a two liner consisting of
> show.diff.markup=0 and import diffspec.xsl?

I think that's the easiest thing to do and I have done so for the
XInclude 1.1 document. I don't *think* it will have any consequences.

> I believe our current practice is to put a copy of both
> xmlspec.xsl and diffspec.xsl into the same directory as
> the XML and the two HTMLs.  Is this the best practice,
> or should we be writing the xml-stylesheet PI with an
> absolute path that points to the appropriate thing in
> http://www.w3.org/2002/xmlspec/ ?

Best Practice would be to have a common place, versioned, where
different specs could reuse the code and benefit from bug fixes. The
practical reality is that I no longer have the time or inclination to
maintain http://www.w3.org/2002/xmlspec/ and no one else involved in
the specprod alias at W3C cares. They've all switched over to some
HTML/JavaScript thing because That's Better(TM).

It's also possible that with Google deprecating XSLT support in their
fork of WebKit, there's diminishing value in even bothering to include
the stylesheet PI. But maybe I'm just feeling depressed. :-)

I think keeping local copies with the specs is the pragmatic thing.

I assert that this completes my action.

                                        Be seeing you,
                                          norm

--
Norman Walsh
Lead Engineer
MarkLogic Corporation
Phone: +1 512 761 6676
www.marklogic.com