Re: (MOB)HTML - Merge on browser HTML

"sunil vanmullem" <sunil.vanmullem@btopenworld.com> writes:

> Sure I've used Ajax to prove the concept that this can be done, and
> people don't like it because its not XSLT. Fine, that's not the
> point - this proof of concept is just that, and is not the final end
> of the story, I've proved that in a cross browser manner this can be
> done. I've also shown that a simple data substitution approach can
> have the same result as a complex transformation.

I don't like it - not because it's not XSLT - but because it's not
flexible.

This will work for very trivial things. But not complex things.

As I told you - I already have a working server side version of the
same thing that you're doing - and I don't think that's worth much
either.

I am building a RESTful, web based, development tool which combines
wikis, xslt and os virtualization. One of the things we've done with
it is build what we call a templater which does the following:

- allows you to specify an xhtml page which is marked up with IDs and
  CLASSes where you want data to go

- write a data page (in a wiki like language) where data is marked
  with the same IDs and CLASSes

- specify that the two go together.

When you request the data page, the XHTML template is retrieved and
the bits marked with CLASSes and IDs are filled in with the data from
the data page.

I think this is roughly what you have. However, it is very limited and
only suitable for very, very, simple templating.

What you want to do most of the time is much, much, more complicated
and for that you need a real template language.

When you look at the development of template languages you find that
they start with something like you're processing and then get more and
more complicated because they need to. If you're lucky you end up with
something well speced like XSLT. If you're unlucky you end up with
JSP.


I'll be soft releasing my app soon (this week? early next week). I'll
let this list know when I do that.


-- 
Nic Ferrier
http://www.tapsellferrier.co.uk   for all your tapsell ferrier needs

Received on Thursday, 25 January 2007 10:13:32 UTC