I’ve always thought of XML (and SGML before that) data as the devil’s format. I’m of the old database and flat files school. Nonetheless, we are developing a commercially-available web product who’s framework is based off of translating/transforming XML data in chains.
As we’re interviewing for positions as well talking to potential customers, they love the concept of what it will do but are weary of supporting XSLT long-term. One person even called it the proverbial “dead.” Dead like COBOL, Unix, and C or dead like Apple Business BASIC?
Anyway, I’m curious if building a web framework on XSLT is really not cutting edge enough (oddly) for companies. Are there inherent XSLT implementation problems that make this venture something worth reconsidering?
If your application relies on transforming XML data then by all means, that’s what’s XSLT is dedicated for and it does a decent job except that the code can be quite verbose.
I’ve never really heard complains about problems with SAXON as an XSLT implementation.
Maybe looking into SXML, SXSLT, SXPath et cetera is worth considering though.
As far as XSLT being dead, as I notice it’s still climbing and not really past its peak, though I do notice more voices that are starting to see the design flaws in XML, XML used as a data storage format to me is an unusual decision, XML is a good data-presentation format, and especially on the web, it’s faaar to verbose to as a container to transmit information too but it does it job to present information.
XML does have what some people would call design flaws though.