Hi Folks,
Consider this scenario:
I have an XML-based web site. I have a collection of stylesheets which
convert my Web site's internal XML data into various
client-customized-HTML. For example, for my premier clients I have a
stylesheet which applies a 5% discount. For clients with handicaps I
have another stylesheet which displays a select product list. For
international clients I have still another stylesheet which converts
prices to the appropriate currency. And so forth. Further, as a
relationship is developed with a new type of client I simply drop in a
new stylesheet. The new client is thus seamlessly integrated.
Is this a good use of XSLT? I don't think so. The problem is that I am
dispersing my business rules across the stylesheets, e.g., premier
clients get a 5% discount. Maintaining such a system becomes a
nightmare.
This leads me to question the role of XSLT. Are there stylesheets which
do not have business rules built-in? Should stylesheets be confined to
simply doing mindless formatting? What are your thoughts? /Roger
XSL-List info and archive: http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list