Re: when to use xslt

Hello all.

First, thanks for your answers and input, it was interesting 
reading your opinion about this topic. Since I've been away 
for the whole day and thus couldn't participate in the 
discussion, I would like to sum up what has been said so far.
So, one general advice was, to use XSLT whenever one needs 
to transform XML trees to some other XML trees. And why? 
Well, it seems because languages like XSLT have been develop 
for this exact reason, so no need to invent the wheel again. 
But Mark made the distinction, that it is not useful to use 
XSLT for rather complex computations, in his example 
calculating prime numbers. Though as a contrast, Dimitre 
posted an example, where XSLT is used for a rather complex 
computation, which runs fast and successful. So the question 
whether XSLT should be used for mathematical problems or 
stuff like this is not fully clear yet. (For me, at least :))
Fittingly, Michael emphasized in his post, that the 
argument, XSLT is slow, is not accurate for straightforward 
transformations any more, often the time for parsing the 
input and serializing the output is neglected. But complex 
transformations could probably be faster when implemented in 
other languages, the point is: how long does the 
implementation take? All in all Michael stated, that it is 
very important to implement a solution in a language one 
knows quite well, thus saving a lot of time and hopefully 
creating a sound and correct program. Only when the usage is 
for a longer period, it is worth learning a different 
language to profit from its advantages.
Concrete, the advantages of XSLT are, according to Michael, 
a shorter code for most transformations than in alternative 
languages, the code is faster implemented and easier to 
maintain, especially when the source schema changes.
So, after reading all this and from my very small own 
knowledge, it seems that XSLT should be used in most cases 
when XML transformations are needed. I think that XSLT will 
get even "more usable" when the 2.0 version is officially 
launched, thinking about features like advanced string 
handling, grouping, multiple-output documents, user-defined 
functions, temporary trees, etc.
If anyone would like to add some disadvantages or advantages 
of XSLT against other languages, please do so, I am glad for 
every hint I can get. (I am writing a paper for university, btw)
Thanks again for your help,

have a nice weekend,

greetings,

Henning

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