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Re: [xsl] XML/XSLT for web templating

2007-10-08 14:59:33

I face a huge resistance based on the "fame" of XSLT of being:

1. Too slow ... 2. Too difficult ... 3. Too unknown ("everybody knows JSP...") 4. Too old ...
I would like to know who comes up with this garbage. I am befuddled whenever I hear these objections. I agree it is slower than certain technologies (JSP), but it is far easier to do stuff with (take my word for it) and there are ways of speeding them up (precompilation). I can assure you that not everybody knows JSP. Our web designer would freak out if she had to deal with JSPs, but she can deal with XSLTs (with a little help). XSLTs have a surprising small learning curve for most aspects. The recursive elements of XSLTs take a little more getting used to, but any decent programmer should get them in time. Syntactically, XSLTs are nicer than JSPs and velocity.

IMHO, there are far too many Java programmers who think Java is a silver bullet (obviously, no one on this list). It isn't.

As for being too old, how old is JSPs in comparison to XSLTs. Someone is trying to have it both ways. XSLTs cannot be too old and too unknown. Also, what is wrong with too old? JSP is probably older than XSLTs, doesn't mean it is necessarily better or worse because of that. C is an old technology, but people still use it for many real world applications and it is still the best solution for a number of problems (embedded systems).

So in summary,

Yes, XSLTs are probably slower than JSPs, but with precompilation it is probably fast enough. XSLTs have a very low learning curve and the statement that they are "too difficult" is plain wrong. Also, is there a JSP mailing list or forum with as much support as this mailing list? There are a number of companies using XSLTs and a number of open source projects that actively supports XSLT (see Cocoon). If people on insisting that XSLTs are too old, you can take two paths - state that this is a sign of maturity or point out that it is plain wrong.

--
Kamal Bhatt


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