Re: RFC Implementation of SGML/XML Proposal for LSB in Debian

[Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com>]

/ Mark Johnson <mark@phy.duke.edu> was heard to say:
| XSL Stylesheet Comment
| ------------------
| 
| -- We need a mechanism for docbook-related XSL stylesheets to refer to the main 
| DocBook XSL Stylesheet (dbxsl) distribution.  

What we need is XSL processors that use the entityResolver() to load
the included and imported URIs. That would allow me to write

  <xsl:import href="http://nwalsh.com/..."/>

and have "the right thing" happen.

| What to do?
| - Don't allow multiple versions of _main_ docbook-xsl-stylesheets. They really are upgrades, 
|    making it unnecessary to do so. (Norm Walsh, upstream developer also made this point.)

True, but it falls apart when I break something in a release. :-) It
also makes it difficult for people to install my "experimental"
releases along side the latest official release.

| - Use the /etc/alternatives system to establish links that can be configured. 
|    The link could be top-level:
| 	/usr/share/sgml/docbook/xsl-stylesheets <--
| 
| - Ask Norm -- Maybe a catalog mechanism for the xsl stylesheets is in the works?? 

It's an issue with some fairly deep implications for XSLT implementations.
(Mostly to do with how base URIs are calculated.)

| /usr/share/sgml/docbook/
|        sgml-dtd-3.1/
|        sgml-dtd-4.0/
|        xml-dtd-4.0/ (the DocBook DTD)

The comment "(the DocBook DTD)" seesms out of place. They're all the
DocBook DTD.

|        dsssl-stylesheets-1.54/
|        xsl-stylesheets-1.12/

There's also a comment here "(DSSSL style sheets [sic] for DocBook)" that's
next to the wrong line.

| I think the proposed use of the term "SGML Application" as 
| 
| 	Any program used to view, edit, convert, process or apply any kind of 
| 	treatment to a document written using a SGML or XML DTD.
| 
| is not a good idea. 
| 
| The term is already in wide use and has a very specific meaning: 
| An application of SGML, or SGML application, refers to a DTD. 
| (For example, see http://xml.coverpages.org/gen-apps.html )

Mark's right. And I still maintain that 'SGML' should be down played in
favor of 'XML' because that's where the future is.

And I made a comment somewhere else (on the sourceforge pages I think)
to the effect that "Open Catalog" is not a good name.

                                        Be seeing you,
                                          norm

-- 
Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com> | What is familiar is what we are used
http://nwalsh.com/            | to; and what we are used to is most
                              | difficult to 'Know'--that is, to see as
                              | a problem; that is, to see as strange,
                              | as distant, as 'outside us'.--Nietzsche