Re: Re: Shadow Alterntive - Redux.

Most (maybe all) modern browsers are able to utilize XSL/T innately to
transform XML documents.

Presenting Shadow outlines in a browser is a piece of cake. You can do it
now, by simply opening your outlines in a browser of your choice. Chances
are your browser will a "default" XSLT stylesheet to "pretty print" your
outline's XML.

The problem with this approach is not the XSLT. The problem is that XSLT is
a declarative transformation language only. It does not support interaction
with the user. You would not be able to add items, or edit them, by simply
using XML and XSLT. XSLT is not built for the task.

You'd need a separate language that is able to interface between the user
and the browser and outline. JavaScript can do this, but using JavaScript
would entail far more effort than simply writing a few XSLT stylesheets.

And if all you want is to display the outline in a browser, you'd probably
be better off exporting your outlines from Shadow Desktop to HTML.

On Mon, Aug 24, 2009 at 6:38 AM, houstontyoung <[email protected]>wrote:

>
>
> Sorry if this posts twice...
>
> --- In [email protected] <shadow-discuss%40yahoogroups.com>,
> Bert Latamore <bertlatamore@...> wrote:
> >
> > What I want is a replacement on Windows that can read Shadow files (or a
> way to convert those files without messing them up). I am looking for an
> outliner, not a task manager (I do that in Pimlical). I no longer use a
> Palm, so syncing isn't an issue. Any ideas?
>
> I don't know much about XML/XSLT, but would it be possible to use an
> internet browser (Firefox, IE) as a Shadow Desktop alternative?
>
> From the little I've read, it looks like either Firefox or IE could parse
> the XML with an XSL stylesheet (please correct me if I'm wrong!). It also
> seems like XSLT is robust enough to do the sorts of "display changes" (i.e.,
> filtering, drilling down, expanding/collapsing, etc.) that one would want in
> a desktop Shadow Plan. (Again, corrections?)
>
> Of course, there are several gaping holes to be filled:
>
> 1. Can Firefox/IE/Chrome/etc. actually *run* XSLT transformations, or do
> you need a separate program? I know there are Java-based processors (
> http://www.sagehill.net/docbookxsl/InstallingAProcessor.html) available,
> but could one be called from an XML file, similarly to the way one embeds
> Javascript? (I also know almost nothing of web development.)
>
> 2. Someone would actually need to *write* said XSL and XSLT files....
>
> Of course, if this approach is feasible it would be very nice, since it
> would likely be mostly platform- and browser-independent, and anyone who
> wanted to customize the "look" in their browser could write an appropriate
> CSS or XSL file to do so.
>
> Anyway, if this isn't feasible, someone more knowledgeable than me should
> debunk it quickly.
>
> Justin
>
>  
>


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