RE: [boost] Regression test / compiler status progress

From: Tom Harris (TomH_at_[hidden])
Date: 2002-07-09 22:06:08

XML is a fine intermediate format, and to use it for this purpose is a
worthy goal. However, it is not necessary to use XSLT to perform
transformations. The SAX2 XML parser (implementations in your chosen
language) calls class methods as it sees certain parsing events. SAX2 also
defines filter classes, that filter these events based on any criteria.
Writing your own filters and composing them (Chain of Responsibility
pattern) allows quite complex manipulation of XML data, with output not
restricted to just text, which I believe XSLT is. Anyway XSLT has a
non-obvious syntax (to me), and is difficult to debug. Use of XSLT will
require yet another tool to be installed and versioned. 

I use chains of filters to turn XML build logs into detailed webpages and
brief email messages. 

Tom Harris, Software Engineer
Optiscan Imaging, 15-17 Normanby Rd, Notting Hill, Melbourne, Vic 3168,
Australia
email tomh_at_[hidden]     ph [phone]  fax [phone]

This email may contain confidential information. If you have received this
email in error, please delete it immediately,and inform us of the mistake by
return email. Any form of reproduction, or further dissemination of this
email is strictly prohibited. Also, please note that opinions expressed in
this email are those of the author, and are not necessarily those of
Optiscan Pty Ltd.

-----Original Message-----
From: Beman Dawes [mailto:bdawes_at_[hidden]]
Sent: Wednesday, 10 July 2002 3:07
To: boost_at_[hidden]; boost_at_[hidden]
Subject: Re: [boost] Regression test / compiler status progress

At 06:24 PM 7/8/2002, William E. Kempf wrote:

 >A suggestion... instead of generating HTML I'd generate XML.  You can 
then
 >generate HTML from the XML using XSLT.  The reasons for doing this:
 >
 >* The resulting XML file can be used for a lot more then just giving a
 >pretty report on the web.  For instance, it could be used by a script 
that
 >creates an installation package for a given platform which would exclude
 >libraries that are not supported by that platform (just an example off 
the
 >top of my head).
 >
 >* It's fairly easy to tweak the XSLT file for specific formatting
 >requirements.  For example, you could use different XSLT files to 
generate
 >HTML pages both for what libraries a specific compiler supports and what
 >compilers a specific library supports in addition to the normal matrix 
used
 >for status information today.  This could be useful for compiler vendors
 >(among others), as they could generate reports tailored to their business
 >needs with little effort.

Hum... I've read a lot about XML but have never actually tried to use it.

What set of tools do you use/recommend?

--Beman

_______________________________________________
Unsubscribe & other changes:
http://lists.boost.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/boost