generate-id() in xsl:attribute-set

Inasmuch as xsl:attribute-set is most often thought of for adding constant sets of XSL-FO properties, it’s easy to forget that, as it says in the XSLT 2.0 spec:

Evaluating the same attribute set more than once can produce different results, because although an attribute set does not have parameters, it may contain expressions or instructions whose value depends on the evaluation context. Continue reading “generate-id() in xsl:attribute-set”

xslide alive!

Inasmuch as you, like me, may have missed xslide’s “Template” menu when editing XSLT using Emacs’ nXML-mode, I’ve made available my “xslide2” XSLT mode for Emacs that I’ve been using for a while. This new xslide is a derived mode that uses nXML-mode for nearly everything and adds back some of the XSLT-specific parts of xslide.

Future development is happening on the Trac and Subversion for the xslide SourceForge project. See https://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/xslide/wiki/WikiStart.

New XSL-FO 2.0 Working Draft

Inasmuch as that was always the plan, the XSL-FO 2.0 Working Draft published yesterday (latest version always at http://www.w3.org/TR/xslfo20/) is the first to incorporate new FOs and properties from the previous “Design Notes” document into the text from the XSL 1.1 Recommendation. The new WD also features more extensive linking from FO, property, and function references to their definitions. Continue reading “New XSL-FO 2.0 Working Draft”

Debugging FOP process

Inasmuch as I sometimes want to debug (an extended version of) FOP “in place” and without too much setup, I can use this command line to suspend FOP on startup until I attach the debugger:

FOP_OPTS="-Xdebug -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,address=9000,server=y,suspend=y" fop test.fo test.pdf

1.5 talks at XML Prague 2010

Inasmuch as I was fortunate to again be selected to present or co-present two talks, I will be at XML Prague again this year. Going to a technical XML conference, in Prague, in the Spring, again, will be good; presenting the same number of talks as last year is just a bonus.

The talks are:

  • What XSL 2.0 means for implementers and users — Discusses the changes that will have to take place under the hood of any XSL formatter that supports XSL 2.0 and what those additional capabilities can bring to your stylesheets.
  • Real time, all the time, ragtime XML — An update on the capabilities of Xcruciate.

Reading JIS X 4051 online

Inasmuch as the “Requirements for Japanese Text Layout” Note refers (and defers) a lot to JIS X 4051, “Formatting Rules for Japanese documents”, it is helpful to also read it (or, for some of us at least, to look at the diagrams and puzzle through some of the text). You can buy the printed book from the Japanese Standards Association Web Store, or you can view (but not print) the PDF version within your browser. Here’s how: Continue reading “Reading JIS X 4051 online”