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XSLT – Native, zero-config build system for the Web

(github.com)
392 points _kush | 1 comments | 27 Jun 25 05:00 UTC | HN request time: 0.222s | source
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meinersbur ◴[27 Jun 25 09:02 UTC] No.44395125[source]▶
There is a classic DailyWTF about this technique: https://thedailywtf.com/articles/Sketchy-Skecherscom

> [...] the idea of building a website like this in XML and then transforming it using XSL is absurd in and of itself [...]

In the comments the creators comment on it, like that it was a mess to debug. But I could not find anything wrong with the technique itself, assuming that it is working.

replies(1): >>44396042 #
1. jcmeyrignac ◴[27 Jun 25 11:52 UTC] No.44396042[source]▶
There are 2 main problems with XSLT. The first one is that manipulating strings is a pain. Splitting strings, concatenating them is verbose like hell and difficult to read. The second one is that it quickly becomes a mess when you use the "priority" attribute to overload functions. I compare XSLT to regular expressions, with great flexibility but impossible to maintain due to poor readability. To my knowledge, it's impossible to trace.