Re: [seul-edu] New educational app--presentation

[James Oden <joden@eworld.wox.org>]

> 
> (xtrans scripts) embedding python code. Translators are very easy to
> write, since all the complicated details of XML parsing, reference
> resolving, file management and even python programming are handled
> by the underlying system in a way transparent to the user.
In playful spirit I disagree.  Translators can be the hardest thing
to write.  After writing my own XML parser, I can see that the goal 
of XML being easy to write parsers for has been adequately achieved.
The hard part is transforming the thing into anything that is going 
to a printed document.  For instance a transform to PostScript is less 
than trivial.  You have to keep track of placing words on the page, 
when a new page begins, where things were (i.e. what page) that are 
referenced in another part of the document, and I have not even 
mentally considered things like images (converting them to eps [although
I suppose that could be done by some helper program you did not write]).

Actually, long as I am blabbing, having functional XML parser, what is the 
easiest language to translate the XML AST to in order to produce a 
_nice_ printed document?

...james