Push Button Paradise

XSLT Quiz answers:

1) NaN is not a keyword in XSLT. Thus, it is treated as a node-set of all the child nodes named "NaN", which in this case in an empty node-set.

2) The proper behavior for NaN!=EmptyNodeSet isn't totally clear.

One line of reasoning is that NaN is not equal to anything (not even itself), so any != comparison should be the same as true().

A different line of reasoning, however, is that in a comparison against a node-set can be broken down into a comparison not involving one. As the XPath spec says:

If one object to be compared is a node-set and the other is a number, then the comparison will be true if and only if there is a node in the node-set such that the result of performing the comparison on the number to be compared and on the result of converting the string-value of that node to a number using the number function is true.

XSLT Quiz:

XML:
<snipsnap>
<snip>
<name>'2003-02-22</name>
...
</snip>
</snipsnap>

XSLT:
...
<template match="snip[number(substring(name,1,4))!=NaN]">...

1. This template has a subtle bug, can you spot it?
2. What is the XSLT 1.0 conforming behavior for this template rule? Will it match the <snip> element above or not? (hint: Saxon disagrees with xsltproc & 4XSLT)
-m

The Animals have Landed

O'Reilly books are famous for their animal covers. Here's what will be on the cover of mine.

-m

Don't feed the trolls. -m

Format freedom at last?

Larry Garfield thinks it's great that Microsoft is XMLifying their office formats, but he worries about a potential proprietary twist "that would create not primarily technical but legal problems that would essentially cripple any hope of having open, common standards."

He goes on to say, "If that were to happen, the best thing for the industry would be to rally around another format, such as XForms from the W3C"
-m

Safari bug: Can't render my XForms Book

I was at the computer store drooling over the new PowerBooks, and tried to access my book. Locked up Safari, repeatably even. Anyone else run into problems with large-ish (500Kb) HTML files in Safari?

-m

Thought of S.R. Ranganathan

Mentioned on the Chandler design list. The Five Laws of Library Science are:

1. Books are for use.


2. Every reader his or her book.


3. Every book its reader.


4. Save the time of the reader.


5. The Library is a growing organism.


These apply in a similar way to web sites, and repositories of information like Chandler and LiquidOffice, or even software in general. -m
posted by Micah  # 11:33 AM

U.S. backs merging Net, phone numbers

"In a recent internal letter, the Commerce Department recommended that the United States participate in an emerging electronic numbering system, known as ENUM, that will allow people to use one identifier for many different purposes, including mobile phones, e-mail, instant messaging and faxes"

Please, just don't make it an http:// identifier.

-m

Beam Me Out Of This Death Trap, Scotty
5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Goodbye, Columbia

Interesting and eerie article from April 1980, discussing problems and challenges with Colombia and the Shuttle Program. -m

http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2003/02/11.html#a603
-m

Microsoft moves ahead on XDocs

The name is...InfoPath. You have information, and it flows along a path through the Office. Similar naming exercise as LiquidOffice. -m

XForms in Python?

A thread on comp.lang.python suggests interest in a Python implementation of XForms.

-m

P.S. I am totally ready to "switch". -m

More proof that computers will be the death of us:

The HP notebook, (the one previously sent in for repairs twice is totally out of commish. The fan makes a sound somewhere between cats in heat and a power drill, and it clicks off from thermal overoad after a few minutes. My good friends at HP tech support want $30 to even talk to me. Sigh. At least this part looks like the one I need to fix it. Anyone know how to disassemble a HP notebook?

Between this and an interstate move, there's been quite a dent in my posting frequency. I'd promise to do better if I meant it. ;-)
-m