[Zope] - AW: [Zope] - XML-style DTML code

[Carsten Oberscheid]

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>
> Paul Everitt writes:
> >
> >Chris wrote:
> >> 	<?ztml #var arg ?>
> >
> >Ahh, tis nuthin better than seeing a patch accompany a proposal :^)
> >
> >Here's my main beef with this.  The ostensible goal of the XML syntax is
> >to make it parse-able by new tools.  Unfortunately, a valid use of the
> >current syntax:
> >
> >  <font size="<!--#var font_size-->">
> >
> >which is legal, would become:

Sorry, I think this ain't legal, too. It's ok with sgml (at least nsgmls 
doesn't complain), but the XML specs say you can't use "<" inside attribute 
values at all.

> >
> >  <font size="<?ztml #var arg ?>">
> >
> >which *not* valid XML...is it?  That is, can you have markup inside
> >markup?
>
> 	I don't believe so, but have CC'ed this to the XML-SIG where
> the real experts hang out.  PIs have to be outside other markup; I
> suspect the XML way of handling your second case would be to define an
> entity:
>
>   <font size="&arg;">
>
> This is unfortunate for the application of HTML templating, because it
> collides with the use of entities in HTML.  It also makes things
> difficult because the entity would have to be declared at the
> beginning of the file in the DOCTYPE declaration.  Making the
> templating identical to XML, while keeping it conveniently
> human-editable, may not be possible.
>

What about this:

   <?ztml store("var arg") ?><font size="&ztml;">

where &ztml; is a dummy entity declared once in the DTD. This should be valid 
XML.
The DTML engine then interprets the PI as "I store this string as a DTML 
command, then next time I encounter &ztml; I replace it with the results of the 
DTML command".

I admit that this is less editable/readable than the current DTML syntax, but 
it's quite close, especially if the "store" PI is kept close to the &ztml; 
"placeholder". For the "simple" case of DTML commands within character data 
Chris' proposal still works:

   <P> ...plain text ... <?ztml "var arg" ?>  ... </P>

without the "cmd" assignment can be "executed" and replaced immediately without 
the entity stunt, and it is valid XML.


Regards

.co.


+------------------------------------------------------- daisy bytes! --------+
 Carsten Oberscheid
 co@daisybytes.su.uunet.de                        digital document processing
 http://www.pweb.de/daisybytes.su                     electronic publishing

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