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RE: [xsl] XSLT WYSIWYG WEB Editor

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> From: Senthilkumaravelan Krishnanatham [mailto:senthil@xxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: 15 December, 2006 13:13
> To: xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [xsl] XSLT WYSIWYG WEB Editor
>
> I am looking for something pre-cooked which could be re-heated
> and ready to serve kind. As first step we would be constructing
> XSLT for them (Content editors), they will manage the content
> and Language part of it.
>
> If you come across one ,please suggest. I am still finding it
> difficult such  a product in the Google world :)

I don't fully disagree with what Michael Kay and other have written
about a non-developer XSLT WYSIWYG Web editor, it is a difficult
problem on multiple levels.  XSLT works on an XML document.  So
before your "non-developer" users can visually create an XSLT, they
need to understand the underlying XML grammar.  This would imply
that you also need some XML WYSIWYG editor to work in conjunction
with a mechanism to create the XSL transform.

I don't think this is impossible to do, there are existing tools
out there that could probably be pieced together to provide some
functionality.  When I look at Microsoft Office, 2003 and above,
it provides some "non-developer" ability to take information in
the document and map that to/from an XML grammar that either
exists or is automatically created by the structure of the data
in the Office application.

Further, Microsoft's InfoPath application allows non-developers
to interact or create XML grammars through a forms based scenario
where you can provide XSL transforms to view the underlying XML
grammar in different ways.  Since InfoPath can be extended through
a variety of programmatic means, you could initially provide some
default XSLT's and customize the InfoPath environment to provide
some means for the user to create their own views.

So I think there are possibilities open to explore, but at this
time I don't see any single off the shelf application for an
XSLT WYSIWYG Web editor.


Andy.

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