[Freeciv-Dev] XML

["Per I. Mathisen" <Per.Inge.Mathisen@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 5 Dec 2001, Petr Baudis wrote:
> > That is neater.  XML is more verbose, certainly.
> Excessively verbose I would say. I just don't think XML is good for 
> everything.
> This is not the case where XML would give any huge benefit.

I've done a bit XML and XSLT (XML transformations) for my employer, and I
agree that it is extremely verbose for what it does, _but_ I also think
that freeciv would be much better off with XML than any arcane flex/bison
or homebrewed solution. Users are getting familiar with XML (if nothing
else, then through HTML), and using XSLT it is possible to do pretty tasty
things without learning arcane unix tools (sorry). It is also the most
multiplatform solution there is.

Things you can do with the rulesets with XSLT off the top of my head:
 - automagically create documentation for modpacks
 - automagically create tech trees from modpacks
 - edit them in Emacs and other XML editors with validation
 - run syntax validation tools on any platform or through a web page

But I think whoever takes on the daunting task of fixing the improvements
code should get the final say in this :)

Yours,
Per

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."
 -- Albert  Einstein