Re: Generating PDF files (XSLT, ps, XSL-FO, FOP, etc)

Larry Garfield wrote: > On Friday 05 October 2007, Per Jessen wrote: >> Yannick Warnier wrote: >>> but you can't generate a PDF using XML and XSLT, although XSLT is, to >>> my understanding, made to enable export in various formats from the >>> same XML file. >> XSLT is a style language, and you could quite possibly make it produce a >> PDF. > > Not quite. You would use XSLT to generate XSL:FO output. You would then use > a tool like Apache FOP (or various others, free and not) to convert the > XSL:FO document into a PDF. > > I've done this before, but it's been a while. :-) As XSL can is just a method of transforming XML into into some kind of output there is theoretically nothing stopping you using XSL to generate the full PDF I reckon. If found a really good quote the other day about XSL but I now can't find the link and it's gone from my history but it was something like: "You could write a <insert obscure lanaguage here> parser/lexer in XSLT but I'm not going to." It's a very powerful language but the hardest part most extreme advocates find is knowing when there is a better/more practical tool for the job ;) Col