RE: [xml-dev] Create a special purpose programming language, in XML, using state transitions

From
David Lee <>
To
Michael Kay <>
Date
2013-10-18T14:51:45Z
ID
<>
Thread
RE: [xml-dev] Create a special purpose programming language, in XML, using state transitions
------------ Micheal
Sounds to me like you have never written in a language like Fortran or Assembler!

apply-templates is essentially a polymorphic subroutine call. A subroutine call is a "GOTO X AND THEN COME BACK", which is fundamentally different from a plain GOTO X. Subroutine calls give you the basic capability of abstraction that's essential to writing complex programs, because the caller doesn't have to worry about the detail of the callee.
> 

Thank you ! Ok Its been *so long* since I wrote in Fortran and Assembler that I conveniently forgot the COME BACK part.
So yes huge difference.  Still doesnt make my head hurt less though ... because unlike most polymorphic calls, 
a typical XSLT (to my limited experience) is more like a single method call with 10000 overloads.
so to me I see "CALL RANDOM(1 to 10000 )" .... :)
There MUST be a way of making more sense of it all.


-David