[XML-SIG] XML/python approach to "smooshing docs together"?

[Mike Olson]

"Thomas B. Passin" wrote:
> 
> Will Partain asks -
> 
> >
> > How might you define, precisely, such a "smooshing
> together"
> > system?
> >
> > * How do you "line up" the transparencies so you can look
> at
> >   them?
> >
> > * Say you have 10 transparencies... in what order do you
> do
> >   the pair-wise "smooshing"?
> >
> 
>  Don't think about layers "winning".  Use XML to tell you
> what each layer really is.  In your example, wrap each of
> the three "layers" in its own wrapper:
> 
> <site-admin>
> <host-specific>
>     <host>
>     <name>slicker</name>
>     <ip-address>221.170.160.25</ip-address>
>     </host>
> 
>    <host><!-- More hosts listed here --></host>
> </host-specific>
> 
> <site-common>
>     <filesystem>
>       <mount-point>/</mount-point>
>       <size>84MB</size>
>     </filesystem>
>     <filesystem>
>       <mount-point>/usr/local</mount-point>
>       <size>128MB</size>
>     </filesystem>
> </site-common>
> 
> <platform-common>
>     <platform type='Sun'>
>     <programs>
>       <pgm name="DIFF" path="/usr/bin/diff" />
>       <pgm name="MAKE" path="/usr/ccs/bin/make" />
>     </programs>
>     </platform>
> <platform-specific>
> </site-admin>
> 
> This do what you want?  The other issues sound non-xml-ish.
> E.g.,


If your finally UI is HTML, then you could use XSLT to "smoosh" the data
and dislpay it.  It would be a pretty simple tranform depending on how
complex you rules are to combin.

<xsl:template match="site-admin/host-specific">
  <H1><xsl:value-of select="name"/></H1>
  <B>IP Address:</B><xsl:value-of select="ip-address"/>
  <!--add common-->
  <xsl:apply-templates select="/site-admin/site-common"/>
  <!--Add platform common-->
  <xsl:apply-templates select="/site-admin/platform-specific"/>
</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="site-common">
  <!-- left as user exercise -->
</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="platform-specific">
  <!-- left as user exercise -->
</xsl:template>


You can also add logic to not display things that have been "overridden"
at higher level.

Mike


> 
> > * Say you have 10 transparencies... in what order do you
> do
> >   the pair-wise "smooshing"?
> >
> 
> Depends on what you want to do it for ... sounds like a user
> interface issue (that makes it the hardest kind!).
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Tom Passin
> 
> _______________________________________________
> XML-SIG maillist  -  XML-SIG@python.org
> http://www.python.org/mailman/listinfo/xml-sig

-- 
Mike Olson				 Principal Consultant
mike.olson@fourthought.com               (303)583-9900 x 102
Fourthought, Inc.                         http://Fourthought.com 
Software-engineering, knowledge-management, XML, CORBA, Linux, Python