Mailing-List: contact cocoon-users-help@xml.apache.org; run by ezmlm
Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 07:43:59 GMT
From: Ross Burton <rossyb@lineone.net>
Message-Id: <200011090743.HAA00939@eddie.itzinteractive.com>
To: cocoon-users@xml.apache.org
Subject: Re: [C2] XObject status

Laurent Eskenazi wrote:
> I'm testing Cocoon2 to see if we can start our next project with it. I am
> looking for the XObject interface we've been using in C1, but I don't see it
> in C2. Can anybody tell me what are the plans for XObject ? Will this be
> part of C2, or is / will it be replaced by something else ? Any time frame ?

I'll add to this what I know:

XObject was designed as the DOM/SAX bridge, allowing a single object to DOMify
or SAXify itself.  Obviously this allows use in both C1 and C2.  However, there
are many problems which have lead to it not being in C2 at present:

* the package XObject is in (org.apache.cocoon.framework) does not exist in C2.
* the toSAX() method uses the old (deprecated) SAX DocumentHandler interface,
  not the newer SAX2 (which C2 is based upon) ContentHandler interface.
* at the Apachecon what to do with this was discussed, but I do not recall a
  final solution.

I personally think they way forwards is to deprecate XObject in C1, and create a
new XObject class in C2 which has a sensible package (org.apache.cocoon.xml?)
and uses the newer SAX2 interfaces.  The XSP code in C1 and C2 can then be
amended to handle both XObjects.  Of course, this is rather drastic and a more
subtle approach may be better.

BTW, Jeremy Quinn has also been using XObject in his taglibs and had lots of
sensible comments, IIRC. Jeremy - any comments?

Ross Burton