Hi, For some balance let's hear from some Microsoft bloggers for a change.
Wesner Moise wrote up a blog story titled "XAML and Standards" to offer couter arguments why Avalon goes beyond HTML, SVG, CSS and Javascript. On Windows Vector Graphics vs. SVG Wesner writes: XAML does use WVG (Windows Vector Graphics), which is based off of SVG, with the requirement that WVG deviate as little as possible from SVG, but without placing any onerous requirements on WVG. I believe most, if not all, of the differences involve naming; svg does not conform to the FxCop naming rules of PascalCasing and use of full EnglishWords. I believe that there is a trivial transform that could be applied to transform SVG to WVG; I used one once. There is a whole world of software that lives and breathes SVG, and WVG is designed to make it easy, but not effortless, to use those tools. On XAML Styles vs. CSS Wesner writes: The CSS syntax was considered. There were two versions of Avalon. The first version did use a CSS syntax for specifying properties. The old version of Avalon was eventually discarded, though most of the code was were ported over to the current version, we got from PDC. The old version was fairly advanced, more so than the PDC version, and many non-Avalon developer had a chance to work on and comment on the new version. Many of them complained about CSS: There were a number of limitations in the syntax. One was that it was not XML. Another was that CSS had no mechanism for dealing with advanced techniques like complex properties or visual trees (which allows a control to appear radically different). On XAML vs. HTML Wesner writes: Well, if HTML was any good for developing a desktop UI, we wouldn't have XUL. XAML was an attempt to design from the ground up a good UI language, whereas original philosophy of HTML was designed to avoid specifying formatting, so as to be viewable through any browser in any device. XAML also has a one-to-one correspondence with .NET objects, so that instead of using XAML, you can actually write code to build the interface in exactly the same way it was specified in XAML, but in a different syntax. It's also much easier to build new controls that can then be used directly in XAML; this is not possibly in HTML. Link: http://wesnerm.blogs.com/net_undocumented/2003/10/xaml_and_standa.html Filipe Fortes wrote-up as story titled XAML vs XUL that shows Microsoft's classic "embrace, extend, extinguish" strategy in action. Filipe blogs: XAML’s (and Avalon’s) scope is significantly larger than XUL’s; XUL was created for constructing Mozilla’s GUI, as well as the GUI for applications / services which leverage the Mozilla platform. Avalon is much larger than this. The amount of services and functionality we’re providing in Avalon is quite large, and will take a while to digest; but once people start to get it, it’ll be clear why XAML is much larger than XUL. Avalon plugs into the .NET framework’s numerous libraries; XUL provides JavaScript hooks into the DOM and Mozilla’s libraries, which although useful, aren’t as complete (or extensible) as .NET’s. XAML is far more extensible,... Avalon provides a far richer model for documents than XUL... Avalon provides a wide-variety of Application and Document services ... I’m aware that XUL provide some of these services [deployment (through XPI), some level of databinding, and probably others], but I believe Avalon’s services are much richer and more extensible. And so and so forth. You get the picture. Link: http://blogs.gotdotnet.com/ffortes/PermaLink.aspx/b7708c79-cbb9-4b2e-a22d-f8a7b1416b7b To leave on a lighter note allow me to post Ian Oeschger's (Mozilla Tech Writer) mini play: Act I: Ellen and Ian discuss Microsoft's Longhorn Markup Language (XAML): Ellen: look at that xaml page. it's just ridiculous Ian: you mean how much it's like XUL? Ellen: yeah except that they use C# instead of js so if you want interactivity, it has to be compiled Ian: right. jeez. wow. could that be a bigger rip-off? Ellen: it's stunning - Gerald ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: SF.net Giveback Program. Does SourceForge.net help you be more productive? Does it help you create better code? SHARE THE LOVE, and help us help YOU! Click Here: http://sourceforge.net/donate/ _______________________________________________ xul-announce mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xul-announce
