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you've hit on why html (or css or javascript) generators will never catch on. they do not fit within the traditional workflow. you cannot take a delivered htm

by jcoby 17y ago

you've hit on why html (or css or javascript) generators will never catch on. they do not fit within the traditional workflow. you cannot take a delivered html document and convert it into whatever html-generator you use. the designer will have no clue how to use your (hand) converted file in dreamweaver to make small changes. in the end, it just makes life harder for everyone and costs more money.

sdp 17y ago
Your argument assumes workflows never change. If that were true, we would still be using whatever workflows our forebears used for every task. Since that is clearly untrue, workflows must be able to change. However, given that business are formed to turn a profit, the standard workflow will remain unchanged until it is profitable to do otherwise. If a markup-generating DSL was simple enough for designers to pick up quickly, it would make good business sense to push them through the transition.
- chiffonade 17y ago
  The workflow between you and your accountant hasn't changed for quite a while. You still share information and work through a medium you can both understand - receipts and expense logs and invoices - that's what an HTML template is.
- tvon 17y ago
  > If a markup-generating DSL was simple enough for designers to pick up quickly, it would make good business sense to push them through the transition. Designers being able to do it isn't the problem, justifying why designers should need to is the problem.
  - sdp 17y ago
    Ah, I was making a couple of assumptions: any DSL which generates markup must be more concise than the markup itself Otherwise, there will have been no point in creating the DSL. This assumption is probably fair. An example of this would be Seaside's HTML generation DSL. a more concise language will be better in the long run This assumption is flawed and doesn't take the designers' tools into account. A DSL would need its own tools before it became a valuable long-term investment.

by jcoby 17y ago

sdp 17y ago

Your argument assumes workflows never change. If that were true, we would still be using whatever workflows our forebears used for every task. Since that is clearly untrue, workflows must be able to change. However, given that business are formed to turn a profit, the standard workflow will remain unchanged until it is profitable to do otherwise. If a markup-generating DSL was simple enough for designers to pick up quickly, it would make good business sense to push them through the transition.

chiffonade 17y ago
The workflow between you and your accountant hasn't changed for quite a while. You still share information and work through a medium you can both understand - receipts and expense logs and invoices - that's what an HTML template is.
tvon 17y ago
> If a markup-generating DSL was simple enough for designers to pick up quickly, it would make good business sense to push them through the transition. Designers being able to do it isn't the problem, justifying why designers should need to is the problem.
- sdp 17y ago
  Ah, I was making a couple of assumptions: any DSL which generates markup must be more concise than the markup itself Otherwise, there will have been no point in creating the DSL. This assumption is probably fair. An example of this would be Seaside's HTML generation DSL. a more concise language will be better in the long run This assumption is flawed and doesn't take the designers' tools into account. A DSL would need its own tools before it became a valuable long-term investment.