Re: [xml-dev] Data-driven application --> the data is essentially"machin

[Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com>]

>> 
>> That is how a CPU behaves, right? So the data is essentially "machine code"
>> to the application, right?
>> 
> 

I think what you're doing here is re-discovering the isomorphism between data and program structures, an idea which was elegantly explored in Jackson Structured Programming. The essence of the idea (which dates back to sequential processing of hierarchical data files on magnetic tape) is that the structure of the code should generally follow the structure of the input data, and that a schema for the data (in terms of a tree with sequence, choice, and repetition nodes) translates into a program design with instruction sequences, conditionals, and loops.

Where it gets interesting is when the hierarchic structure of the output doesn't match the hierarchic structure of the input, and Jackson goes into great detail analysing the different types of structure clash and the techniques for dealing with them.


Michael Kay
Saxonica