Hello Harry,

----- Original Message -----
From: "Harry J. Foxwell" <hfoxwell@xxxxxxxxxx>
> I'm not quite convinced of 'Assignment Considered
> Harmful' (Kay, Chap 9) since I can't figure out how to solve my
> XSLT/SVG problem without good ol' x=x+y constructs.

well, this is a major tenet of FP, not an arguement but part of a very well
developed approach to computer languages, in heavy use ( in some circles, u
know who you are ! ) since the early 1970's.


> As the block chart is built, I need to account for arbitrary
> number of strings per block and number of blocks.  "Normal"
> variables would let me compute and increment SVG coordinates
> for the rectangles and text.  But XSLT variables aren't normal!

u can always use a recursive named template, here is an example of an
incrementing variable


<xsl:call-template name="for.loop">
 <xsl:with-param name="i">1</xsl:with-param>
 <xsl:with-param name="count">10</xsl:with-param>
</xsl:call-template>

<!-- Rename "old name" elements to "new name" -->

<xsl:template name="for.loop">
 <xsl:param name="i"/>
 <xsl:param name="count"/>
 <xsl:if test="$i &lt;= $count">
<!--    body of the loop goes here    -->
 </xsl:if>
 <xsl:if test="$i &lt;= $count">
  <xsl:call-template name="for.loop">

   <xsl:with-param name="i">
    <!-- Increment index-->
    <xsl:value-of select="$i + 1"/>
   </xsl:with-param>
   <xsl:with-param name="count">
    <xsl:value-of select="$count"/>
   </xsl:with-param>
  </xsl:call-template>
 </xsl:if>
</xsl:template>

you will most likely have to apply something like this

cheers, jim fuller


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