From 7c0438c47b434ff165581288473ce9409928e244 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Norman Walsh Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2024 17:02:47 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] SaxonJS 3.0.0-beta1 announced --- .../2024/12/saxonjs-he-3.0.0-beta1.html | 160 ++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 160 insertions(+) create mode 100644 src/announcements/2024/12/saxonjs-he-3.0.0-beta1.html diff --git a/src/announcements/2024/12/saxonjs-he-3.0.0-beta1.html b/src/announcements/2024/12/saxonjs-he-3.0.0-beta1.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..90f4826 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/announcements/2024/12/saxonjs-he-3.0.0-beta1.html @@ -0,0 +1,160 @@ + + + + + Announcing SaxonJS-HE 3.0.0-beta1 + + + + +

Announcing SaxonJS-HE 3.0.0-beta1!

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SaxonJS 3.0 is a major update to the SaxonJS product. In December 2024, it is +being published as a preview release, version 3.0.0-beta1. This is a preview +release of the SaxonJS 3.0 HE (Home Edition) product. An EE (Enterprise Edition) +product is in the works. +

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New features in the beta1 release

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This release includes a number of new features, with several more planned +before the final 3.0 release. +

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Promises

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SaxonJS 3 introduces new mechanisms for enabling asynchronous processing +using promises. A new instruction ixsl:promise is introduced which +can be used as a replacement for the existing ixsl:schedule-action +instruction. +

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  • The new instruction can now call any asychronous function to fetch any kind of +resource. Adding new kinds of resource is just a question of implementing new +functions (which can be user-written functions as well as system-supplied +functions). So if you want to fetch data from a SQL database, for example, you +can easily write a function to do that.
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  • The machinery for handling asynchronous requests is now closely aligned with +JavaScript promises, both in terms of the conceptual design, and the +implementation. This makes it much easier to understand for users familiar +with the JavaScript processing model.
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  • The mechanism takes advantage of XDM higher-order functions. (Note, however, +that it still “bends” the pure declarative approach of XPath by introducing +mutability. A promise, for example, is a mutable object, so you need to +exercise care for example if you bind it to a variable.)
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Note that for Node.js, run time use of ixsl:promise is an EE feature. So XSLT +stylesheets using ixsl:promise can be compiled to SEF with the XX +compiler in SaxonJS without a JS-EE license, and then run in the browser; but to +run such a stylesheet on Node.js requires SaxonJS-EE and a valid JS-EE license. +

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JavaScript extension functions

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JavaScript developers have easy access to a huge variety of tools and +libraries distributed as JavaScript packages through npm and other +mechanisms. We want to make those libraries easily accessible for SaxonJS +developers too. +

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In SaxonJS 3, you can define extension functions in JavaScript and call them +directly from XPath, both from SaxonJS.XPath.evaluate and from +within XSLT stylesheets running on SaxonJS in the browser or on Node.js. +

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This opens up whole new horizons for SaxonJS developers. +

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Smaller changes and improvements

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While a lot of our focus has been on larger improvements, a few less dramatic +features are also debuting in beta1. +

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  • Support XPath expressions (other than “.”) after ? in xsl:result-document
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  • New methods on xsl:result-document: ixsl:replace-element, ixsl:insert-before, and +ixsl:insert-after
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  • Improved support for following HTTP redirects
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  • Improved support for accessing JavaScript objects with ixsl:set-property, ixsl:json-parse, +ixsl:new, ixsl:apply, ixsl:call, ixsl:eval, and ixsl:get
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  • Support the escape-solidus option when generating JSON.
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New features coming soon

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Eager to publish a release, at this stage, we’ve opted only to publish the HE +version of SaxonJS 3.0 as beta1. More work is planned before the general +release, including SaxonJS 3.0 EE. +

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SaxonJS-EE

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SaxonJS-HE will remain a free product, but in 2025 we will also be introducing a +licensed version of SaxonJS, SaxonJS-EE. The licensed version will provide additional +features on Node.js (such as built-in EXPath and Saxon extension functions). +

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The promises API run time will be a licensed feature on Node.js. +

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Calling XSLT functions from JavaScript

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Many transformations, on XML and JSON, are easier to define in XSLT than in +JavaScript. XSLT has a rich vocabulary of instructions for describing, constructing, +and transforming data in a clear, descriptive, and functional way. +

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We anticipate making those features more accessible to JavaScript developers by +allowing JavaScript to call functions defined in XSLT. +

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Adding a SaxonJS.compile API

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The ability to construct an XSLT stylesheet and then compile it directly for +use in the current transformation is a powerful feature. A new API for doing this, +SaxonJS.compile, will be added in the general release. +

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Getting started

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You can try out SaxonJS-HE 3.0 today, the packages have been uploaded to +npmjs.com: +saxonjs-he +and +xslt3-he. You can also +download them our website.

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Our documentation +pages have been updated and a repository of short examples has been +published: SaxonJS3 +demo.

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We hope you’re as excited as we are and we look forward to your feedback. Please +report any issues that you encounter on +our issue tracker. +

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