Retiring J1 helps rationalize FAQs (was: xalan J 1.2 v.s xalan 1.1 J)

[Da...@lotus.com]

I would like to see access to the first-generation Xalan-Java code ("J1"
in this message) and Web pages placed at a greater distance, if not made
inaccessible. Like others have said, I am in a state-of mind the relegates
that code to "ancient history" status. My main reason, however, is a
little different from others stated so far.

I think we need to move to a higher state of utility for our FAQ items.
I propose a modular structure for the actual Question-Answer pairs and
delivered documents built from source for each medium. Briefly, this
means that one or more periodic FAQ mailings to this list will be built
from source by including items that pertain to the mailing list, while
Web pages would be built from source by including items that pertain to
Web-based reading. (Example: Web page tells reader how to subscribe to
this list in some detail, while FAQ sent to this list only reaches those
who figured out how to subscribe.)

In order to rationalize the Web pages, we need to have at least one URL
that will *never* change, where "never" is defined as "for at least 20
'Internet years' or until Apache reaches an 'epochal event'". (One
epochal event of note is the dropping of the Xalan name.) The obvious
URL is (drum roll, please):
http://xml.apache.org/xalan/faq.html
which is currently tied up as the J1 FAQ page! Likewise, the simple URL
http://xml.apache.org/xalan/
(i.e., the index.html document) should be a permanent URL for the whole
Xalan project, and that's currently specific to J1.

You don't have to look too far away to see the value of a permanent
URL - just look at all the confusion with pointers to Dave Pawson's very
valuable XSLT FAQ. If that FAQ is to point to Xalan material, it should
be using one of the URLs above. Once we resolve that those URLs have
their respective generic roles, then we can give them out widely and
retain flexibility of our Web page structure for all other pages. For
FAQ pages, the one page at the simple URL evolves into a "funnel" page
that can direct inquiries to FAQ modules for various concerns, such as
special FAQ pages related to downloading.

I should say more about the overall modularity idea in a separate
message. Right now, I just want to stress the benefits of getting the
"good URLs" back in circulation.
.................David Marston