Article:		XSLT Reflection
Subject:		Real Reflection ?
Date:		2003-11-07 04:57:59
From:		Franck Guillaud
Response to: Real Reflection ?
University is far away from my memory now, but AFAIK reflection is the ability for a language to evaluate itself. Doesn't this imply evaluation of dynamical constructs ?

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• Real Reflection ?
  2003-11-10 12:41:12 Dimitre Novatchev [Reply]
  
  The FXSL functional programming library for XSLT makes it possible to dynamically generate new functions (and apply them). This can be done through a number of ways -- e.g. functional composition, partial application (currying) or what is equivalent to creation of new functions using lambda expressions.

  
  Read for example:

  
  http://www.idealliance.org/papers/extreme03/xslfo-pdf/2003/Novatchev01/EML2003Novatchev01.pdf

  
  or the PPT presentation at:

  
  http://www.idealliance.org/papers/extreme03/author-pkg/2003/Novatchev01/EML2003Novatchev01.zip

  
  

  
  Dimitre Novatchev.
  http://fxsl.sourceforge.net/ -- the home of FXSL
  
  
  

• Real Reflection ?
  2003-11-07 06:41:46 Jirka Kosek [Reply]
  
  It is a matter of definition, which can vary from person to person. But as Oleg said the reflection is only reflection -- it allows you to access code writen in some language within this language. This way works reflection in many other languages, e.g. Java.

  
  Dynamic evaluation of the code during the runtime means that you have programmatic access to compiler/interpreter at runtime. This is a built-in feature of some langauges. XSLT doesn't offer this, but it should be possible (at least in theory) to implement XSLT processor in XSLT and then you will be able to do dynamic evaluation at the runtime.