[xep-support] Inside/Outside Floats

Eliot Kimber ekimber at innodata-isogen.com
Sun Jan 30 07:28:02 PST 2005


Bob Stayton wrote:

> Both examples of inside/outside floats provided by the processor
> documentation sets used what seemed to me to be tricks.  XEP's example used
> negative body-region margins with compensating start and end indents.  XSL
> Formatter's example used a zero-width block-container element.  

It's not really appropriate to discuss XSL Formatter's implementation 
choices here but comparing the two approaches, using a zero-width block 
seems like more of a trick then XEP's approach.

The XEP approach is just simple geometry and there are a number of 
effects that require the use of negative margins and indents in order to 
achieve. It's certainly clever, but it doesn't seem to be a misuse. XSL 
Formatter's may just be clever use as well. But the fact that neither 
approach works with the other's implementation (given that both 
implement the same inside/outside float extension) means that only one 
can be correct [cue _Highlander_ theme song. Deep narrator's voice over 
montage of burly formatting objects battling each other with wicked-long 
swords: "There can be only one...."]

The crux of this issue is, I think, whether RenderX's or Antenna House's 
reading of the FO spec is correct. Like I said, I don't yet see how the 
spec as written supports Antenna House's interpretation, but they've 
also demonstrated that their understanding of the subtleties of the spec 
is deeper than mine.

So we'll see. It may be that we've stumbled on an ambiguous part of the 
spec that will require appeal to the FO Subgroup for clarification. I 
want to avoid taking that step until we're satisfied as a community of 
users and implementors that reasonable people can disagree on what the 
spec says.


Cheers,

Eliot
-- 
W. Eliot Kimber
Professional Services
Innodata Isogen
9390 Research Blvd, #410
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 372-8122

ekimber at innodata-isogen.com
www.innodata-isogen.com

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