From: parrt@...
Date: 2008-09-28T02:49:33+09:00
Subject: Re: my ears are burning... ;)

> Actually, yes it is cool that it works, but most of us here have
> an expectation that a templating system will be much nicer and easier
> to use than yours. Not that there's anything really wrong with yours,
> but Ruby does excel at templating.

Templating is nice in Ruby. The problem is it's too powerful in the
sense that it doesn't prevent model view entanglement. The same
argument goes for any template system that allows full language
expressions. This is the old JSP is bad argument.

The key to retargetable code generation is not that you can do it.
It's that you can do it without duplicating logic from your code
generation. The real test will come when you can change the logic in a
single place and all targets change. ANTLR has not a single character
of output in its code generationAnd no code generation logic in the
templates; well, that isn't quite true. sometimes, you have to test
the results of computations made in the model so you will see IF
conditionals in the templates. You will note, however, that they are
testing results and not doing expression evaluation.

The output templates in ANTLR are definitely not for the faint of
heart, but that is the nature of the problem and not something
inherent in ST.

:)

Terence