Scrap your boilerplate with XPath-like combinators

XML programming involves idioms for expressing `structure shyness' such as the descendant axis of XPath or the default templates of XSLT. We initiate a discussion of the relationships between such XML idioms and generic functional programming, while focusing on the (Haskell-based) `Scrap your boilerplate' style of generic programming (SYB). This work gives insight into mechanisms for traversal and selection. We compare SYB and XSLT. We approximate XPath in SYB. We make a case for SYB's programmability, when compared to XPath's fixed combinators. We allude to strengthened type checking for SYB traversals so as to reject certain, trivial behaviors. Categories and Subject Descriptors D.3.3 [Programming Languages]: Language Constructs and Features; D.2.13 [Software Engineering]: Reusable Software General Terms Design, Languages Keywords XML programming, Generic functional programming

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: POPL
• Authors: Ralf Lämmel
• Keywords: General Terms Design, Generic Functional Programming, POPL 2007, Programming Languages, Work Gives Insight