W3C Updates XML Formatting Standard to Incorporate Popular Extensions.

XSL-FO Improvements Benefit Printing, Online Display

http://www.w3.org/ -- In response to user and vendor feedback, W3C has revised the widely deployed XML formatting standard XSL-FO 1.0 to support the creation of back-of-the-book style indexes, revision bars, PDF bookmarks, and to include other popular features. The new XSL-FO 1.1 Recommendation increases interoperability by standardizing these features and other enhancements, formerly only available as proprietary extensions.

XSL-FO 1.1 Adds New Functionality

As a result of extensive experience with XSL-FO for printing and display XML Co more than 20 commercial implementations supporting more than 50 languages Co users and vendors alike called upon the XSL Working Group to standardize a number of popular, but proprietary, extensions. These included support for back-of-the-book style indexed, revision bars, PDF bookmarks, conditional text "markers" in tables (for example to support partial sums of financial data), access to the number of the last page of a group, and multiple flows on a page.

In addition to adding these features to XSL-FO 1.1, the XSL Working Group enhanced a number of XSL-FO 1.0 features, providing for multiple color profile references, more complex page numbering schemes, and clarifications for internationalization.

These changes, and the incorporation of corrected errata, represent the incremental evolution of the XSL-FO 1.0 specification. The Working Group has made these changes with careful attention both to backwards compatibility and to interoperability between existing implementations.

New Opportunities as XSL-FO 2.0 Work Begins

At the W3C International Workshop on the future of the Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL-FO) Version 2.0 in October 2006, nearly 40 participants agreed (see the report that work should begin on XSL-FO 2.0. W3C expects this work to begin in earnest in January 2007. Non-Member organizations interested in participating are encouraged to contact W3C for information on joining the Consortium and this Working Group in particular.

Industry Leaders and Experts Contribute to Strength of XSL-FO 1.1

The XSL-FO 1.1 specification was developed by the XSL-FO Subgroup of the XSL Working Group, and approved for publication by the W3C XSL Working Group (WG). During the development of XSL 1.1 the members of the XSL-FO Subgroup included contributions from Adobe Systems Inc; HP; IBM; Inventive Designers; Isogen; Pageflex; PTC-Arbortext; RenderX; and Sun Microsystems.

About the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission through the creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to ensure long-term growth for the Web. Over 400 organizations are Members of the Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in France and Keio University in Japan, and has additional Offices worldwide. For more information see http://www.w3.org/