🚀 go-pugleaf

Carsten Bormann relates that LINK was used for DSSSL in the beginning,
but that the idea was rescinded after considerations such as:

	1) it isn't much in use,
	2) it isn't powerful enough, anyhow.

The first is not argument.  It's a simple fact (tragedy) of life that
people don't do more than they need to, and since the objectives of
LINK can be achieved partly with simpler means and less brain power
spent, people go for the less demanding option unless they are forced
to support something better.  Therefore, we have such brilliant things
like MS-DOS still among us.  Had it been up to me, such staggeringly
bad design should be outlawed, but we don't have enough courts to
handle the load, even if they didn't have to mess with the sue-happy
people, so it's probably best not to for purely practical reasons.

If DSSSL had mandated LINK, LINK would have been implemented, and it
would benefit us all.  I use simple links a lot for various general
output attributes, such as whether letters should be aimed for full-
size envelopes, half-size or folded in three, which affects the
placement and size of the address window.

That said, I will respect the real argument in item 2, but I'd like to
hear more about it.


And what's FOSI?

</Erik>
--
Erik Naggum             Professional Programmer            +47-2-836-863
Naggum Software             Electronic Text             <erik@naggum.no>
0118 OSLO, NORWAY       Computer Communications        <enag@ifi.uio.no>