What XSLT engines, if any, allow the XSLT document author to call
a script parser (Perl, python, VBscript) from within the XSLT
document?

DISCUSSION: XSLT has it's strengths and weaknesses.  For certain
document processing applications, using either XSLT or, say, Perl
exclusively isn't the best course.  Some tasks are simply better
suited for different technologies... so can I create an XSLT document
that contains (in addition to XSLT markup) Perl code?


RESTATEMENT OF QUESTION: Which XSLT engines (if any) allow me to
encapsulate the power and flexbility of a procedural scripting
language (like Perl) with the functional, set-based power of XSLT?

Hi, donphiltrodt-ga:

The idea of extending the non-procedural paradigm of XSLT by embedding
scripted procedural code within has been considered by several people.

Of the major engines the biggest plunge seems to have been taken by
Microsoft, in the MSXML implementation of the DOM API.  See here for a
specific element that allows for embedded scripting:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/xmlsdk/htm/xsl_elm_qz_4s50.asp

The Microsoft approach aims to allow for any scripting language at all
to be used.

One suggested application for such a mechanism is "validation" logic. 
Here's a page that kicks around that and a few other corners of the
subject:

http://www.xmleverywhere.com/newsletters/20000329.htm

regards, mathtalk-ga