Matevž Gačnik's Weblog

I just received an email from Stylus Studio creators asking me to sign a petition on the lack of XQuery support in .NET Framework 2.0.

I'm sorry. I cannot do that. It's just the rule I have.

Implementing a working draft version of an XML-based technology in a wide-spread product, like .NET Framework 2.0 is just out of the question. It has been done before with the XSL implementation in IE5, which then split to XSLT and XSL-FO, causing havoc for Microsoft.

On the other hand, implementing a stable subset of XQuery in SQL Server 2005 is another thing. While I don't necessarily agree with the necessity, I do agree that SQL 2005 and .NET Framework are two completely different beasts having different life cycle characteristics and flop-survival methods.

I'm wondering why the XQuery spec isn't moving anywhere. Maybe the lack of Microsoft editor in the editor list, helps ignoring the importance of this technology in the soon-to-be-released products. Current editors don't seem to be bothered with the decisions Microsoft has to take. I'm sure though, that Jonathan Robie (DataDirect Technologies) is pushing hard on Microsoft's behalf.

In any case, it's too late anyway.