XMLUI

Relationship to XSLT and prior XML tech

• Many expect an explicit comparison to XSLT, since it was the classic XML → UI / transformation stack.
• Several argue XSLT is historically important but not a good “on-ramp” for the intended audience; others think omitting it makes the story incomplete.
• Disagreement over why XSLT stalled: some blame licensing and complexity, others say demand faded as JSON and LINQ-style approaches took over and browsers never advanced beyond XSLT 1.0.
• Commenters note that XMLUI’s approach echoes long‑standing XML UI systems: XUL, XAML/WPF, Flex/MXML, OpenLaszlo, QML, Android layout XML, JSF/ASP.NET, etc.; some see this as wheel‑reinvention, others as evidence the pattern is durable.

Target audience and the Visual Basic analogy

• Core claim: bring the “Visual Basic model” to the web for “citizen developers” who won’t learn React/CSS.
• Supporters recall VB/Delphi as making GUI programming accessible and think a high‑level declarative layer on top of React fits that niche, especially when paired with agents/LLMs.
• Critics counter that VB’s magic was WYSIWYG drag‑and‑drop, not hand‑edited XML; without a designer, the analogy feels misleading.

XML vs React / JSX / Web Components

• XMLUI is seen as “React + a declarative DSL”: XML → React → HTML, with data‑fetching components, IDs and bindings instead of hooks.
• Some argue it fights React’s immediate‑mode philosophy and should have been built directly on web components instead.
• Others note JSX already enables powerful DSLs inside JavaScript; XML adds verbosity and removes flexibility.

Ergonomics, tooling, and deployment

• Reactions to XML syntax are mixed: some find XML natural for UI trees; many recall XAML/XUL as verbose, hard to debug, and tough for complex layouts.
• Lack of an end‑to‑end “VB‑style” story (install, build, deploy a small local app) is seen as a gap; the docs app is slow on mobile and sometimes returns raw JSON.
• There is some tooling (VS Code extension), but skeptics doubt non‑experts will enjoy editing XML plus embedded expressions.

Security, performance, and complexity

• Questions about CSP: template “when” expressions could imply eval; maintainers reply they use a sandboxed, non‑eval interpreter, which some call over‑engineered.
• Concerns about bundle size, dependency bloat, runtime performance, and layering another abstraction over React’s complexity.
• Overall split: some welcome a higher‑level, AI‑friendly declarative layer for dashboards and CRUD UIs; others see “yet another XML UI DSL,” 20 years late, repeating XUL/XAML/Flex’s problems.