| Cascading Style Sheets or CSS has always been one | | | | Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) |
| of the most popular style sheet language used by | | | | Considered as the second most popularly used style |
| many web developers and designers in today's | | | | sheet language used in the industry aside from CSS |
| industry. It proved its use by enabling the separation | | | | (although for some, this is considered as the best |
| of document content (those that are written in | | | | compared to CSS), XSL has evolved drastically from |
| HTML or a similar markup language) from document | | | | its initial design into something very different from its |
| presentation, including elements such as the layout, | | | | original purpose. According to Web design Philippines |
| colors, and fonts. | | | | specialists, XSL began as an attempt to bring the |
| This separation can improve content accessibility, | | | | functionality of DSSSL, particularly in the area of print |
| provide more flexibility and control in the specification | | | | and high-end typesetting, to XML. |
| of presentation characteristics, enable multiple pages | | | | According to many Web design Philippines |
| to share formatting, and reduce complexity and | | | | professionals, the combination of XSLT and XSL-FO |
| repetition in the structural content (such as by | | | | creates a powerful styling language, though much |
| allowing for tableless web design). However, other | | | | more complex than CSS. |
| than CSS, there have also been other style sheet | | | | JavaScript Style Sheets (JSSS) |
| languages used in the past and up to this day. | | | | A style sheet language proposed by Netscape |
| Although not as popularly used compared to CSS, | | | | Communications Corporation in 1996 to provide |
| some of which have been discontinued, these style | | | | facilities for defining the presentation of webpages. It |
| sheet languages were known for its use and its | | | | was an alternative to the Cascading Style Sheets |
| convenience compared to the use of tables. So what | | | | (CSS) technology. Only Netscape Communicator 4 |
| are these other style sheet languages aside from | | | | supported JSSS, with the rival Internet Explorer web |
| CSS? | | | | browser choosing not to implement the technology. |
| Document Style Semantics and Specification | | | | Soon after Netscape Communicator's release in 1997, |
| Language (DSSSL) | | | | Netscape stopped promoting JSSS, instead focusing |
| The DSSSL is a computer language for specifying | | | | on the rival CSS standard. It now remains little more |
| stylesheets for Standard Generalized Markup | | | | than a historical footnote, with many Web |
| Language (SGML) documents, based on a subset of | | | | developers not even being aware of its existence. |
| the Scheme programming language. It is specified by | | | | FOSI (Formatting Output Specification Instance) |
| the standard ISO/IEC 10179:1996. It was developed | | | | FOSI was developed by the US Department of |
| by ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34. In parallel with the move | | | | Defense to control the pagination and layout of |
| from SGML to XML, the Extensible Stylesheet | | | | SGML and XML technical data. FOSI stylesheets are |
| Language (XSL) is gradually replacing DSSSL. | | | | themselves written in SGML, an approach that would |
| However, many of the concepts used in XSL | | | | later be adopted by XSL. FOSI was implemented by, |
| originated with DSSSL. | | | | among others, Arbortext and X.Systems. |