Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex: XSLT Apocalypse arrives soon.

[cvkimball]

Major browser manufacturers will remove client-side XSLT transformation from their browsers sometime in the coming year. The Google Chrome browser is slated to remove XSLT from versions after 17 November 2026. Microsoft Edge and Firefox browsers will follow. XSLT transformations are an essential component of the previous tanach.us site; when XSL transformations are removed the existing site will be clearly "broken"; the table of biblical books will not be visible on entry to the site.

When this occurs, please change your tanach.us site URL to

<https://tanach.us/Tanach.html>

that is, change the .xml extension to an .html extension. The site will operate normally at this URL with the exception of items in the Supplements directory.

Items in the Supplements directory will become available if you install a free "XSLT Polyfill" extension. Usually this extension is offered by the browser vendor as part of a warning notice when an XSLT-based page is referenced. The Supplements "Search" feature will NOT operate even with the "XSLT Polyfill" extension; it's a casualty of the XSLT apocalypse.

You can switch to the new URL at any time; please help clear up the consequential software problems by contacting me at the e-mail address given on the Publisher page, <https://tanach.us/Pages/Publisher.html>, not through this forum.

Chris Kimball
West Redding, CT
USA

----

Google Chrome (for MacOS) 149.0.7827.156 (Official build)(arm64) provides tools to explore the future. Type chrome://flags/#xslt to view a page to enable/disable XSLT transformations. Accept its XSL Polyfill when offered.

Mozilla Firefox (for MacOS) 152.0.1 (arm64) provides control of XSLT transformations, but no polyfill. Type about:config, then set dom.xslt.enabled as desired.

Microsoft Edge (for MacOS) now obscures user XSLT transformation control.

[cvkimball]

The Supplements Search function, Search.xml, has been converted to be XSLT-free by Claude AI. The new version, Search.html, is obtained by going to the usual Search entry on the Supplements page and replacing the .xml extension with .html.

Amazing.

Chris Kimball
Redding, CT
USA

[Kirk Lowery]

This year I, too, have been exploring AI. I use it often as a tutor for new software, or collecting sources on a debatable question. The only real coding I'm doing right now is with markup language and since a couple of these are brand new to me, AI is very helpful. I know there are many concerns about AI and it's physical, economic, and social impact; but I've found some pretty innocuous uses that really speed up effort.

If you don't mind my asking, do you --- like me --- use the free tier or one of the paid tiers for Claude?

[cvkimball]

I'm using the paid tier, "Pro", for individuals. 20/month, or 200/year. I had no idea it was this competent. Maybe I'll have it transcribe the Sefaria color Leningrad Codex photos into Unicode/XML.(hi!)

Best wishes,

Chris Kimball
West Redding, CT
USA

[Kirk Lowery]

Transcribing photos of L would be ... interesting. In doing the original transcriptions years ago, we had to do a lot of interpreting. Things like "is that a dagesh or splatter from the scribe's quill?" Lots of room for AI hallucinating!

If you do make the attempt, keep us up to date here on the forum. Your experiences will be very interesting!

Kirk

[cvkimball]

Good news! Thanks to Claude AI the documents in the Supplements directory are in HTML. There will be no need for an XSLT polyfill when the XSLT lights go out.

Remember to use https://tanach.us/Tanach.html when your browser drops XSLT!

Chris Kimball
West Redding, CT
USA