That's not completely wrong, but also misses some nuance. E.g. the thread mentions the fact that web support is still stuck at XSLT 1.0 as a reason for removal.
But as far as I know, there were absolutely zero efforts by browser vendors before to support newer versions of the language, while there was enormous energy to improve JavaScript.
I don't want to imply that if they had just added support for XSLT 3.0 then everyone would be using XSLT instead of JavaScript today and the latest SIMD optimizations of Chrome's XPath pipeline would make the HN front-page. The language is just too bad for that.
But I think it's true that there exists a feedback loop: Browsers can and do influence how much a technology is adopted, by making the tech less or more painful to use. Then turning around and saying no one is using the tech, so we'll remove it, is a bit dishonest.
But as far as I know, there were absolutely zero efforts by browser vendors before to support newer versions of the language, while there was enormous energy to improve JavaScript.
I don't want to imply that if they had just added support for XSLT 3.0 then everyone would be using XSLT instead of JavaScript today and the latest SIMD optimizations of Chrome's XPath pipeline would make the HN front-page. The language is just too bad for that.
But I think it's true that there exists a feedback loop: Browsers can and do influence how much a technology is adopted, by making the tech less or more painful to use. Then turning around and saying no one is using the tech, so we'll remove it, is a bit dishonest.