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# Is `sgmlspl` the best way to convert SGML documents?

Not necessarily. While `sgmlspl` is fully functional, it is not always particularly intuitive or pleasant to use. There is a new proposed standard, Document Style Semantics and Specification Language (DSSSL), based on the `Scheme` programming language, and implementations should soon be available. To read more about the `DSSSL` standard, see `http://www.jclark.com/dsssl/` on the Internet.

That said, DSSSL is a declarative, side-effect-free programming language, while `sgmlspl` allows you to use any programming constructions available in `perl5`, including those with side-effects. This means that if you want to do more than simply format the document or convert it from one Document Type Definition (DTD) to another, `sgmlspl` might be a good choice.

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