[xsl] Question about variable definition and types

["Jim Garrison" <Jim.Garrison@xxxxxxxxx>]

Given

    <xsl:variable name="itSystems" as="element()*">
        <xsl:for-each select="//system">
            <itSystem name="{nameOfSystem}"/>
        </xsl:for-each>
        <xsl:for-each select="//replacedLegacySystem">
            <itSystem name="{nameOfLegacySystem}"/>
        </xsl:for-each>
    </xsl:variable>

The type of $itSystems is such that the following Xpath expression
works:

	$itSystems[@name='whatever...']

However if I remove the as="element()*" attribute then the expression
has to be written as:

	$itSystems/itSystem[@name='whatever...']

What is the formal type of object returned in each case?  In the first I
believe it is a sequence of element nodes, but in the second there seems
to be an additional level of hierarchy.



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