RE: [xsl] Re: XSLT 2.0: On xsl:sequence and xsl:copy-of

[David.Pawson@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi again Jeni.

> >   Its the 'as' attribute on Mikes xsl:variable that 
> determines it to be
> > an 'element' in this case?
> 
> Yes, or at least partly. If you have an 'as' attribute on
> <xsl:variable> then it indicates the static type of the variable, but
> the variable itself can be of a more specific type.
> 
Roughly (not using DC speak), the 'as' attribute is the one I want,
even if the contents (of xsl:variable in this example) might vary?



> 
> Similarly, if you have:
> 
>   <xsl:variable name="foo" as="xs:decimal" select="2" />
> 
> then the static type is a xs:decimal but the type of the variable's
> value is a xs:integer.

?? Dynamic is integer, static is decimal??

Assuming such a cast is viable/allowed, any use of $foo
will be as a decimal thereafter in the stylesheet?


> 
> As long as the dynamic type (the type of the value that the variable
> gets set to) is a subset of the static type (the type of the variable
> as declared by the 'as' attribute), you're OK.

'Can be cast to' I guess.




> The SequenceType syntax is specified in the XPath 2.0 spec at:
> 
>   http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath20/#id-sequencetype
> 
> It's impossible to give a complete list of sequence types

Is there a difference (to a user) between sequence types and data types?


> because
> user-defined data types can be imported into a stylesheet from a
> schema,

Foul. .... Or at least out of scope of my question.
I'm chasing a list of data types provided by XSLT 2, not by
external influences.

(I guess you provide below what's provided in the specs,
which is what I'm chasing)


> However, to summarize, a SequenceType can be:
> 
>   - "empty()"
>   - an item type with an occurrence indicator; item types are:
>     - "item()"
>     - a node kind test, which are:
>       - "node()"
>       - a document node test, which can be:
>         - "document()"
>         - "document(element())"
>         - "document(element(Name))"
>         - "document(element(Name, *))"
>         - "document(element(Name, Type))"
>         - "document(element(*, Type))"
>         - "document(element(SchemaPath))"

What does the 'nth level' mean please Jeni?
Its a node (most generic)
  Its a document (less generic)
     Its an element (even less generic)
        ????




> For a full list of the built-in atomic data types, look in the F&O
> spec at:
> 
>   http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath-functions/#datatypes
> 
> and:
> 
>   http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath-functions/#duration-subtypes

The less said about this bunch, the better IMO.
I'm hoping that the request to castr... reduce to a minimum will be
supported in the WG :-)


>   
> As I said, these atomic data types can be augmented with ones that you
> define yourself, within a schema, so it's not possible to generate an
> exhaustive list.

<grin/> That lot's exhausting enough!!


> 
> > Yes, you're probably right Jeni... but I'm not surprised,
> > its got to be closer to xsl-fo complexity than xslt 1?
> 
> There's certainly more to learn in XSLT 2.0 than there was in XSLT
> 1.0, which isn't surprising considering that it can do that much more.

I'd argue over how much more. I'm less convinced the baggage is a fair
weight
to carry when getting the useful subset of the 'more' that's provided.

Thanks Jeni. That goes a long way to clarifying it.

regards DaveP


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