Re: [xsl] XSLT 4 xsl:with

Subject: Re: [xsl] XSLT 4 xsl:with
From: "Imsieke, Gerrit, le-tex gerrit.imsieke@xxxxxxxxx" <xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 19 May 2020 17:55:19 -0000
Of course such an xsl:with instruction won't be penalized by HOAXCoQS [1], unlike xsl:for-each, which reeks of XSLT 1 habits most of the time.
xsl:with won't get brownie points though; I'd consider it "neutral".


But read my previous messages in this thread. Instead of xsl:with I propose to use a @context-item attribute (an @xsl:context-item attribute on non-xsl elements). If you really need the kind of wrapper that xsl:with provides, you can still write

<xsl:sequence context-item="$context">
<xsl:variable .../><!-- @select evaluated in the context of $context -->
<foo>...</foo><!-- any expression within is also evaluated in the context of $context -->
<bar>...</bar>
</xsl:sequence>


but most of the time the XSLT code will become more compact because the context can be set by an attribute on almost any element, not with an instruction.

-- Gerrit

[1] https://github.com/sydb/HOAXCoQS

On 19.05.2020 19:14, Pieter Lamers pieter.lamers@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
I think <xsl:with select="..."> is an elegant rewrite of for-each. It does make me wonder whether it would earn brownie points or penalties in Gerrit's highly opiniated book.


On 19/05/2020 18:52, Liam R. E. Quin liam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Tue, 2020-05-19 at 08:54 +0000, Pieter Masereeuw pieter@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Because such a for-each does not repeat, I always add a comment like
<!-- Merely sets the context, does not repeat -->.
I tend to comment these too, although not with the repeat part - be
careful, too, as in English a less-informed reader might get an
incorrect impression reinforced that for-each is a loop, rather than a
mapping operator.

Yes, an xsl:with-context-item select=.... would be clearer. Wkether
it's worth increasing the size of the language for it is a judgment
call that's a little harder, i think.

Best,

Liam

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