Re: [xsl] XSLT 4 xsl:with

Subject: Re: [xsl] XSLT 4 xsl:with
From: "Michael Kay mike@xxxxxxxxxxxx" <xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 21 May 2020 05:58:09 -0000
>> <xsl:for-each-group select="some-node" group-by="true()">
>>   .... inside I have current-group() ...
>> </xsl:for-each-group>
>>
>> -- which has sometimes made me wonder if group-by="true()" might be a
>> default on for-each-group?
>>

This reminds me that I've been trying to find a good syntax for doing

<xsl:for-each-member-in-array select="[(1 to 3), (5 to 9), (10 to 20)]">
   <x>{count(current-member())}</x>
</xsl:for-each-member-in-array>

where the result is
<x>3<x><x>5</x><x>11</x>

I have a general distaste for adding more bits and pieces to the dynamic
context (current-this() and current-that()). They all clutter the space, they
have messy static and dynamic scoping rules, and you often end up binding them
to variables anyway. I would prefer to bind explicit variables: in some drafts
of XSLT 3.0 we used binding variables on xsl:for-each-group, and that's what
saxon:for-each-member currently does:

https://saxonica.com/documentation/index.html#!extensions/instructions/for-ea
ch-member

<saxon:for-each-member select="[(1 to 3), (5 to 9), (10 to 20)]" bind-to="m">
   <x>{count($m)}</x>
</saxon:for-each-member>

What do other people feel? Should we have @bind-to on other things like
xsl:for-each and xsl:for-each-group?

The other approach to the above construct is to do it all in XPath. You can
also do this in Saxon 10:

<xsl:sequence select="[(1 to 3), (5 to 9), (10 to 20)] =>
array:for-each(_{saxon:new-element("x", string(count($1))})"/>


Michael Kay
Saxonica

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