Re: [xsl] how to avoid losing data when the transformation fails

["Martin Honnen martin.honnen@xxxxxx" <xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 15/05/2025 19:50, Wolfhart Totschnig wolfhart.totschnig@xxxxxxxxxxx
wrote:
> Dear list,
>
> I would like to ask for your advice on the following problem: I have a
> script that modifies an existing XML file, drawing on external data,
> changing or complementing the existing data in the file. This means
> that the source and the output of the transformation are the same
> file. Now, it has happened that the transformation fails because the
> external data does not have the form that the script expects it to
> have. In these cases, the transformation is terminated with an error
> message and the source file is overwritten with a truncated or even
> completely empty file. This is a problem because I might lose (and
> have lost) data in this way, namely when the back-up copy of the
> source file that I have is not the latest version.
>
> What is the proper way to deal with this problem? Is there a way to
> instruct Saxon (I am using Saxon 9 HE) not to write an output when the
> transformation fails? Or should the transformation be organized
> differently?

Is that an XSLT problem in that the XSLT processor really reads and
writes the same file in a single transformation?

Or should your "script" somehow note that the XSLT failed to produce a
normal result and in that case not overwrite the input?