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endDocument/fatalError warning

• To: David Megginson <dmeggin@a...>
• Subject: endDocument/fatalError warning
• From: Elliotte Rusty Harold <elharo@m...>
• Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2004 17:05:22 -0500
• Cc: XML Developers List <xml-dev@l...>,SAX Developers' List <sax-devel@l...>
• In-reply-to: <40488A7C.90003@a...>
• References: <40488A7C.90003@a...>

At 9:11 AM -0500 3/5/04, David Megginson wrote:


>* 2004-0005: endDocument
>
>- note that a parser might not invoke endDocument after reporting a
>   fatal error (this produces the fewest incompatibilities)


One minor editorial suggestion here. Instead of "Until this ambiguity 
is resolved in a future major release, clients should make no 
assumptions about whether endDocument() will or will not be invoked 
*when* the parser has reported a fatalError() or thrown an 
exception." I would write "Until this ambiguity is resolved in a 
future major release, clients should make no assumptions about 
whether endDocument() will or will not be invoked *after* the parser 
has reported a fatalError() or thrown an exception." That is, change 
"when" to "after".

I also wonder if this there's another side issue here. The text is 
written under the assumption that the parser actually calls 
fatalError. However, there's a loophole I hadn't noticed before in 
the event the parser does not call fatal error because an 
ErrorHandler is not installed. I suspect the warning should apply to 
that case to. And now that I look at it, if the parser throws an 
exception, we know what happens. endDocument is not called. The 
question is whether the parser will call endDocument *before* 
throwing the exception. I suggest this revised text:

There is an apparent contradiction between the documentation for this 
method and the documentation for ContentHandler.endDocument(). Until 
this ambiguity is resolved in a future major release, clients should 
make no assumptions about whether endDocument() will or will not be 
invoked after the parser has detected a fatal error.

-- 

   Elliotte Rusty Harold
   elharo@m...
   Effective XML (Addison-Wesley, 2003)
   http://www.cafeconleche.org/books/effectivexml            
   http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0321150406/ref%3Dnosim/cafeaulaitA 

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: endDocument/fatalError warning
    • From: Dennis Sosnoski <dms@s...>

• References:
  • SAX/Java Proposed Changes
    • From: David Megginson <dmeggin@a...>

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