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Re: What is the equivalent functional programming function(s)f

• From: Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com>
• To: xml-dev@lists.xml.org
• Date: Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:49:04 +0100

> If I start at<BookSigning>  then I want to hop to the<Book>  that is referenced by the "idref" attribute.
>
>
> How do I cast this recurring pattern into a functional programming mindset? For example, how would it be viewed from the Haskell mindset?
>

Try getting rid of temporal language - words like "start" and "then" 
suggest you're too concerned with the "how" rather than the "what" of 
the problem. Anthropomorphic language is best avoided too.

Instead, describe the input and output of your task and their 
relationship to each other. You haven't actually said anything about 
what you want to deliver as a result of all this hopping around: it 
looks like activity without a purpose.

Michael Kay
Saxonica

• References:
  • What is the equivalent functional programming function(s) forhopping from element to element via XML "IDREF" references (or XSD "base"references)
    • From: "Costello, Roger L." <costello@mitre.org>