Re: well-formed output XML (was: what are node set fragments

Kay Michael wrote:
> 
> > whoops - what I wrote was complete rubbish, because it would
> > require an XSLT processor to (sometimes) keep the entire result tree in
> > memory and only write it out when it's finished processing - which is
> > surely meant to be avoided in XSLT: the idea is that the whole input tree
> > is held in memory[1], but the output tree is written out as a stream as
> you go
> > along. that means that the stylesheet writer asks for a standalone
> > document declaration at their own risk: if the output turns out not to
> > be a wf document, it won't be a wf external entity either.
> 
> Yes indeed. My current thinking is that if output method="xml" and either a
> standalone declaration or a doctype declaration is requested, then I should
> report an error if subsequently an attempt is made:
> - to output a text node before the first top-level element node
> - to output a text node or element node after the first top-level element
> node
> - to finish processing before a top-level element node has been output.
> 
> I think I am justified in doing this because reading section 16.1 as a whole
> and ignoring obvious contradictions makes it fairly clear that the intention
> of the spec's authors was that the output from method="xml" should be either
> a well-formed XML document or a well-formed XML external general parsed
> entity or both.
> 
> That still leaves me with a little problem if the user asks for output to be
> directed to a DocumentHandler and it turns out not to be a well-formed
> document. Should I feed the DocumentHandler the events regardless, ignoring
> the implicit requirement of the DocumentHandler interface that the events
> arive in a well-formed order? Currently for example SAXON is calling FOP's
> DocumentHandler, which quite understandably keels over when the first thing
> it's given is a text node.
> 
> Mike Kay
> 
>  XSL-List info and archive:  http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list

-- 

cheers

phil

"that monotonous state of the soul halfway between fulfillment
and futility which comes with life in the country" --- Musil


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