Conformance question: May variable names start with "x

>From XSLT spec:
"The name of an internal XSLT object...is specified as a QName"[1]

>From XML Namespaces spec:

QName ::=  (Prefix ':')? LocalPart
Prefix ::=  NCName
LocalPart ::=  NCName
[2]

and

NCName ::=  (Letter | '_') (NCNameChar)*    /* An XML Name, minus the ":" */
[3]

and

"Prefixes beginning with the three-letter sequence x, m, l, in any case
combination, are reserved for use by XML and XML-related specifications."[4]

>From XML spec:

"Names beginning with the string "xml", or any string which would match
(('X'|'x') ('M'|'m') ('L'|'l')), are reserved for standardization in this or
future versions of this specification."[5]

The question is: Is leading "xml" allowed in the local part of QNames used
for "internal XSLT objects"? Or can the last quote above be interpreted as
applying to element and attribute names only, but not the Name production
itself? I assume this is how current XSLT implementors are interpreting it.

On a related note, MSXML3 chokes on variables that are named "xmlns", though
it doesn't seem to have a problem with other leading-"xml" names.

Evan Lenz
XYZFind Corp.

[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt#qname
[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names#NT-QName
[3] http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/#NT-NCName
[4] http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/#xmlReserved
[5] http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml#NT-Name


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