There seems to be a variety of usage in the term "root" in the context of XML documents. While it is true that "/" represents the document's "root node", the child of "/" is commonly referred to as the "root element".

Since the person who asked the question clearly wanted to know if "system" was the top-level element in my document (and therefore the child of "/"), I answered "yes", although, as you point out, the "root node" is always "/", and the "root element" is always the only child of "/".
-- 
Charles Knell
cknell@xxxxxxxxxx - email



-----Original Message-----
From:     David Carlisle <davidc@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent:     Fri, 13 Jan 2006 09:47:02 GMT
To:       xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject:  Re:  XPath expression confusion


> Yes, "system" is the root node.

No, it's the child of the root node. The root node is selected by / and
is never an element it represents the logical root of the document.

David

________________________________________________________________________
This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star. The
service is powered by MessageLabs. For more information on a proactive
anti-virus service working around the clock, around the globe, visit:
http://www.star.net.uk
________________________________________________________________________