Re: the nearest ancestor with the attribute

> Is that the generality then Mike, given a 'confusing' mix
> of axis, it comes back unordered,

No it's simpler than that. it _always_ comes back as a set.
(and sets are by definition unordered).
select="ancestor::*"
produces the _set_ of ancestors, it isn't ordered at all.
<xsl:variable name="x" select="ancestor::*"/>
puts that variable in a set.
<xsl:variable name="x" select="$x[1]"/>
the operation of applying the predicate [1] (ie [position()=1]takes the
first node in document order. But that is a feature of the operation not
of the node set $x.

Note this is not the same as applying a predicate within a step, which
is the only place the axis order has any effect

<xsl:variable name="y" select="ancestor::*[1]"/>

selects the parent, unlike the $x[1] which selects the document element
(ie the outer most ancestor)


> operations on an unordered set

"unordered set" is a tautology. "set" _means_ unordered collection.

David

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