xpath2 functions returning ()

>To: xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Reply-To: burisch@xxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject:  xpath2 functions returning ()
>From: Curtis Burisch <burisch@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Date: Fri, 04 Jan 2002 15:49:21 +0000
>
>All,
>
>>Xpath 2 seems to want to treat () special in many contexts. Most of
>which
>>seem unfortunate:-) The example above is one, sum() returning the
>empty
>>sequence instead of 0 is another (that seems to be much worse, and
>will
>>mean that you will almost always have to special case any value
>returned
>>from sum() to check if it is empty and if so replace it with 0)
>
>Isn't this just asking for trouble? Any programmer knows instinctively
>that a function is declared to have a particular result-type. Having
>sum(something) return a number *or* an empty sequence depending on what
>is passed in is ludicrous. I can't think of a single valid reason for
>this behaviour. In a generic pseudo-language, I'd expect sum('Fred', '
>Marmalade', 23) to be 23; and sum() to be 0. Are we prepared to teach
>an endless string of newbies how to use sum() ??
>
>Sorry for the 'me too' rant but it had to be said ...
>
>Best regards,
>Curtis
>
>--



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