RE: Reference to variable cannot be resolved.

> From: Dimitre Novatchev [mailto:dnovatchev@xxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 8:13 AM
> Subject: Re:  Reference to variable cannot be resolved.
> 
> > Note that XSLT 2.0 (per the November 15 WD) changes this so that
> > shadowing a local variable is not an error, though it is 
> discouraged:
> > 
> >   http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt20/#dt-shadows
> 
> 
> This is really horrible.
> 
> Why should a language support a practice that must be discouraged?

The example given in the spec seems a bit misleading, because it really
illustrates the restrictions of scope and not the practice of shadowing.
The following is illegal in either spec:

<xsl:template match="/">
  <xsl:variable name="x" select="1"/>
  <xsl:variable name="x" select="$x+1"/>
  <xsl:value-of select="$x"/>
</xsl:template>

But in XSLT 1.0, you can do the following, which isn't much different from
what 2.0 would allow, other than the initial binding is global instead of
local:

<xsl:variable name="x" select="1"/>
  
<xsl:template match="/">
  <xsl:if test="$x = 1">
    <xsl:variable name="x" select="$x + 1"/>
  </xsl:if>
  <result><xsl:value-of select="$x"/></result>
</xsl:template>

Obviously it's complete nonsense.  Perhaps the prevailing attitude is that
implementations shouldn't have to prevent people from becoming victims of
their own bad code.  ;-)

b.

| brian martinez                              brian.martinez@xxxxxxxx |
| senior gui programmer                                  303.708.7248 |
| trip network, inc.                                 fax 303.790.9350 |
| 6436 s. racine cir.                             englewood, co 80111 |
| http://www.cheaptickets.com/                   http://www.trip.com/ |

 XSL-List info and archive:  http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list