RE: [DM] IBM-DM-031: No need for namespace nodes

> Then perhaps the XSLT spec can describe things in terms of namespace 
> nodes - these are equivalent descriptions, and the XSLT spec could 
> describe how to map between them.

It's very easy to have a language that doesn't make use of some of the
information content in the data model, such as the identity and
parentage of namespace nodes. It's much harder, and less desirable, for
a language to supplement the data model with additional information.

And don't forget that XPath supports the namespace axis too.

And I strongly suspect that when XQuery users discover the need to
create namespaces that aren't known statically (as they will), then
XQuery will want this capability too.

Michael Kay