RE: what is the meaning of literals in step expressions?

MessageMichael,
Can you provide a simple concrete example of the sort of grammatical
preflighting you'd perform?
Thanks,
Howard
  -----Original Message-----
  From: www-ql-request@w3.org [mailto:www-ql-request@w3.org]On Behalf Of
Michael Brundage
  Sent: Friday, July 04, 2003 12:07 PM
  To: 'Howard Katz'; 'Kay, Michael'; www-ql@w3.org
  Subject: RE: what is the meaning of literals in step expressions?


  I agree, and have given this feedback previously.

  Fortunately, there are no restrictions on when during the compile phase
your implementation does static type analysis.  You can choose a more
appropriate grammar that enforces some type restrictions during parse time
(before static analysis).  Having done this myself, I'd have to say it's not
difficult to make a stricter grammar that still accepts every valid XQuery
but finds certain classes of static errors earlier.

  Of course, if you opt to do only dynamic type analysis in your
implementation, then you're stuck with the loose grammar provided.

  It's no different than the situation with XPath 1.0, whose grammar allowed
goofy expressions like @comment() and namespace::text().  Most
implementations I've seen work from a modified grammar that catches these
during parse time (and maps them into the empty sequence, since they're not
errors), instead of evaluating them as written.

  Cheers,

  michaelb

  P.S.
  To be clear, non-node literals are allowed in steps, just not with / and
//.  For example, (1, 2)[3] is perfectly valid (resulting in the empty
sequence).

  -----Original Message-----
  From: www-ql-request@w3.org [mailto:www-ql-request@w3.org] On Behalf Of
Howard Katz
  Sent: Friday, July 04, 2003 9:11 AM
  To: Kay, Michael; www-ql@w3.org
  Subject: RE: what is the meaning of literals in step expressions?


    Thanks for the clarification. The other viewpoint (not that I'm
espousing it, just pointing it out as a point of information) is that the
more rules the grammar enforces, the less the type system (and the poor
implementer :-) has to do.
    Ta,
    Howard
      -----Original Message-----
      From: www-ql-request@w3.org [mailto:www-ql-request@w3.org]On Behalf Of
Kay, Michael
      Sent: Friday, July 04, 2003 7:47 AM
      To: Howard Katz; www-ql@w3.org
      Subject: RE: what is the meaning of literals in step expressions?


      >
      > I just realized that the existing grammar allows expressions
      > such as "1/3", "//book/2", and "/bib//46.5/editor". Do
      > patterns such as these (with literals in step expressions)
      > have any valid semantic interpretation? What should an XQuery
      > implementation do on encountering such an expression? Thanks, Howard
      >

      The operands of "/" must be nodes, and literals are never nodes, so
such expressions will always give a type error. We have generally chosen not
to make the grammar enforce rules that are better enforced by the type
system. Writing 1/3 is just like writing "a"+"b", which is also a type error
rather than a syntax error.

      Michael Kay