possible minor typos in WD-xptr-19991206

I noticed the XPointers Working Draft [1] is in last call; while it may be
premature to point out minor typos in a draft, maybe there is something
here you can use.


General Comments

I am delighted to read a specification free from e.g.'s and i.e.'s!

The last paragraph of section "2.1.2 Bare Names" could mention XHTML when
and if XHTML becomes a recommendation.

Attributes and function names are sometimes CODE, sometimes plain text. I
would make them the same, one way or the other.


Line Items

Line numbers refer to the HTML source. They are followed by a quote and
then a suggestion. Comments are in brackets [].

lines 345-346
Note that this term and its definition are taken from the basic specifications
governing the World Wide Web.
[Cut; this phrase is repeated.]

lines 563-564
Not all legal XPath expressions may be used here.
[It is unclear where "here" is. Maybe say where.]

line 581
when the Scheme is xpointer.
[In the preceding paragraph, scheme is not capitalized. Could be:]
when the scheme is xpointer.

line 630
XPointers are not a general query mechanism, they are
[could be a semicolon                      ^]

lines 644-665
[I would remove the period at the end of each list item.]

line 712
in other context than as
in other contexts than as

line 754
and allow the first operand
and allows the first operand

line 800
two points, a start point and an end point
two points: a start point and an end point

line 821
"...The start-point() and end-point() functions can be used to
    navigate with respect to the respective boundaries of a
    range location."
["Respect" is used twice. Could be:]
"...The start-point() and end-point() functions can be used to
    navigate the boundaries of a range location."

lines 861 and 878
[The links are to the XPath PR. They could be links to the REC.]

line 880
"...This definition allows NodeTests to select locations of
    type point and range from a location set that may include
    locations of all three types."
[Three types are in the table but not in the prose. Maybe list them.]

line 961
elements ( such
elements (such

lines 1028-1032
"...If x is not a range location, then x is used as the
    container location of the start and end points of the range
    location to be added; the index of the start point of the
    range is zero; if the end point is a character point then
    its index is the length of the string-value of x, and
    otherwise is the number of location children of x."
[Run-on sentence. You might consider making two paragraphs for the
range-inside function (one each for is and is not a range location).]

lines 1083-1085
"...Making it a separate expression may also simplify
    optimization of XPointer evaluation, such as by using
    methods understood from the treatment of singleton results
    in database systems."
[Second part of this sentence is hard to follow. Maybe:]
    Making it a separate expression may also simplify
    optimization of XPointer evaluation, such as in methods
    gained from singleton results in database systems.

lines 1129-1130
[Line break causing a space in a URI for RFC 1808 should be removed.]

line 1256
The axes that XPointer shares
The axes that XPointer share

lines 1340-1343
[Run-on sentence. Maybe break in parts:]
"...This axis can also be used to get the effect of inherited
    attributes (such as the xml:lang attribute defined in XML
    1.0) by locating the list of all ancestor elements,
    selecting the desired attribute for each of them (any not
    having it drop out), and then taking the last one."

line 1379
nodelist
node list

line 1381
Note: This is useful
This is useful

lines 1406, 1410, and 1418
[Examples are mixed with prose in these three tables. Either change the
prose text to plain (not CODE) or move the prose out of the tables. Also,
I'd remove periods from the ends of phrases that are not sentences. Also,
capitalization could be regularized; (in 1406 "locates" is lowercase).]

line 1425
variables (there is
variables; (there is

lines 1435-1437
[Sort of a run-on sentence]
"...The effect is as described below (no particular processing
    procedure is required; implementations may use any method
    that produces the results defined in this specification):"
[Maybe:]
"...The effect is as described below. No particular processing
    procedure is required; implementations may use any method
    that produces the results defined in this specification:

line 1516
Also, note that location paths can be
Location paths can be

lines 1533-1535
    (that is, the node with an ID attribute whose value is
    "intro"). That is in contrast to id("intro")/child::node()
    which locates all the nodes, of any type, that are children
    of the intro node.
["That is" is used twice. Maybe:]
    (that is, the node with an ID attribute whose value is
    "intro"). In contrast, id("intro")/child::node() locates
    all the nodes, of any type, that are children of the intro node.

lines 1536-1537
nodes of whose element type
nodes whose element type

line 1542
Step
[Could be lowercase, or read "location step." If it's capitalized,
it could link to <http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath#section-Location-Steps>.]


Reference

[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xptr-19991206

--
Susan Lesch
susan@textet.com
http://www.textet.com/

Received on Saturday, 11 December 1999 20:08:12 UTC