ORA-SE-301-B: Indent parameter should not apply to (potentially) mixed-mode elements

SECTION 3: serialization parameters

It says "indent specifies whether the processor may add additional
whitespace when outputting the data model...".  
It is not clear to what extent this interacts with the 
properties of nodes.  For example, if an element's type permits
mixed content, then adding whitespace to that element's content
potentially damages that element's semantics.  If an element has
not been validated, then it is possible that that element is 
intended to have mixed content and the processor just doesn't know
it, so again, the conservative thing to do is to prohibit adding
whitespace.  If an element has been validated and is known to 
have only elements in its content model, then it would be permissible
to add whitespace to that element's content on output as a 
pretty-printing option.  The conclusion is that this parameter
should only govern the output of such elements.


- Steve B.

Received on Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:43:54 UTC