RE: recursive imporged variable declarations

Per,

The W3C XML Query WG has considered your comment (archived at 
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-qt-comments/2003Nov/0186.html). 
This message contains the official response of that WG.

We believe that your question ("Is there anything to prevent the 
following?") is answered in the Last Call Working Draft of XQuery 1.0: An 
XML Query Language (http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/WD-xquery-20031114/) in 
Section 4.8, "Variable Declaration".  In that section, the third paragraph 
contains the provision that "If an initializing expression cannot be 
evaluated because of a circularity (for example, it depends on a function 
that in turn depends on the value of the variable that is being 
initialized), a 
<file:///E:/XMLdocs/XML%20Query%20Language%20%28XQuery%29/XQuery%20and%20XQueryX%20syntax/XQuery%201.0%20Last%20Call%20WD%2020011114.html#dt-dynamic-error>dynamic 
error is 
raised.[<file:///E:/XMLdocs/XML%20Query%20Language%20%28XQuery%29/XQuery%20and%20XQueryX%20syntax/XQuery%201.0%20Last%20Call%20WD%2020011114.html#ERRXQ0054>err:XQ0054]."

Please note that Mary Fernández has also responded (in 
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-qt-comments/2003Nov/0335.html) 
that the Formal Semantics will include a warning to implementors to check 
for such cyclic definitions.

Please let us know if you agree with our analysis and whether you believe 
that this adequately addresses your comment.  If we do not receive a 
specific response on this subject, we will consider you to have agreed that 
your comment has been addressed satisfactorily.

Very best regards,
    Jim (on behalf of the W3C XML Query WG)

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Jim Melton --- Editor of ISO/IEC 9075-* (SQL)     Phone: +1.801.942.0144
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