[Bug 2424] [XSLT 2.0] definition of alphanumeric in xsl:number format attribute

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=2424





------- Additional Comments From mike@saxonica.com  2005-10-29 09:10 -------
The definition of alphanumeric (all characters in the Unicode letter and number
gorups) is unchanged since XSLT 1.0, and I'm not aware that it has caused any
problems. I don't think the WG has ever reviewed the definition.

The characters that are classified as alphabetic but not letters seem to consist
mainly of combining marks and signs, such as vowel signs. I've personally no
knowledge of whether such marks and signs are ever used in numbering sequences.
However, they are currently allowed in the format pattern as separator
characters, and if we moved them to the "alphanumeric" category then it seems we
would not only be creating a theoretical backwards incompatibility, we might
also be removing functionality. So I don't think we can consider doing this
without strong evidence that there is a practical need; and even if there is
such a need, I think we could justify making it a "version 3" requirement rather
than trying to squeeze a late change into 2.0.

Michael Kay
(personal response)

Received on Saturday, 29 October 2005 09:10:34 UTC