[Bug 3655] specification of item-sequence-to-* functions unclear

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=3655

           Summary: specification of item-sequence-to-* functions unclear
           Product: XPath / XQuery / XSLT
           Version: Candidate Recommendation
          Platform: All
        OS/Version: All
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P2
         Component: Formal Semantics
        AssignedTo: simeon@us.ibm.com
        ReportedBy: oliver@cbcl.co.uk
         QAContact: public-qt-comments@w3.org


The descriptions of the following functions in the formal semantics
specification are unclear:

fs:item-sequence-to-node-sequence
fs:item-sequence-to-node-sequence-doc
fs:item-sequence-to-untypedAtomic
fs:item-sequence-to-untypedAtomic-PI
fs:item-sequence-to-untypedAtomic-text
fs:item-sequence-to-untypedAtomic-comment

For fs:item-sequence-to-node-sequence the description says:

The fs:item-sequence-to-node-sequence function converts a sequence of item
values to nodes by applying the normative rules numbered 1, 2, 3 after the
sentence "Processing of the computed element constructor proceeds as follows:"
in Section 3.7.3.1 Computed Element ConstructorsXQ.

These rules should be applied to the content expression, not the sequence of
items, and so this should read:

The fs:item-sequence-to-node-sequence function converts a sequence of item
values to nodes by applying the normative rules numbered 1, 2, 3 after the
sentence "Processing of the computed element constructor proceeds as follows:"
in Section 3.7.3.1 Computed Element ConstructorsXQ for processing the content
expression.


Similarly, for fs:item-sequence-to-node-sequence-doc the description says:

The fs:item-sequence-to-node-sequence function converts a sequence of item
values to nodes by applying the normative rules numbered 1, 2, 3 after the
sentence "Processing of the computed element constructor proceeds as follows:"
in Section 3.7.3.1 Computed Element ConstructorsXQ.

This should read:

The fs:item-sequence-to-node-sequence function converts a sequence of item
values to nodes by applying the normative rules numbered 1, 2, 3 after the
sentence "Processing of the computed element constructor proceeds as follows:"
in Section 3.7.3.1 Computed Element ConstructorsXQ for processing the content
expression.


When reading the specification for the other functions listed, as well as these
suggested changes it is still very easy to miss "for processing the content
expression", and so the behaviour for non-node items is unclear.  It might be a
lot clearer if the words "content expression" linked to a brief section
describing the content expression.

Received on Tuesday, 5 September 2006 14:29:05 UTC