[Bug 13298] Clean the grammar of unnecessary trivial productions

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=13298

Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
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                 CC|                            |mike@saxonica.com

--- Comment #2 from Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com> 2011-07-19 13:21:10 UTC ---
Some of these production rules were introduced to create a "handle" allowing
the description of the semantics to refer to constructs in the grammar.
Certainly I remember VarValue and VarDefaultValue being introduced expressly
for this purpose. Similarly, AtomicOrUnionType is referenced in the description
of error XPST0051. There might be some productions that are not referenced in
the prose, but they would need to be checked on a case-by-case basis. We would
also need to check that the production names are not referenced from another
specification in the family, such as the XSLT specification.

At best these additional production names add clarity and readability. At
worst, they are harmless.

I have always argued that the grammar should be designed primarily for the
benefit of users of the language rather than implementors. There are some who
disagree with me on this, but your arguments in my view take too much of an
implementor viewpoint. Removing a few redundant productions is very easy
compared with the other demands we place on implementors of this grammar. 

(personal response)

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Received on Tuesday, 19 July 2011 13:21:16 UTC