Re: Saxonica Comments on XProc last-call draft, sections 1 and 2

/ Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com> was heard to say:
| | 4. Clarification. In 2.1 it's hard to reconcile the definition [Definition:
| | The steps (and the connections between them) within a compound step form a
| | subpipeline.] with the next sentence "A compound step can contain one or
| | more subpipelines". If the steps form one subpipeline then how can the
| | compound step contain many subpipelines? Are we talking about transitive
| | containment here?
|
| Yeah, that's a little clumsy; I'll give that some thought.

On closer inspection, the paragraph that begins "This simple
distinction between atomic and compound steps..." is supposed to
clarify the irregular nature of compound steps that contain more than
one subpipeline.

I've rearranged things a little bit. I also decided that the confusing
sentence that begins "A compound step can contain one or more..." wasn't
helping. So I deleted it.

| | 5. Clarification. At the end of 2.1, "A step can have zero parameter input
| | ports, and each parameter port can have zero parameters passed on it." it
| | might be clearer to say "A step can have zero, one, or many parameter input
| | ports, and each parameter port can have zero or one parameters passed on
| | it.".
|
| Yes, I think that's an improvement; thanks.

Done.

| | 9. Technical. In 2.7, the Environment is defined as containing static
| | information. And it includes options. But I don't think it's true that the
| | values of the options are known statically, is it?
|
| Good point. I'll have to look at that.

Fixed, I think:

   [Definition: The environment of a step is the information available
   to each instance of a step in a pipeline.] Most of the information
   in the environment is static and can be computed before evaluation
   of the pipeline begins. The values of the in-scope options have to
   be calculated when the pipeline is being evaluated.

I don't think the distinction between the static and dynamic information
is important enough to warrant creating two conceptually distinct
environments.

| | 10. Typo. In 2.8 para 4, "step step".

Fixed.

                                        Be seeing you,
                                          norm

-- 
Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com> | Everything should be made as simple as
http://nwalsh.com/            | possible, but no simpler.