COMMENT: Why no 'attribute of type'?

I sent a number of comments to the Query comments list
on January 14th, just before the list became moderated,
and got no response.  I assume that this is because my
messages somehow got lost.  I am reposting them, in hopes
of generating some discussion.

Thank you!
	-Shawn Vincent.



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: ISSUE: Why no 'attribute of type'?
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 10:32:43 -0500
From: Shawn Vincent <svincent@exalt.com>
To: Shawn Vincent <svincent@exalt.com>



Summary: Why is there an 'element of type' syntax, but no 'attribute
           of type'?


The current syntax allows

     element of type _QName_

but not

     attribute of type _QName_

Why?  Data is as often stored in attributes as elements.  It is not
difficult to support the second if you already have the first.  And
currently, there is no way of referring to this type, which seems at
least as important as the element variant.

Adding gratuitous assymetry to XQuery seems like a bad idea, not only
for elegance and functionality, but also for teaching and learning the
language.  'attribute of type' is a meaningful concept, and users will
expect to be able to type it.


In summary, please add an 'attribute of type' syntax to parallel your
'element of type' syntax.


Thank you for your time.
        -Shawn Vincent.


--
Shawn Vincent, svincent@exalt.com
Exalt Inc.

Received on Friday, 18 January 2002 10:14:06 UTC