> Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001 12:27:19 -0500
> To: xsl-list@[...].com
> From: Jonathan Robie <jwrobie@[...].com>
> Subject: Should "//ename[n]" mean "/descendant::ename"?


> I am playing around with some ideas that I would like some feedback on.
> Suppose XQuery and XPath 2.0 changed the meaning of "//" as follows:
> 
> //ename[n]
> => /descendant::ename[n]
> 
> //@aname[n]
> => /descendant::*/attribute::aname[n]
> 
> With this definition, "appendix//para[1]" would mean "the first paragraph
> in the appendix", rather than "the first paragraph in any element in the
> appendix". With the XPath 1.0 definition, you have to write
> "(appendix//para)[1]" to find the first paragraph in the appendix, and I
> find that I quite generally use parentheses any time that I combine "//"
> with subscripts.
> 
> When asking what purpose the current definition serves, I have been told
> that "in the context of XSLT patterns, people use appendix//para[1] to
> format the first paragraph of every section within an appendix." This is
> the one usage I can think of where there would be compatibility issues. But
> this particular pattern does not really work - it applies not only to the
> first paragraph of every section, but also to the first paragraph of any
> table, editorial note, list...
> 
> If you want it to apply to the first paragraph of every section, I think
> you should write:
> 
>      appendix//section/para[1]
> 
> I just looked through xmlspec.xsl and several other stylesheets, and could
> not find an instance where someone leverages // and [n] in the way outlined
> above. In my XQuery examples, on the other hand, virtually every query that
> uses // together with [n] requires parentheses in order to give the
> intended result. Also, some people have suggested that static typing is
> easier with the proposed definitions.
> 
> So here are some questions:
> 
> 1. Is the proposed definition more intuitive?
> 2. How many stylesheets would break under this definition?
> 
> I am very interested in the feelings of the XSL community on these questions.
> 
> Jonathan



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