XOM API for Processing XML with Java

[Elliotte Rusty Harold <elharo AT metalab.unc.edu>]

At 11:40 AM -0600 3/22/04, Bradley S. Huffman wrote:

> What about setBaseURI? If you build a document from a file with Builder,
> getBaseURI on any element attached to the document will return the uri
> of the file.  Remove a element and getBaseURI on that element and any of it's
> element children will return null.

We've discussed this in the past, and the result was the current 
behavior. However, I could be convinced that elements should retain 
their base URI on being detached from the parent. Right now that 
isn't obviously right though.

> Add the removed element to another document with a base attribute somewhere
> up the parent chain and getBaseURI will return non-null.

More specifically it will return the base URI in scope in that new 
document. I think this is what most users will expect; ie.e. it 
follows the principle of least surprise; but I'm not absolutely 
convinced here.

> However if you build the document by hand and use setBaseURI on all elements,
> then getBaseURI will always return the base uri explicitly set, and it doesn't
> matter how many times a element is removed and re-added to a element 
> in another
> document.

More likely would be setting the base URI when the element is detached.

> > From reading the XML Base spec., this doesn't make sense, and you have to
> go to the Infoset to understand why the above situation occurs.  Which makes
> me wonder if setBaseURI should be public or even exist at all.

It's necessary for XInclude.

--

  Elliotte Rusty Harold
  elharo AT metalab.unc.edu
  Effective XML (Addison-Wesley, 2003)
  http://www.cafeconleche.org/books/effectivexml
  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0321150406/ref%3Dnosim/cafeaulaitA