XOM API for Processing XML with Java

[Elliotte Harold - java FAQ <elharo AT metalab.unc.edu>]

On Tue, 8 Jun 2004, Bradley S. Huffman wrote:

> If a element doesn't have a base URI and is added to another element that 
> does,
> does the child inherit the base URI of the parent and retain it even if
> later detached? Cause that's what it seems to do.

Yes. That seemed to me to follow the priniciple of least surprise. If I 
load in an XHTML document, create some new elements inlcuding a elements, 
and stick them in, I'd expect the relative URLs in the href attributes to 
be resolved relative to that document, and I expect that not to change 
when they're detached. 

I realize there are arguments on all sides of this. I sat on the fence 
about this for  along time. This was really the one issue that was holding 
XOM back in a major way (that, and the need to to finish some books that 
pay the bills) but eventually I had to call these issues one way or the 
other. I tired to be as consistent with the various specs for URIs and 
xml:base as I could be. Regrettably neither RFC 2396 or XML Base was 
really written with the sort of issues that arise with in-memory documents 
in mind. They all assume, implicitly or explicitly, that all elements come 
from documents with well-defined URIs, and they really don't know what to 
do when that isn't the case. :-(

I took what seemed to be the safest path. 

--
Elliotte Rusty Harold     
elharo AT metalab.unc.edu    
elharo AT macfaq.com