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W3C

XQuery 3.0: An XML Query Language

W3C Working Draft 14 December 2010

This version:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/WD-xquery-30-20101214/
Latest version:
http://www.w3.org/TR/xquery-30/
Previous versions:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/WD-xquery-11-20091215/, http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-xquery-11-20081203/, http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-xquery-11-20080711/
Editors:
Jonathan Robie, Red Hat , via http://www.ibiblio.org/jwrobie/
Don Chamberlin <dchamber@us.ibm.com>
Michael Dyck, Invited Expert <jmdyck@ibiblio.org>
John Snelson , MarkLogic <john.snelson@marklogic.com>

See also translations.

This document is also available in these non-normative formats: XML and Change markings relative to previous Working Draft.


Abstract

XML is a versatile markup language, capable of labeling the information content of diverse data sources including structured and semi-structured documents, relational databases, and object repositories. A query language that uses the structure of XML intelligently can express queries across all these kinds of data, whether physically stored in XML or viewed as XML via middleware. This specification describes a query language called XQuery, which is designed to be broadly applicable across many types of XML data sources.

XQuery 3.0 is an extended version of the XQuery 1.0 Recommendation published on 23 January 2007. A list of changes made since XQuery 1.0 can be found in J Change Log. Here are some of the new features in XQuery 3.0:

  1. group by clause in FLWOR Expressions (3.9.7 Group By Clause).

  2. tumbling window and sliding window in FLWOR Expressions (3.9.4 Window Clause).

  3. count clause in FLWOR Expressions (3.9.6 Count Clause).

  4. allowing empty in 3.9.2 For Clause, for functionality similar to outer joins in SQL.

  5. try/catch expressions (3.14 Try/Catch Expressions).

  6. Dynamic function invocation (3.2.2 Dynamic Function Invocation).

  7. Inline functions (3.1.7 Inline Functions).

  8. Private functions (4.18 Function Declaration).

  9. Nondeterministic functions (4.18 Function Declaration)

  10. Switch expressions (3.12 Switch Expression)

  11. Computed namespace constructors (3.8.3.7 Computed Namespace Constructors).

  12. Output declarations (2.2.4 Serialization).

  13. Annotations (4.15 Annotations).

  14. Annotation assertions in function tests.

Status of this Document

This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current W3C publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found in the W3C technical reports index at http://www.w3.org/TR/.

This is one document in a set of seven documents that are being progressed to Recommendation together (XQuery 3.0, XQueryX 3.0, XSLT 3.0, Data Model 3.0, Functions and Operators 3.0, Serialization 3.0, XPath 3.0).

This is a Working Draft as described in the Process Document. It has been developed by the W3C XML Query Working Group, which is part of the XML Activity. The Working Group expects to advance this specification to Recommendation Status.

This public Working Draft differs from the previous Working Draft in two important ways. First, the version number of the document has changed from "1.1" to "3.0"; this was done in order to align the version numbers of the entire suite of documents of which this WD is a part. Second, a number of substantive technical changes (as well as many editorial changes) have been made in this WD. Please note that this Working Draft of XQuery 3.0 represents the second version of a previous W3C Recommendation.

No implementation report currently exists. However, a Test Suite for XQuery 3.0 is under development.

This document incorporates changes made against the previous publication of the Working Draft of 03 December 2008. Changes to this document since the previous publication of the Working Draft are detailed in J Change Log.

Please report errors in this document using W3C's public Bugzilla system (instructions can be found at http://www.w3.org/XML/2005/04/qt-bugzilla). If access to that system is not feasible, you may send your comments to the W3C XSLT/XPath/XQuery public comments mailing list, public-qt-comments@w3.org. It will be very helpful if you include the string “[XQuery30]” in the subject line of your report, whether made in Bugzilla or in email. Please use multiple Bugzilla entries (or, if necessary, multiple email messages) if you have more than one comment to make. Archives of the comments and responses are available at http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-qt-comments/.

Publication as a Working Draft does not imply endorsement by the W3C Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this document as other than work in progress.

This document was produced by a group operating under the 5 February 2004 W3C Patent Policy. W3C maintains a public list of any patent disclosures made in connection with the deliverables of the group; that page also includes instructions for disclosing a patent. An individual who has actual knowledge of a patent which the individual believes contains Essential Claim(s) must disclose the information in accordance with section 6 of the W3C Patent Policy.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction
2 Basics
    2.1 Expression Context
        2.1.1 Static Context
        2.1.2 Dynamic Context
    2.2 Processing Model
        2.2.1 Data Model Generation
        2.2.2 Schema Import Processing
        2.2.3 Expression Processing
            2.2.3.1 Static Analysis Phase
            2.2.3.2 Dynamic Evaluation Phase
        2.2.4 Serialization
        2.2.5 Consistency Constraints
    2.3 Error Handling
        2.3.1 Kinds of Errors
        2.3.2 Identifying and Reporting Errors
        2.3.3 Handling Dynamic Errors
        2.3.4 Errors and Optimization
    2.4 Concepts
        2.4.1 Document Order
        2.4.2 Atomization
        2.4.3 Effective Boolean Value
        2.4.4 Input Sources
        2.4.5 URI Literals
    2.5 Types
        2.5.1 Predefined Schema Types
        2.5.2 Typed Value and String Value
        2.5.3 SequenceType Syntax
        2.5.4 SequenceType Matching
            2.5.4.1 Matching a SequenceType and a Value
            2.5.4.2 Matching an ItemType and an Item
            2.5.4.3 Element Test
            2.5.4.4 Schema Element Test
            2.5.4.5 Attribute Test
            2.5.4.6 Schema Attribute Test
            2.5.4.7 Function Test
        2.5.5 SequenceType Subtype Relationships
            2.5.5.1 The SequenceType Subtype Judgement
            2.5.5.2 The ItemType Subtype Judgement
    2.6 Comments
3 Expressions
    3.1 Primary Expressions
        3.1.1 Literals
        3.1.2 Variable References
        3.1.3 Parenthesized Expressions
        3.1.4 Context Item Expression
        3.1.5 Function Calls
            3.1.5.1 Evaluating Function Calls
            3.1.5.2 Function Conversion Rules
            3.1.5.3 Function Item Coercion
            3.1.5.4 Evaluating Partial Function Applications
        3.1.6 Literal Function Items
        3.1.7 Inline Functions
    3.2 Postfix Expressions
        3.2.1 Filter Expressions
        3.2.2 Dynamic Function Invocation
    3.3 Path Expressions
        3.3.1 Steps
            3.3.1.1 Axes
            3.3.1.2 Node Tests
        3.3.2 Predicates within Steps
        3.3.3 Unabbreviated Syntax
        3.3.4 Abbreviated Syntax
    3.4 Sequence Expressions
        3.4.1 Constructing Sequences
        3.4.2 Combining Node Sequences
    3.5 Arithmetic Expressions
    3.6 Comparison Expressions
        3.6.1 Value Comparisons
        3.6.2 General Comparisons
        3.6.3 Node Comparisons
    3.7 Logical Expressions
    3.8 Constructors
        3.8.1 Direct Element Constructors
            3.8.1.1 Attributes
            3.8.1.2 Namespace Declaration Attributes
            3.8.1.3 Content
            3.8.1.4 Boundary Whitespace
        3.8.2 Other Direct Constructors
        3.8.3 Computed Constructors
            3.8.3.1 Computed Element Constructors
            3.8.3.2 Computed Attribute Constructors
            3.8.3.3 Document Node Constructors
            3.8.3.4 Text Node Constructors
            3.8.3.5 Computed Processing Instruction Constructors
            3.8.3.6 Computed Comment Constructors
            3.8.3.7 Computed Namespace Constructors
        3.8.4 In-scope Namespaces of a Constructed Element
    3.9 FLWOR Expressions
        3.9.1 Variable Bindings
        3.9.2 For Clause
        3.9.3 Let Clause
        3.9.4 Window Clause
            3.9.4.1 Tumbling Windows
            3.9.4.2 Sliding Windows
            3.9.4.3 Effects of Window Clauses on the Tuple Stream
        3.9.5 Where Clause
        3.9.6 Count Clause
        3.9.7 Group By Clause
        3.9.8 Order By Clause
        3.9.9 Return Clause
    3.10 Ordered and Unordered Expressions
    3.11 Conditional Expressions
    3.12 Switch Expression
    3.13 Quantified Expressions
    3.14 Try/Catch Expressions
    3.15 Expressions on SequenceTypes
        3.15.1 Instance Of
        3.15.2 Typeswitch
        3.15.3 Cast
        3.15.4 Castable
        3.15.5 Constructor Functions
        3.15.6 Treat
    3.16 Validate Expressions
    3.17 Extension Expressions
4 Modules and Prologs
    4.1 Version Declaration
    4.2 Module Declaration
    4.3 Boundary-space Declaration
    4.4 Default Collation Declaration
    4.5 Base URI Declaration
    4.6 Construction Declaration
    4.7 Ordering Mode Declaration
    4.8 Empty Order Declaration
    4.9 Copy-Namespaces Declaration
    4.10 Decimal-Format Declaration
    4.11 Schema Import
    4.12 Module Import
        4.12.1 Module URIs
        4.12.2 Multiple Modules with the same Module URI
        4.12.3 Location URIs
        4.12.4 Cycles
    4.13 Namespace Declaration
    4.14 Default Namespace Declaration
    4.15 Annotations
    4.16 Variable Declaration
    4.17 Context Item Declaration
    4.18 Function Declaration
    4.19 Option Declaration
5 Conformance
    5.1 Minimal Conformance
    5.2 Optional Features
        5.2.1 Schema Import Feature
        5.2.2 Schema Validation Feature
        5.2.3 Static Typing Feature
        5.2.4 Module Feature
        5.2.5 Serialization Feature
    5.3 Data Model Conformance
    5.4 Syntax Extensions

Appendices

A XQuery 3.0 Grammar
    A.1 EBNF
        A.1.1 Notation
        A.1.2 Extra-grammatical Constraints
        A.1.3 Grammar Notes
    A.2 Lexical structure
        A.2.1 Terminal Symbols
        A.2.2 Terminal Delimitation
        A.2.3 End-of-Line Handling
            A.2.3.1 XML 1.0 End-of-Line Handling
            A.2.3.2 XML 1.1 End-of-Line Handling
        A.2.4 Whitespace Rules
            A.2.4.1 Default Whitespace Handling
            A.2.4.2 Explicit Whitespace Handling
    A.3 Reserved Function Names
    A.4 Precedence Order (Non-Normative)
B Type Promotion and Operator Mapping
    B.1 Type Promotion
    B.2 Operator Mapping
C Context Components
    C.1 Static Context Components
    C.2 Dynamic Context Components
D Implementation-Defined Items
E References
    E.1 Normative References
    E.2 Non-normative References
    E.3 Background Material
F Error Conditions
G The application/xquery Media Type
    G.1 Introduction
    G.2 Registration of MIME Media Type application/xquery
        G.2.1 Interoperability Considerations
        G.2.2 Applications Using this Media Type
        G.2.3 File Extensions
        G.2.4 Intended Usage
        G.2.5 Author/Change Controller
    G.3 Encoding Considerations
    G.4 Recognizing XQuery Files
    G.5 Charset Default Rules
    G.6 Security Considerations
H Glossary (Non-Normative)
I Example Applications (Non-Normative)
    I.1 Joins
    I.2 Queries on Sequence
    I.3 Recursive Transformations
    I.4 Selecting Distinct Combinations
J Change Log (Non-Normative)
    J.1 Substantive Changes
    J.2 Incompatibilities
    J.3 Editorial Changes


1 Introduction

As increasing amounts of information are stored, exchanged, and presented using XML, the ability to intelligently query XML data sources becomes increasingly important. One of the great strengths of XML is its flexibility in representing many different kinds of information from diverse sources. To exploit this flexibility, an XML query language must provide features for retrieving and interpreting information from these diverse sources.

XQuery is designed to meet the requirements identified by the W3C XML Query Working Group [XQuery 3.0 Requirements] and the use cases in [XML Query Use Cases]. It is designed to be a language in which queries are concise and easily understood. It is also flexible enough to query a broad spectrum of XML information sources, including both databases and documents. The Query Working Group has identified a requirement for both a non-XML query syntax and an XML-based query syntax. XQuery is designed to meet the first of these requirements. XQuery is derived from an XML query language called Quilt [Quilt], which in turn borrowed features from several other languages, including XPath 1.0 [XML Path Language (XPath) Version 1.0], XQL [XQL], XML-QL [XML-QL], SQL [SQL], and OQL [ODMG].

[Definition: XQuery 3.0 operates on the abstract, logical structure of an XML document, rather than its surface syntax. This logical structure, known as the data model, is defined in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0].]

XQuery Version 3.0 is an extension of XPath Version 3.0. In general, any expression that is syntactically valid and executes successfully in both XPath 3.0 and XQuery 3.0 will return the same result in both languages. There are a few exceptions to this rule:

Because these languages are so closely related, their grammars and language descriptions are generated from a common source to ensure consistency, and the editors of these specifications work together closely.

XQuery 3.0 also depends on and is closely related to the following specifications:

[Definition: An XQuery 3.0 Processor processes a query according to the XQuery 3.0 specification.]

[Definition: An XQuery 1.0 Processor processes a query according to the XQuery 1.0 specification.]

This document specifies a grammar for XQuery 3.0, using the same basic EBNF notation used in [XML 1.0]. Unless otherwise noted (see A.2 Lexical structure), whitespace is not significant in queries. Grammar productions are introduced together with the features that they describe, and a complete grammar is also presented in the appendix [A XQuery 3.0 Grammar]. The appendix is the normative version.

In the grammar productions in this document, named symbols are underlined and literal text is enclosed in double quotes. For example, the following production describes the syntax of a function call:

[134]   FunctionCall   ::=    EQName ArgumentList

The production should be read as follows: A function call consists of an EQName followed by an open-parenthesis. The open-parenthesis is followed by an optional argument list. The argument list (if present) consists of one or more expressions, separated by commas. The optional argument list is followed by a close-parenthesis.

This document normatively defines the static and dynamic semantics of XQuery 3.0. In this document, examples and material labeled as "Note" are provided for explanatory purposes and are not normative.

Certain aspects of language processing are described in this specification as implementation-defined or implementation-dependent.

2 Basics

The basic building block of XQuery 3.0 is the expression, which is a string of [Unicode] characters (the version of Unicode to be used is implementation-defined.) The language provides several kinds of expressions which may be constructed from keywords, symbols, and operands. In general, the operands of an expression are other expressions. XQuery 3.0 allows expressions to be nested with full generality. (However, unlike a pure functional language, it does not allow variable substitution if the variable declaration contains construction of new nodes.)

Note:

This specification contains no assumptions or requirements regarding the character set encoding of strings of [Unicode] characters.

Like XML, XQuery 3.0 is a case-sensitive language. Keywords in XQuery 3.0 use lower-case characters and are not reserved—that is, names in XQuery 3.0 expressions are allowed to be the same as language keywords, except for certain unprefixed function-names listed in A.3 Reserved Function Names.

[Definition: In the data model, a value is always a sequence.] [Definition: A sequence is an ordered collection of zero or more items.] [Definition: An item is either an atomic value, a node, or a function itemDM30.] [Definition: An atomic value is a value in the value space of an atomic type, as defined in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1].] [Definition: A node is an instance of one of the node kinds defined in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0].] Each node has a unique node identity, a typed value, and a string value. In addition, some nodes have a name. The typed value of a node is a sequence of zero or more atomic values. The string value of a node is a value of type xs:string. The name of a node is a value of type xs:QName. [Definition: In certain situations a value is said to be undefined (for example, the value of the context item, or the typed value of an element node). This term indicates that the property in question has no value and that any attempt to use its value results in an error.]

[Definition: A sequence containing exactly one item is called a singleton.] An item is identical to a singleton sequence containing that item. Sequences are never nested—for example, combining the values 1, (2, 3), and ( ) into a single sequence results in the sequence (1, 2, 3). [Definition: A sequence containing zero items is called an empty sequence.]

[Definition: The term XDM instance is used, synonymously with the term value, to denote an unconstrained sequence of items in the data model.]

In the XQuery 3.0 grammar, most names are specified using the EQName production, which allows lexical QNames, and also allows a namespace URI to be specified as a literal:

[196]   EQName   ::=    QName | (URILiteral ":" NCName)
[NaN]   QName   ::=    [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/#NT-QName]Names
[NaN]   NCName   ::=    [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/#NT-NCName]Names
[195]   URILiteral   ::=    StringLiteral

Names in XQuery 3.0 can be bound to namespaces, and are based on the syntax and semantics defined in [XML Names]. [Definition: A lexical QName is a name that conforms to the syntax of [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/#NT-QName].] A lexical QName consists of an optional namespace prefix and a local name. If the namespace prefix is present, it is separated from the local name by a colon. A lexical QName with a prefix can be converted into an expanded QName by resolving its namespace prefix to a namespace URI, using the statically known namespaces. The semantics of a lexical QName without a prefix depend on the expression in which it is found.

[Definition: An expanded QName consists of an optional namespace URI and a local name. An expanded QName also retains its original namespace prefix (if any), to facilitate casting the expanded QName into a string.] The namespace URI value is whitespace normalized according to the rules for the xs:anyURI type in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1]. Two expanded QNames are equal if their namespace URIs are equal and their local names are equal (even if their namespace prefixes are not equal). Namespace URIs and local names are compared on a codepoint basis, without further normalization.

Certain namespace prefixes are predeclared by XQuery and bound to fixed namespace URIs. These namespace prefixes are as follows:

In addition to the prefixes in the above list, this document uses the prefix err to represent the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/2005/xqt-errors (see 2.3.2 Identifying and Reporting Errors). This namespace prefix is not predeclared and its use in this document is not normative.

Element nodes have a property called in-scope namespaces. [Definition: The in-scope namespaces property of an element node is a set of namespace bindings, each of which associates a namespace prefix with a URI.] For a given element, one namespace binding may have an empty prefix; the URI of this namespace binding is the default namespace within the scope of the element.

Note:

In [XML Path Language (XPath) Version 1.0], the in-scope namespaces of an element node are represented by a collection of namespace nodes arranged on a namespace axis, which is optional and deprecated in [XML Path Language (XPath) 3.0]. XQuery does not support the namespace axis and does not represent namespace bindings in the form of nodes. However, where other specifications such as [XSLT and XQuery Serialization 3.0] refer to namespace nodes, these nodes may be synthesized from the in-scope namespaces of an element node by interpreting each namespace binding as a namespace node.

[Definition: Within this specification, the term URI refers to a Universal Resource Identifier as defined in [RFC3986] and extended in [RFC3987] with the new name IRI.] The term URI has been retained in preference to IRI to avoid introducing new names for concepts such as "Base URI" that are defined or referenced across the whole family of XML specifications.

Note:

In most contexts, processors are not required to raise errors if a URI is not lexically valid according to [RFC3986] and [RFC3987]. See 2.4.5 URI Literals and 3.8.1.2 Namespace Declaration Attributes for details.

2.1 Expression Context

[Definition: The expression context for a given expression consists of all the information that can affect the result of the expression.] This information is organized into two categories called the static context and the dynamic context.

2.1.1 Static Context

[Definition: The static context of an expression is the information that is available during static analysis of the expression, prior to its evaluation.] This information can be used to decide whether the expression contains a static error. If analysis of an expression relies on some component of the static context that has not been assigned a value, a static error is raised [err:XPST0001].

The individual components of the static context are summarized below. Rules governing the scope and initialization of these components can be found in C.1 Static Context Components.

  • [Definition: XPath 1.0 compatibility mode. This component must be set by all host languages that include XPath 3.0 as a subset, indicating whether rules for compatibility with XPath 1.0 are in effect. XQuery sets the value of this component to false. ]

  • [Definition: Statically known namespaces. This is a set of (prefix, URI) pairs that define all the namespaces that are known during static processing of a given expression.] The URI value is whitespace normalized according to the rules for the xs:anyURI type in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1]. Note the difference between in-scope namespaces, which is a dynamic property of an element node, and statically known namespaces, which is a static property of an expression.

    Some namespaces are predefined; additional namespaces can be added to the statically known namespaces by namespace declarations in a Prolog and by namespace declaration attributes in direct element constructors.

  • [Definition: Default element/type namespace. This is a namespace URI or absentDM30. The namespace URI, if present, is used for any unprefixed QName appearing in a position where an element or type name is expected.] The URI value is whitespace normalized according to the rules for the xs:anyURI type in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1].

  • [Definition: Default function namespace. This is a namespace URI or absentDM30. The namespace URI, if present, is used for any unprefixed QName appearing in a position where a function name is expected.] The URI value is whitespace normalized according to the rules for the xs:anyURI type in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1].

  • [Definition: In-scope schema definitions. This is a generic term for all the element declarations, attribute declarations, and schema type definitions that are in scope during processing of an expression.] It includes the following three parts:

    • [Definition: In-scope schema types. Each schema type definition is identified either by an expanded QName (for a named type) or by an implementation-dependent type identifier (for an anonymous type). The in-scope schema types include the predefined schema types described in 2.5.1 Predefined Schema Types. If the Schema Import Feature is supported, in-scope schema types also include all type definitions found in imported schemas. ]

    • [Definition: In-scope element declarations. Each element declaration is identified either by an expanded QName (for a top-level element declaration) or by an implementation-dependent element identifier (for a local element declaration). If the Schema Import Feature is supported, in-scope element declarations include all element declarations found in imported schemas. ] An element declaration includes information about the element's substitution group affiliation.

      [Definition: Substitution groups are defined in [XML Schema 1.0] and [XML Schema 1.1] Part 1. Informally, the substitution group headed by a given element (called the head element) consists of the set of elements that can be substituted for the head element without affecting the outcome of schema validation.]

    • [Definition: In-scope attribute declarations. Each attribute declaration is identified either by an expanded QName (for a top-level attribute declaration) or by an implementation-dependent attribute identifier (for a local attribute declaration). If the Schema Import Feature is supported, in-scope attribute declarations include all attribute declarations found in imported schemas. ]

  • [Definition: In-scope variables. This is a set of (expanded QName, type) pairs. It defines the set of variables that are available for reference within an expression. The expanded QName is the name of the variable, and the type is the static type of the variable.]

    Variable declarations in a Prolog are added to in-scope variables. An expression that binds a variable (such as a let, for, some, or every expression) extends the in-scope variables of its subexpressions with the new bound variable and its type. Within the body of an inline function or user-defined function , the in-scope variables are extended by the names and types of the function parameters.

    The static type of a variable may either be declared in a query or inferred by static type inference as discussed in 2.2.3.1 Static Analysis Phase.

  • [Definition: Context item static type. This component defines the static type of the context item within the scope of a given expression.]

  • [Definition: Function signatures. This component defines the set of functions that are available to be called from within an expression. Each function is uniquely identified by its expanded QName and its arity (number of parameters).] In addition to the name and arity, each function signature specifies the static types of the function parameters and result.

    The function signatures include the signatures of functions from a variety of sources, including built-in functions described in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0], functions declared in the current module (see 4.18 Function Declaration), module imports (see 4.12 Module Import), constructor functions (see 3.15.5 Constructor Functions), and functions provided by an implementation or via an implementation-defined API (see C.1 Static Context Components). It is a static error [err:XQST0034] if two such functions have the same expanded QName and the same arity (even if the signatures are consistent).

  • [Definition: Statically known collations. This is an implementation-defined set of (URI, collation) pairs. It defines the names of the collations that are available for use in processing queries and expressions.] [Definition: A collation is a specification of the manner in which strings and URIs are compared and, by extension, ordered. For a more complete definition of collation, see [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].]

  • [Definition: Default collation. This identifies one of the collations in statically known collations as the collation to be used by functions and operators for comparing and ordering values of type xs:string and xs:anyURI (and types derived from them) when no explicit collation is specified.]

  • [Definition: Construction mode. The construction mode governs the behavior of element and document node constructors. If construction mode is preserve, the type of a constructed element node is xs:anyType, and all attribute and element nodes copied during node construction retain their original types. If construction mode is strip, the type of a constructed element node is xs:untyped; all element nodes copied during node construction receive the type xs:untyped, and all attribute nodes copied during node construction receive the type xs:untypedAtomic.]

  • [Definition: Ordering mode. Ordering mode, which has the value ordered or unordered, affects the ordering of the result sequence returned by certain path expressions, FLWOR expressions, and union, intersect, and except expressions.] Details are provided in the descriptions of these expressions.

  • [Definition: Default order for empty sequences. This component controls the processing of empty sequences and NaN values as ordering keys in an order by clause in a FLWOR expression, as described in 3.9.8 Order By Clause.] Its value may be greatest or least.

  • [Definition: Boundary-space policy. This component controls the processing of boundary whitespace by direct element constructors, as described in 3.8.1.4 Boundary Whitespace.] Its value may be preserve or strip.

  • [Definition: Copy-namespaces mode. This component controls the namespace bindings that are assigned when an existing element node is copied by an element constructor, as described in 3.8.1 Direct Element Constructors. Its value consists of two parts: preserve or no-preserve, and inherit or no-inherit.]

  • [Definition: Base URI. This is an absolute URI, used when necessary to resolve a relative URI.] The URI value is whitespace normalized according to the rules for the xs:anyURI type in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1].

  • [Definition: Statically known documents. This is a mapping from strings onto types. The string represents the absolute URI of a resource that is potentially available using the fn:doc function. The type is the static type of a call to fn:doc with the given URI as its literal argument. ] If the argument to fn:doc is a string literal that is not present in statically known documents, then the static type of fn:doc is document-node()?.

    Note:

    The purpose of the statically known documents is to provide static type information, not to determine which documents are available. A URI need not be found in the statically known documents to be accessed using fn:doc.

  • [Definition: Statically known collections. This is a mapping from strings onto types. The string represents the absolute URI of a resource that is potentially available using the fn:collection function. The type is the type of the sequence of nodes that would result from calling the fn:collection function with this URI as its argument.] If the argument to fn:collection is a string literal that is not present in statically known collections, then the static type of fn:collection is node()*.

    Note:

    The purpose of the statically known collections is to provide static type information, not to determine which collections are available. A URI need not be found in the statically known collections to be accessed using fn:collection.

  • [Definition: Statically known default collection type. This is the type of the sequence of nodes that would result from calling the fn:collection function with no arguments.] Unless initialized to some other value by an implementation, the value of statically known default collection type is node()*.

  • [Definition: Statically known decimal formats. This is the set of known decimal formats. Each format is used for serializing decimal numbers using fn:format-number().] Each format is identified by an EQName, except for the default format, which has no visible name. Each format contains the properties described in the following paragraphs.

    The following properties control the interpretation of characters in the picture string supplied to the fn:format-number function, and also specify characters that may appear in the result of formatting the number. In each case the value must be a single character:

    • [Definition: decimal-separator specifies the character used for the decimal-separator-sign; the default value is the period character (.)]

    • [Definition: grouping-separator specifies the character used for the grouping-sign, which is typically used as a thousands separator; the default value is the comma character (,)]

    • [Definition: percent-sign specifies the character used for the percent-sign; the default value is the percent character (%)]

    • [Definition: per-mille-sign specifies the character used for the per-mille-sign; the default value is the Unicode per-mille character (#x2030)]

    • [Definition: zero-digit specifies the character used for the digit-zero-sign; the default value is the digit zero (0). This character must be a digit (category Nd in the Unicode property database), and it must have the numeric value zero. This attribute implicitly defines the Unicode character that is used to represent each of the values 0 to 9 in the final result string: Unicode is organized so that each set of decimal digits forms a contiguous block of characters in numerical sequence.]

    The following attributes control the interpretation of characters in the picture string supplied to the format-number function. In each case the value must be a single character.

    • [Definition: digit-sign specifies the character used for the digit-sign in the picture string; the default value is the number sign character (#)]

    • [Definition: pattern-separator-sign specifies the character used for the pattern-separator-sign, which separates positive and negative sub-pictures in a picture string; the default value is the semi-colon character (;)]

    The following attributes specify characters or strings that may appear in the result of formatting the number:

    • [Definition: infinity specifies the string used for the infinity-symbol; the default value is the string Infinity]

    • [Definition: NaN specifies the string used for the NaN-symbol, which is used to represent the value NaN (not-a-number); the default value is the string NaN]

    • [Definition: minus-sign specifies the character used for the minus-symbol; the default value is the hyphen-minus character (-, #x2D). The value must be a single character.]

2.1.2 Dynamic Context

[Definition: The dynamic context of an expression is defined as information that is available at the time the expression is evaluated.] If evaluation of an expression relies on some part of the dynamic context that has not been assigned a value, a dynamic error is raised [err:XPDY0002].

The individual components of the dynamic context are summarized below. Further rules governing the semantics of these components can be found in C.2 Dynamic Context Components.

The dynamic context consists of all the components of the static context, and the additional components listed below.

[Definition: The first three components of the dynamic context (context item, context position, and context size) are called the focus of the expression. ] The focus enables the processor to keep track of which items are being processed by the expression.

Certain language constructs, notably the path expression E1/E2 and the predicate E1[E2], create a new focus for the evaluation of a sub-expression. In these constructs, E2 is evaluated once for each item in the sequence that results from evaluating E1. Each time E2 is evaluated, it is evaluated with a different focus. The focus for evaluating E2 is referred to below as the inner focus, while the focus for evaluating E1 is referred to as the outer focus. The inner focus exists only while E2 is being evaluated. When this evaluation is complete, evaluation of the containing expression continues with its original focus unchanged.

  • [Definition: The context item is the item currently being processed.] [Definition: When the context item is a node, it can also be referred to as the context node.] The context item is returned by an expression consisting of a single dot (.). When an expression E1/E2 or E1[E2] is evaluated, each item in the sequence obtained by evaluating E1 becomes the context item in the inner focus for an evaluation of E2.

  • [Definition: The context position is the position of the context item within the sequence of items currently being processed.] It changes whenever the context item changes. When the focus is defined, the value of the context position is an integer greater than zero. The context position is returned by the expression fn:position(). When an expression E1/E2 or E1[E2] is evaluated, the context position in the inner focus for an evaluation of E2 is the position of the context item in the sequence obtained by evaluating E1. The position of the first item in a sequence is always 1 (one). The context position is always less than or equal to the context size.

  • [Definition: The context size is the number of items in the sequence of items currently being processed.] Its value is always an integer greater than zero. The context size is returned by the expression fn:last(). When an expression E1/E2 or E1[E2] is evaluated, the context size in the inner focus for an evaluation of E2 is the number of items in the sequence obtained by evaluating E1.

  • [Definition: Variable values. This is a set of (expanded QName, value) pairs. It contains the same expanded QNames as the in-scope variables in the static context for the expression. The expanded QName is the name of the variable and the value is the dynamic value of the variable, which includes its dynamic type.]

  • [Definition: Function implementations. Each function in function signatures has a function implementation that enables the function to map instances of its parameter types into an instance of its result type. For a user-defined function, the function implementation is an XQuery expression. For a built-in function or external function, the function implementation is implementation-dependent. ]

  • [Definition: Current dateTime. This information represents an implementation-dependent point in time during the processing of a query, and includes an explicit timezone. It can be retrieved by the fn:current-dateTime function. If invoked multiple times during the execution of a query, this function always returns the same result.]

  • [Definition: Implicit timezone. This is the timezone to be used when a date, time, or dateTime value that does not have a timezone is used in a comparison or arithmetic operation. The implicit timezone is an implementation-defined value of type xs:dayTimeDuration. See [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] for the range of valid values of a timezone.]

  • [Definition: Available documents. This is a mapping of strings onto document nodes. The string represents the absolute URI of a resource. The document node is the root of a tree that represents that resource using the data model. The document node is returned by the fn:doc function when applied to that URI.] The set of available documents is not limited to the set of statically known documents, and it may be empty.

    If there are one or more URIs in available documents that map to a document node D, then the document-uri property of D must either be absent, or must be one of these URIs.

    Note:

    This means that given a document node $N, the result of fn:doc(fn:document-uri($N)) is $N will always be True, unless fn:document-uri($N) is an empty sequence.

  • [Definition: Available collections. This is a mapping of strings onto sequences of nodes. The string represents the absolute URI of a resource. The sequence of nodes represents the result of the fn:collection function when that URI is supplied as the argument. ] The set of available collections is not limited to the set of statically known collections, and it may be empty.

    For every document node D that is in the target of a mapping in available collections, or that is the root of a tree containing such a node, the document-uri property of D must either be absent, or must be a URI U such that available documents contains a mapping from U to D."

    Note:

    This means that for any document node $N retrieved using the fn:collection function, either directly or by navigating to the root of a node that was returned, the result of fn:doc(fn:document-uri($N)) is $N will always be True, unless fn:document-uri($N) is an empty sequence. This implies a requirement for the fn:doc and fn:collection functions to be consistent in their effect. If the implementation uses catalogs or user-supplied URI resolvers to dereference URIs supplied to the fn:doc function, the implementation of the fn:collection function must take these mechanisms into account. For example, an implementation might achieve this by mapping the collection URI to a set of document URIs, which are then resolved using the same catalog or URI resolver that is used by the fn:doc function.

  • [Definition: Default collection. This is the sequence of nodes that would result from calling the fn:collection function with no arguments.] The value of default collection may be initialized by the implementation.

2.2 Processing Model

XQuery 3.0 is defined in terms of the data model and the expression context.

Processing                          Model Overview

Figure 1: Processing Model Overview

Figure 1 provides a schematic overview of the processing steps that are discussed in detail below. Some of these steps are completely outside the domain of XQuery 3.0; in Figure 1, these are depicted outside the line that represents the boundaries of the language, an area labeled external processing. The external processing domain includes generation of an XDM instance that represents the data to be queried (see 2.2.1 Data Model Generation), schema import processing (see 2.2.2 Schema Import Processing) and serialization (see 2.2.4 Serialization). The area inside the boundaries of the language is known as the query processing domain , which includes the static analysis and dynamic evaluation phases (see 2.2.3 Expression Processing). Consistency constraints on the query processing domain are defined in 2.2.5 Consistency Constraints.

2.2.1 Data Model Generation

Before a query can be processed, its input data must be represented as an XDM instance. This process occurs outside the domain of XQuery 3.0, which is why Figure 1 represents it in the external processing domain. Here are some steps by which an XML document might be converted to an XDM instance:

  1. A document may be parsed using an XML parser that generates an XML Information Set (see [XML Infoset]). The parsed document may then be validated against one or more schemas. This process, which is described in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1], results in an abstract information structure called the Post-Schema Validation Infoset (PSVI). If a document has no associated schema, its Information Set is preserved. (See DM1 in Fig. 1.)

  2. The Information Set or PSVI may be transformed into an XDM instance by a process described in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0]. (See DM2 in Fig. 1.)

The above steps provide an example of how an XDM instance might be constructed. An XDM instance might also be synthesized directly from a relational database, or constructed in some other way (see DM3 in Fig. 1.) XQuery 3.0 is defined in terms of the data model, but it does not place any constraints on how XDM instances are constructed.

[Definition: Each element node and attribute node in an XDM instance has a type annotation (referred to in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0] as its type-name property.) The type annotation of a node is a schema type that describes the relationship between the string value of the node and its typed value.] If the XDM instance was derived from a validated XML document as described in Section Construction from a PSVIDM30, the type annotations of the element and attribute nodes are derived from schema validation. XQuery 3.0 does not provide a way to directly access the type annotation of an element or attribute node.

The value of an attribute is represented directly within the attribute node. An attribute node whose type is unknown (such as might occur in a schemaless document) is given the type annotation xs:untypedAtomic.

The value of an element is represented by the children of the element node, which may include text nodes and other element nodes. The type annotation of an element node indicates how the values in its child text nodes are to be interpreted. An element that has not been validated (such as might occur in a schemaless document) is annotated with the schema type xs:untyped. An element that has been validated and found to be partially valid is annotated with the schema type xs:anyType. If an element node is annotated as xs:untyped, all its descendant element nodes are also annotated as xs:untyped. However, if an element node is annotated as xs:anyType, some of its descendant element nodes may have a more specific type annotation.

2.2.2 Schema Import Processing

The in-scope schema definitions in the static context may be extracted from actual XML schemas (see step SI1 in Figure 1) or may be generated by some other mechanism (see step SI2 in Figure 1). In either case, the result must satisfy the consistency constraints defined in 2.2.5 Consistency Constraints.

2.2.3 Expression Processing

XQuery 3.0 defines two phases of processing called the static analysis phase and the dynamic evaluation phase (see Fig. 1). During the static analysis phase, static errors, dynamic errors, or type errors may be raised. During the dynamic evaluation phase, only dynamic errors or type errors may be raised. These kinds of errors are defined in 2.3.1 Kinds of Errors.

Within each phase, an implementation is free to use any strategy or algorithm whose result conforms to the specifications in this document.

2.2.3.1 Static Analysis Phase

[Definition: The static analysis phase depends on the expression itself and on the static context. The static analysis phase does not depend on input data (other than schemas).]

During the static analysis phase, the query is parsed into an internal representation called the operation tree (step SQ1 in Figure 1). A parse error is raised as a static error [err:XPST0003]. The static context is initialized by the implementation (step SQ2). The static context is then changed and augmented based on information in the prolog (step SQ3). If the Schema Import Feature is supported, the in-scope schema definitions are populated with information from imported schemas. If the Module Feature is supported, the static context is extended with function declarations and variable declarations from imported modules. The static context is used to resolve schema type names, function names, namespace prefixes, and variable names (step SQ4). If a name of one of these kinds in the operation tree is not found in the static context, a static error ([err:XPST0008] or [err:XPST0017]) is raised (however, see exceptions to this rule in 2.5.4.3 Element Test and 2.5.4.5 Attribute Test.)

The operation tree is then normalized by making explicit the implicit operations such as atomization and extraction of Effective Boolean Values (step SQ5).

During the static analysis phase, an XQuery processor may perform type analysis. The effect of type analysis is to assign a static type to each expression in the operation tree. [Definition: The static type of an expression is the best inference that the processor is able to make statically about the type of the result of the expression.] This specification does not define the rules for type analysis nor the static types that are assigned to particular expressions: the only constraint is that the inferred type must match all possible values that the expression is capable of returning.

Examples of inferred static types might be:

  • For the expression concat(a,b) the inferred static type is xs:string

  • For the expression $a = $v the inferred static type is xs:boolean

  • For the expression $s[exp] the inferred static type has the same item type as the static type of $s, but a cardinality that allows the empty sequence even if the static type of $s does not allow an empty sequence.

  • The inferred static type of the expression data($x) (whether written explicitly or inserted into the operation tree in places where atomization is implicit) depends on the inferred static type of $x: for example, if $x has type element(*, xs:integer) then data($x) has static type xs:integer.

In XQuery 1.0, rules for static type inferencing were published normatively in [XQuery 1.0 and XPath 2.0 Formal Semantics], but implementations were allowed to refine these rules to infer a more precise type where possible. With XQuery 3.0, the rules are entirely implementation-defined.

Every kind of expression also imposes requirements on the type of its operands. For example, with the expression substring($a, $b, $c), $a must be of type xs:string (or something that can be converted to xs:string by the function calling rules), while $b and $c must be of type xs:double.

If the Static Typing Feature is in effect, an XQuery processor must signal a type error during static analysis if the inferred static type of an expression is not subsumed by the required type of the context where the expression is used. For example, the call of substring above would cause a type error if the inferred static type of $a is xs:integer; equally, a type error would be reported during static analysis if the inferred static type is xs:anyAtomicType.

If the Static Typing Feature is not in effect, a processor may signal a type error during static analysis only if the inferred static type of an expression has no overlap (intersection) with the required type: so for the first argument of substring, the processor may report an error if the inferred type is xs:integer, but not if it is xs:anyAtomicType. Alternatively, if the Static Typing Feature is not in effect, the processor may defer all type checking until the dynamic evaluation phase.

2.2.3.2 Dynamic Evaluation Phase

[Definition: The dynamic evaluation phase is the phase during which the value of an expression is computed.] It occurs after completion of the static analysis phase.

The dynamic evaluation phase can occur only if no errors were detected during the static analysis phase. If the Static Typing Feature is in effect, all type errors are detected during static analysis and serve to inhibit the dynamic evaluation phase.

The dynamic evaluation phase depends on the operation tree of the expression being evaluated (step DQ1), on the input data (step DQ4), and on the dynamic context (step DQ5), which in turn draws information from the external environment (step DQ3) and the static context (step DQ2). The dynamic evaluation phase may create new data-model values (step DQ4) and it may extend the dynamic context (step DQ5)—for example, by binding values to variables.

[Definition: A dynamic type is associated with each value as it is computed. The dynamic type of a value may be more specific than the static type of the expression that computed it (for example, the static type of an expression might be xs:integer*, denoting a sequence of zero or more integers, but at evaluation time its value may have the dynamic type xs:integer, denoting exactly one integer.)]

If an operand of an expression is found to have a dynamic type that is not appropriate for that operand, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

Even though static typing can catch many type errors before an expression is executed, it is possible for an expression to raise an error during evaluation that was not detected by static analysis. For example, an expression may contain a cast of a string into an integer, which is statically valid. However, if the actual value of the string at run time cannot be cast into an integer, a dynamic error will result. Similarly, an expression may apply an arithmetic operator to a value whose static type is xs:untypedAtomic. This is not a static error, but at run time, if the value cannot be successfully cast to a numeric type, a dynamic error will be raised.

When the Static Typing Feature is in effect, it is also possible for static analysis of an expression to raise a type error, even though execution of the expression on certain inputs would be successful. For example, an expression might contain a function that requires an element as its parameter, and the static analysis phase might infer the static type of the function parameter to be an optional element. This case is treated as a type error and inhibits evaluation, even though the function call would have been successful for input data in which the optional element is present.

2.2.4 Serialization

[Definition: Serialization is the process of converting an XDM instance into a sequence of octets (step DM4 in Figure 1.) ] The general framework for serialization is described in [XSLT and XQuery Serialization 3.0].

An XQuery implementation is not required to provide a serialization interface. For example, an implementation may only provide a DOM interface (see [Document Object Model]) or an interface based on an event stream. In these cases, serialization would be outside of the scope of this specification.

[XSLT and XQuery Serialization 3.0] defines a set of serialization parameters that govern the serialization process. If an XQuery implementation provides a serialization interface, it may support (and may expose to users) any of the serialization parameters listed (with default values) in C.1 Static Context Components.

[Definition: An output declaration is an option declaration in the namespace "http://www.w3.org/2010/xslt-xquery-serialization"; it is used to declare serialization parameters.] When the application requests serialization of the output, the processor may use these parameters to control the way in which the serialization takes place. Processors may also allow external mechanisms for specifying serialization parameters, which may or may not override serialization parameters specified in the query prolog.

declare namespace output = "http://www.w3.org/2010/xslt-xquery-serialization";
declare option output:method   "xml"; 
declare option output:encoding "iso-8859-1"; 
declare option output:indent   "yes"; 
declare option output:parameter-document "file:///home/me/serialization-parameters.xml";

An output declaration may appear only in a main module; it is a static error [err:XQST0108] if an output declaration appears in a library module. It is a static error [err:XQST0110] if the same serialization parameter is declared more than once. It is a static error [err:XQST0109] if the local name of an output declaration in the http://www.w3.org/2010/xslt-xquery-serialization namespace is not one of the serialization parameter names listed in C.1 Static Context Components or parameter-document. The default value for the method parameter is "xml". An implementation may define additional implementation-defined serialization parameters in its own namespaces.

If the local name of an output declaration in the http://www.w3.org/2010/xslt-xquery-serialization namespace is parameter-document, the value of the output declaration is treated as a 2.4.5 URI Literals. The value is a location hint, and identifies an XDM instance in an implementation-defined way. If a processor is performing serialization, it is a static error [err:XQST0114] if the implementation is not able to process the value of the output:parameter-document declaration to produce an XDM instance.

If a processor is performing serialization, the XDM instance identified by an output:parameter-document output declaration specifies the values of serialization parameters in the manner defined by Section Setting Serialization Parameters by Means of a Data Model InstanceSER30. It is a static error [err:XQST0115] if this yields a serialization error. The value of any other output declaration overrides any value that might have been specified for the same serialization parameter using an output declaration in the http://www.w3.org/2010/xslt-xquery-serialization namespace with the local name parameter-document declaration.

A serialization parameter that is not applicable to the chosen output method must be ignored, except that if its value is not a valid value for that parameter, the error may be reported.

A processor that is performing serialization must report a serialization error if the values of any serialization parameters (other than any that are ignored under the previous paragraph) are incorrect.

A processor that is not performing serialization may report errors if any serialization parameters are incorrect, or may ignore such parameters.

Specifying serialization parameters in a query does not by itself demand that the output be serialized. It merely defines the desired form of the serialized output for use in situations where the processor has been asked to perform serialization.

Note:

The data model permits an element node to have fewer in-scope namespaces than its parent. Correct serialization of such an element node would require "undeclaration" of namespaces, which is a feature of [XML Names 1.1]. An implementation that does not support [XML Names 1.1] is permitted to serialize such an element without "undeclaration" of namespaces, which effectively causes the element to inherit the in-scope namespaces of its parent.

2.2.5 Consistency Constraints

In order for XQuery 3.0 to be well defined, the input XDM instance, the static context, and the dynamic context must be mutually consistent. The consistency constraints listed below are prerequisites for correct functioning of an XQuery 3.0 implementation. Enforcement of these consistency constraints is beyond the scope of this specification. This specification does not define the result of a query under any condition in which one or more of these constraints is not satisfied.

Some of the consistency constraints use the term data model schema. [Definition: For a given node in an XDM instance, the data model schema is defined as the schema from which the type annotation of that node was derived.] For a node that was constructed by some process other than schema validation, the data model schema consists simply of the schema type definition that is represented by the type annotation of the node.

  • For every node that has a type annotation, if that type annotation is found in the in-scope schema definitions (ISSD), then its definition in the ISSD must be equivalent to its definition in the data model schema. Furthermore, all types that are derived by extension from the given type in the data model schema must also be known by equivalent definitions in the ISSD.

  • For every element name EN that is found both in an XDM instance and in the in-scope schema definitions (ISSD), all elements that are known in the data model schema to be in the substitution group headed by EN must also be known in the ISSD to be in the substitution group headed by EN.

  • Every element name, attribute name, or schema type name referenced in in-scope variables or function signatures must be in the in-scope schema definitions, unless it is an element name referenced as part of an ElementTest or an attribute name referenced as part of an AttributeTest.

  • Any reference to a global element, attribute, or type name in the in-scope schema definitions must have a corresponding element, attribute or type definition in the in-scope schema definitions.

  • For each mapping of a string to a document node in available documents, if there exists a mapping of the same string to a document type in statically known documents, the document node must match the document type, using the matching rules in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching.

  • For each mapping of a string to a sequence of nodes in available collections, if there exists a mapping of the same string to a type in statically known collections, the sequence of nodes must match the type, using the matching rules in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching.

  • The sequence of nodes in the default collection must match the statically known default collection type, using the matching rules in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching.

  • The value of the context item must match the context item static type, using the matching rules in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching.

  • For each (variable, type) pair in in-scope variables and the corresponding (variable, value) pair in variable values such that the variable names are equal, the value must match the type, using the matching rules in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching.

  • For each variable declared as external, if the variable declaration does not include a VarDefaultValue, the external environment must provide a value for the variable.

    For each variable declared as external for which the external environment provides a value: If the variable declaration includes a declared type, the value provided by the external environment must match the declared type, using the matching rules in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching. If the variable declaration does not include a declared type, the external environment must provide a type to accompany the value provided, using the same matching rules.

    For each variable declared as external: If the variable declaration includes a declared type, the external environment must provide a value for the variable that matches the declared type, using the matching rules in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching. If the variable declaration does not include a declared type, the external environment may provide a value of any type, using the same matching rules.

  • For each function declared as external: the function implementation must either return a value that matches the declared result type, using the matching rules in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching, or raise an implementation-defined error.

  • For a given query, define a participating ISSD as the in-scope schema definitions of a module that is used in evaluating the query. If two participating ISSDs contain a definition for the same schema type, element name, or attribute name, the definitions must be equivalent in both ISSDs. Furthermore, if two participating ISSDs each contain a definition of a schema type T, the set of types derived by extension from T must be equivalent in both ISSDs. Also, if two participating ISSDs each contain a definition of an element name E, the substitution group headed by E must be equivalent in both ISSDs.

  • In the statically known namespaces, the prefix xml must not be bound to any namespace URI other than http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace, and no prefix other than xml may be bound to this namespace URI. The prefix xmlns must not be bound to any namespace URI, and no prefix may be bound to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/.

2.3 Error Handling

2.3.1 Kinds of Errors

As described in 2.2.3 Expression Processing, XQuery 3.0 defines a static analysis phase, which does not depend on input data, and a dynamic evaluation phase, which does depend on input data. Errors may be raised during each phase.

[Definition: A static error is an error that must be detected during the static analysis phase. A syntax error is an example of a static error.]

[Definition: A dynamic error is an error that must be detected during the dynamic evaluation phase and may be detected during the static analysis phase. Numeric overflow is an example of a dynamic error. ]

[Definition: A type error may be raised during the static analysis phase or the dynamic evaluation phase. During the static analysis phase, a type error occurs when the static type of an expression does not match the expected type of the context in which the expression occurs. During the dynamic evaluation phase, a type error occurs when the dynamic type of a value does not match the expected type of the context in which the value occurs.]

The outcome of the static analysis phase is either success or one or more type errors, static errors, or statically-detected dynamic errors. The result of the dynamic evaluation phase is either a result value, a type error, or a dynamic error.

If more than one error is present, or if an error condition comes within the scope of more than one error defined in this specification, then any non-empty subset of these errors may be reported.

During the static analysis phase, if the Static Typing Feature is in effect and the static type assigned to an expression other than () or data(()) is empty-sequence(), a static error is raised [err:XPST0005]. This catches cases in which a query refers to an element or attribute that is not present in the in-scope schema definitions, possibly because of a spelling error.

Independently of whether the Static Typing Feature is in effect, if an implementation can determine during the static analysis phase that a QueryBody , if evaluated, would necessarily raise a dynamic error or that an expression, if evaluated, would necessarily raise a type error, the implementation may (but is not required to) report that error during the static analysis phase.

Note:

An implementation can raise a dynamic error for a QueryBody statically only if the query can never execute without raising that error, as in the following example:

error()

The following example contains a type error, which can be reported statically even if the implementation can not prove that the expression will actually be evaluated.

if (empty($arg))
then 
  "cat" * 2
else
  0

[Definition: In addition to static errors, dynamic errors, and type errors, an XQuery 3.0 implementation may raise warnings, either during the static analysis phase or the dynamic evaluation phase. The circumstances in which warnings are raised, and the ways in which warnings are handled, are implementation-defined.]

In addition to the errors defined in this specification, an implementation may raise a dynamic error for a reason beyond the scope of this specification. For example, limitations may exist on the maximum numbers or sizes of various objects. Any such limitations, and the consequences of exceeding them, are implementation-dependent.

2.3.2 Identifying and Reporting Errors

The errors defined in this specification are identified by QNames that have the form err:XXYYnnnn, where:

The method by which an XQuery 3.0 processor reports error information to the external environment is implementation-defined.

An error can be represented by a URI reference that is derived from the error QName as follows: an error with namespace URI NS and local part LP can be represented as the URI reference NS # LP . For example, an error whose QName is err:XPST0017 could be represented as http://www.w3.org/2005/xqt-errors#XPST0017.

Note:

Along with a code identifying an error, implementations may wish to return additional information, such as the location of the error or the processing phase in which it was detected. If an implementation chooses to do so, then the mechanism that it uses to return this information is implementation-defined.

2.3.3 Handling Dynamic Errors

Except as noted in this document, if any operand of an expression raises a dynamic error, the expression also raises a dynamic error. If an expression can validly return a value or raise a dynamic error, the implementation may choose to return the value or raise the dynamic error. For example, the logical expression expr1 and expr2 may return the value false if either operand returns false, or may raise a dynamic error if either operand raises a dynamic error.

If more than one operand of an expression raises an error, the implementation may choose which error is raised by the expression. For example, in this expression:

($x div $y) + xs:decimal($z)

both the sub-expressions ($x div $y) and xs:decimal($z) may raise an error. The implementation may choose which error is raised by the "+" expression. Once one operand raises an error, the implementation is not required, but is permitted, to evaluate any other operands.

[Definition: In addition to its identifying QName, a dynamic error may also carry a descriptive string and one or more additional values called error values.] An implementation may provide a mechanism whereby an application-defined error handler can process error values and produce diagnostic messages.

A dynamic error may be raised by a built-in function or operator. For example, the div operator raises an error if its operands are xs:decimal values and its second operand is equal to zero. Errors raised by built-in functions and operators are defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

A dynamic error can also be raised explicitly by calling the fn:error function, which only raises an error and never returns a value. This function is defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0]. For example, the following function call raises a dynamic error, providing a QName that identifies the error, a descriptive string, and a diagnostic value (assuming that the prefix app is bound to a namespace containing application-defined error codes):

fn:error(xs:QName("app:err057"), "Unexpected value", fn:string($v))

2.3.4 Errors and Optimization

Because different implementations may choose to evaluate or optimize an expression in different ways, certain aspects of the detection and reporting of dynamic errors are implementation-dependent, as described in this section.

An implementation is always free to evaluate the operands of an operator in any order.

In some cases, a processor can determine the result of an expression without accessing all the data that would be implied by the formal expression semantics. For example, the formal description of filter expressions suggests that $s[1] should be evaluated by examining all the items in sequence $s, and selecting all those that satisfy the predicate position()=1. In practice, many implementations will recognize that they can evaluate this expression by taking the first item in the sequence and then exiting. If $s is defined by an expression such as //book[author eq 'Berners-Lee'], then this strategy may avoid a complete scan of a large document and may therefore greatly improve performance. However, a consequence of this strategy is that a dynamic error or type error that would be detected if the expression semantics were followed literally might not be detected at all if the evaluation exits early. In this example, such an error might occur if there is a book element in the input data with more than one author subelement.

The extent to which a processor may optimize its access to data, at the cost of not detecting errors, is defined by the following rules.

Consider an expression Q that has an operand (sub-expression) E. In general the value of E is a sequence. At an intermediate stage during evaluation of the sequence, some of its items will be known and others will be unknown. If, at such an intermediate stage of evaluation, a processor is able to establish that there are only two possible outcomes of evaluating Q, namely the value V or an error, then the processor may deliver the result V without evaluating further items in the operand E. For this purpose, two values are considered to represent the same outcome if their items are pairwise the same, where nodes are the same if they have the same identity, and values are the same if they are equal and have exactly the same type.

There is an exception to this rule: If a processor evaluates an operand E (wholly or in part), then it is required to establish that the actual value of the operand E does not violate any constraints on its cardinality. For example, the expression $e eq 0 results in a type error if the value of $e contains two or more items. A processor is not allowed to decide, after evaluating the first item in the value of $e and finding it equal to zero, that the only possible outcomes are the value true or a type error caused by the cardinality violation. It must establish that the value of $e contains no more than one item.

These rules apply to all the operands of an expression considered in combination: thus if an expression has two operands E1 and E2, it may be evaluated using any samples of the respective sequences that satisfy the above rules.

The rules cascade: if A is an operand of B and B is an operand of C, then the processor needs to evaluate only a sufficient sample of B to determine the value of C, and needs to evaluate only a sufficient sample of A to determine this sample of B.

The effect of these rules is that the processor is free to stop examining further items in a sequence as soon as it can establish that further items would not affect the result except possibly by causing an error. For example, the processor may return true as the result of the expression S1 = S2 as soon as it finds a pair of equal values from the two sequences.

Another consequence of these rules is that where none of the items in a sequence contributes to the result of an expression, the processor is not obliged to evaluate any part of the sequence. Again, however, the processor cannot dispense with a required cardinality check: if an empty sequence is not permitted in the relevant context, then the processor must ensure that the operand is not an empty sequence.

Examples:

  • If an implementation can find (for example, by using an index) that at least one item returned by $expr1 in the following example has the value 47, it is allowed to return true as the result of the some expression, without searching for another item returned by $expr1 that would raise an error if it were evaluated.

    some $x in $expr1 satisfies $x = 47
  • In the following example, if an implementation can find (for example, by using an index) the product element-nodes that have an id child with the value 47, it is allowed to return these nodes as the result of the path expression, without searching for another product node that would raise an error because it has an id child whose value is not an integer.

    //product[id = 47]

For a variety of reasons, including optimization, implementations may rewrite expressions into a different form. There are a number of rules that limit the extent of this freedom:

  • Other than the raising or not raising of errors, the result of evaluating a rewritten expression must conform to the semantics defined in this specification for the original expression.

    Note:

    This allows an implementation to return a result in cases where the original expression would have raised an error, or to raise an error in cases where the original expression would have returned a result. The main cases where this is likely to arise in practice are (a) where a rewrite changes the order of evaluation, such that a subexpression causing an error is evaluated when the expression is written one way and is not evaluated when the expression is written a different way, and (b) where intermediate results of the evaluation cause overflow or other out-of-range conditions.

    Note:

    This rule does not mean that the result of the expression will always be the same in non-error cases as if it had not been rewritten, because there are many cases where the result of an expression is to some degree implementation-dependent or implementation-defined.

  • Conditional and typeswitch expressions must not raise a dynamic error in respect of subexpressions occurring in a branch that is not selected, and must not return the value delivered by a branch unless that branch is selected. Thus, the following example must not raise a dynamic error if the document abc.xml does not exist:

    if (doc-available('abc.xml')) then doc('abc.xml') else ()
  • As stated earlier, an expression must not be rewritten to dispense with a required cardinality check: for example, string-length(//title) must raise an error if the document contains more than one title element.

  • Expressions must not be rewritten in such a way as to create or remove static errors. For example, there is a rule that in casting a string to a QName the operand must be a string literal. This rule applies to the original expression and not to any rewritten form of the expression.

Expression rewrite is illustrated by the following examples.

  • Consider the expression //part[color eq "Red"]. An implementation might choose to rewrite this expression as //part[color = "Red"][color eq "Red"]. The implementation might then process the expression as follows: First process the "=" predicate by probing an index on parts by color to quickly find all the parts that have a Red color; then process the "eq" predicate by checking each of these parts to make sure it has only a single color. The result would be as follows:

    • Parts that have exactly one color that is Red are returned.

    • If some part has color Red together with some other color, an error is raised.

    • The existence of some part that has no color Red but has multiple non-Red colors does not trigger an error.

  • The expression in the following example cannot raise a casting error if it is evaluated exactly as written (i.e., left to right). Since neither predicate depends on the context position, an implementation might choose to reorder the predicates to achieve better performance (for example, by taking advantage of an index). This reordering could cause the expression to raise an error.

    $N[@x castable as xs:date][xs:date(@x) gt xs:date("2000-01-01")]

    To avoid unexpected errors caused by expression rewrite, tests that are designed to prevent dynamic errors should be expressed using conditional or typeswitch expressions. For example, the above expression can be written as follows:

    $N[if (@x castable as xs:date)
       then xs:date(@x) gt xs:date("2000-01-01")
       else false()]

2.4 Concepts

This section explains some concepts that are important to the processing of XQuery 3.0 expressions.

2.4.1 Document Order

An ordering called document order is defined among all the nodes accessible during processing of a given query, which may consist of one or more trees (documents or fragments). Document order is defined in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0], and its definition is repeated here for convenience. [Definition: The node ordering that is the reverse of document order is called reverse document order.]

Document order is a total ordering, although the relative order of some nodes is implementation-dependent. [Definition: Informally, document order is the order in which nodes appear in the XML serialization of a document.] [Definition: Document order is stable, which means that the relative order of two nodes will not change during the processing of a given query, even if this order is implementation-dependent.]

Within a tree, document order satisfies the following constraints:

  1. The root node is the first node.

  2. Every node occurs before all of its children and descendants.

  3. Attribute nodes immediately follow the element node with which they are associated. The relative order of attribute nodes is stable but implementation-dependent.

  4. The relative order of siblings is the order in which they occur in the children property of their parent node.

  5. Children and descendants occur before following siblings.

The relative order of nodes in distinct trees is stable but implementation-dependent, subject to the following constraint: If any node in a given tree T1 is before any node in a different tree T2, then all nodes in tree T1 are before all nodes in tree T2.

2.4.2 Atomization

The semantics of some XQuery 3.0 operators depend on a process called atomization. Atomization is applied to a value when the value is used in a context in which a sequence of atomic values is required. The result of atomization is either a sequence of atomic values or a type error [err:FOTY0012]. [Definition: Atomization of a sequence is defined as the result of invoking the fn:data function on the sequence, as defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].]

The semantics of fn:data are repeated here for convenience. The result of fn:data is the sequence of atomic values produced by applying the following rules to each item in the input sequence:

  • If the item is an atomic value, it is returned.

  • If the item is a node, its typed value is returned (err:FOTY0012 is raised if the node has no typed value.)

  • If the item is a function itemDM30 [err:FOTY0012] is raised.

Atomization is used in processing the following types of expressions:

  • Arithmetic expressions

  • Comparison expressions

  • Function calls and returns

  • Cast expressions

  • Constructor expressions for various kinds of nodes

  • order by clauses in FLWOR expressions

  • group by clauses in FLWOR expressions

  • Switch expressions

2.4.3 Effective Boolean Value

Under certain circumstances (listed below), it is necessary to find the effective boolean value of a value. [Definition: The effective boolean value of a value is defined as the result of applying the fn:boolean function to the value, as defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].]

The dynamic semantics of fn:boolean are repeated here for convenience:

  1. If its operand is an empty sequence, fn:boolean returns false.

  2. If its operand is a sequence whose first item is a node, fn:boolean returns true.

  3. If its operand is a singleton value of type xs:boolean or derived from xs:boolean, fn:boolean returns the value of its operand unchanged.

  4. If its operand is a singleton value of type xs:string, xs:anyURI, xs:untypedAtomic, or a type derived from one of these, fn:boolean returns false if the operand value has zero length; otherwise it returns true.

  5. If its operand is a singleton value of any numeric type or derived from a numeric type, fn:boolean returns false if the operand value is NaN or is numerically equal to zero; otherwise it returns true.

  6. In all other cases, fn:boolean raises a type error [err:FORG0006].

Note:

The effective boolean value of a sequence that contains at least one node and at least one atomic value may be nondeterministic in regions of a query where ordering mode is unordered.

The effective boolean value of a sequence is computed implicitly during processing of the following types of expressions:

  • Logical expressions (and, or)

  • The fn:not function

  • The where clause of a FLWOR expression

  • Certain types of predicates, such as a[b]

  • Conditional expressions (if)

  • Quantified expressions (some, every)

Note:

The definition of effective boolean value is not used when casting a value to the type xs:boolean, for example in a cast expression or when passing a value to a function whose expected parameter is of type xs:boolean.

2.4.4 Input Sources

XQuery 3.0 has a set of functions that provide access to input data. These functions are of particular importance because they provide a way in which an expression can reference a document or a collection of documents. The input functions are described informally here; they are defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

An expression can access input data either by calling one of the input functions or by referencing some part of the dynamic context that is initialized by the external environment, such as a variable or context item.

The input functions supported by XQuery 3.0 are as follows:

  • The fn:doc function takes a string containing a URI. If that URI is associated with a document in available documents, fn:doc returns a document node whose content is the data model representation of the given document; otherwise it raises a dynamic error.

  • The fn:unparsed-text function takes a string containing a URI, which must identify a resource that can be read as text; otherwise it raises a dynamic error.

  • The fn:environment-variable and fn:available-environment-variables identify environment variables that are available in the dynamic context.

  • The fn:collection function with one argument takes a string containing a URI. If that URI is associated with a collection in available collections, fn:collection returns the data model representation of that collection; otherwise it raises a dynamic error. A collection may be any sequence of nodes. For example, the expression fn:collection("http://example.org")//customer identifies all the customer elements that are descendants of nodes found in the collection whose URI is http://example.org.

  • The fn:collection function with zero arguments returns the default collection, an implementation-dependent sequence of nodes.

  • The fn:uri-collection function returns a sequence of xs:anyURI values representing the document URIs of the documents in a collection.

These input functions are all specified in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0], which specifies error conditions and other details not described here.

2.4.5 URI Literals

In certain places in the grammar, a statically known valid URI is required. These places are denoted by the grammatical symbol URILiteral. For example, URILiterals are used to specify namespaces and collations, both of which must be statically known.

[195]   URILiteral   ::=    StringLiteral

Syntactically, a URILiteral is identical to a StringLiteral: a sequence of zero or more characters enclosed in single or double quotes. However, an implementation may raise a static error [err:XQST0046] if the value of a URILiteral is of nonzero length and is not in the lexical space of xs:anyURI.

As in a string literal, any predefined entity reference (such as &amp;), character reference (such as &#x2022;), or EscapeQuot or EscapeApos (for example, "") is replaced by its appropriate expansion. Certain characters, notably the ampersand, can only be represented using a predefined entity reference or a character reference.

[Definition: To resolve a relative URI is to expand it to an absolute URI, by reference to a base URI, as if by calling the function fn:resolve-uri().]

The URILiteral is subjected to whitespace normalization as defined for the xs:anyURI type in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1]: this means that leading and trailing whitespace is removed, and any other sequence of whitespace characters is replaced by a single space (#x20) character. Whitespace normalization is done after the expansion of character references, so writing a newline (for example) as &#xA; does not prevent its being normalized to a space character.

The URILiteral is not automatically subjected to percent-encoding or decoding as defined in [RFC3986]. Any process that attempts to resolve the URI against a base URI, or to dereference the URI, may however apply percent-encoding or decoding as defined in the relevant RFCs.

Note:

The xs:anyURI type is designed to anticipate the introduction of Internationalized Resource Identifiers (IRI's) as defined in [RFC3987].

The following is an example of a valid URILiteral:

"http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions/collation/codepoint"

2.5 Types

The type system of XQuery 3.0 is based on [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1].

[Definition: A sequence type is a type that can be expressed using the SequenceType syntax. Sequence types are used whenever it is necessary to refer to a type in an XQuery 3.0 expression. The term sequence type suggests that this syntax is used to describe the type of an XQuery 3.0 value, which is always a sequence.]

[Definition: A schema type is a type that is (or could be) defined using the facilities of [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] (including the built-in types of [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1]).] A schema type can be used as a type annotation on an element or attribute node (unless it is a non-instantiable type such as xs:NOTATION or xs:anyAtomicType, in which case its derived types can be so used). Every schema type is either a complex type or a simple type; simple types are further subdivided into list types, union types, and atomic types (see [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] for definitions and explanations of these terms.)

Atomic types represent the intersection between the categories of sequence type and schema type. An atomic type, such as xs:integer or my:hatsize, is both a sequence type and a schema type.

2.5.1 Predefined Schema Types

The schema types defined in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0] are summarized below.

The in-scope schema types in the static context are initialized with certain predefined schema types, including the built-in schema types in the namespace http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema, which has the predefined namespace prefix xs. The schema types in this namespace are defined in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] and augmented by additional types defined in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0]. Element and attribute declarations in the xs namespace are not implicitly included in the static context. The schema types defined in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0] are summarized below.

  1. [Definition: xs:untyped is used as the type annotation of an element node that has not been validated, or has been validated in skip mode.] No predefined schema types are derived from xs:untyped.

  2. [Definition: xs:untypedAtomic is an atomic type that is used to denote untyped atomic data, such as text that has not been assigned a more specific type.] An attribute that has been validated in skip mode is represented in the data model by an attribute node with the type annotation xs:untypedAtomic. No predefined schema types are derived from xs:untypedAtomic.

  3. [Definition: xs:dayTimeDuration is derived by restriction from xs:duration. The lexical representation of xs:dayTimeDuration is restricted to contain only day, hour, minute, and second components.]

  4. [Definition: xs:yearMonthDuration is derived by restriction from xs:duration. The lexical representation of xs:yearMonthDuration is restricted to contain only year and month components.]

  5. [Definition: xs:anyAtomicType is an atomic type that includes all atomic values (and no values that are not atomic). Its base type is xs:anySimpleType from which all simple types, including atomic, list, and union types, are derived. All primitive atomic types, such as xs:decimal and xs:string, have xs:anyAtomicType as their base type.]

    Note:

    xs:anyAtomicType will not appear as the type of an actual value in an XDM instance.

The relationships among the schema types in the xs namespace are illustrated in Figure 2. A more complete description of the XQuery 3.0 type hierarchy can be found in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

Type Hierarchy Diagram

Figure 2: Hierarchy of Schema Types used in XQuery 3.0.

2.5.2 Typed Value and String Value

Every node has a typed value and a string value. [Definition: The typed value of a node is a sequence of atomic values and can be extracted by applying the fn:data function to the node.] [Definition: The string value of a node is a string and can be extracted by applying the fn:string function to the node.] Definitions of fn:data and fn:string can be found in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

An implementation may store both the typed value and the string value of a node, or it may store only one of these and derive the other as needed. The string value of a node must be a valid lexical representation of the typed value of the node, but the node is not required to preserve the string representation from the original source document. For example, if the typed value of a node is the xs:integer value 30, its string value might be "30" or "0030".

The typed value, string value, and type annotation of a node are closely related, and are defined by rules found in the following locations:

As a convenience to the reader, the relationship between typed value and string value for various kinds of nodes is summarized and illustrated by examples below.

  1. For text and document nodes, the typed value of the node is the same as its string value, as an instance of the type xs:untypedAtomic. The string value of a document node is formed by concatenating the string values of all its descendant text nodes, in document order.

  2. The typed value of a comment or processing instruction node is the same as its string value. It is an instance of the type xs:string.

  3. The typed value of an attribute node with the type annotation xs:anySimpleType or xs:untypedAtomic is the same as its string value, as an instance of xs:untypedAtomic. The typed value of an attribute node with any other type annotation is derived from its string value and type annotation using the lexical-to-value-space mapping defined in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] Part 2 for the relevant type.

    Example: A1 is an attribute having string value "3.14E-2" and type annotation xs:double. The typed value of A1 is the xs:double value whose lexical representation is 3.14E-2.

    Example: A2 is an attribute with type annotation xs:IDREFS, which is a list datatype whose item type is the atomic datatype xs:IDREF. Its string value is "bar baz faz". The typed value of A2 is a sequence of three atomic values ("bar", "baz", "faz"), each of type xs:IDREF. The typed value of a node is never treated as an instance of a named list type. Instead, if the type annotation of a node is a list type (such as xs:IDREFS), its typed value is treated as a sequence of the atomic type from which it is derived (such as xs:IDREF).

  4. For an element node, the relationship between typed value and string value depends on the node's type annotation, as follows:

    1. If the type annotation is xs:untyped or xs:anySimpleType or denotes a complex type with mixed content (including xs:anyType), then the typed value of the node is equal to its string value, as an instance of xs:untypedAtomic. However, if the nilled property of the node is true, then its typed value is the empty sequence.

      Example: E1 is an element node having type annotation xs:untyped and string value "1999-05-31". The typed value of E1 is "1999-05-31", as an instance of xs:untypedAtomic.

      Example: E2 is an element node with the type annotation formula, which is a complex type with mixed content. The content of E2 consists of the character "H", a child element named subscript with string value "2", and the character "O". The typed value of E2 is "H2O" as an instance of xs:untypedAtomic.

    2. If the type annotation denotes a simple type or a complex type with simple content, then the typed value of the node is derived from its string value and its type annotation in a way that is consistent with schema validation. However, if the nilled property of the node is true, then its typed value is the empty sequence.

      Example: E3 is an element node with the type annotation cost, which is a complex type that has several attributes and a simple content type of xs:decimal. The string value of E3 is "74.95". The typed value of E3 is 74.95, as an instance of xs:decimal.

      Example: E4 is an element node with the type annotation hatsizelist, which is a simple type derived from the atomic type hatsize, which in turn is derived from xs:integer. The string value of E4 is "7 8 9". The typed value of E4 is a sequence of three values (7, 8, 9), each of type hatsize.

      Example: E5 is an element node with the type annotation my:integer-or-string which is a union type with member types xs:integer and xs:string. The string value of E5 is "47". The typed value of E5 is 47 as an xs:integer, since xs:integer is the member type that validated the content of E5. In general, when the type annotation of a node is a union type, the typed value of the node will be an instance of one of the member types of the union.

      Note:

      If an implementation stores only the string value of a node, and the type annotation of the node is a union type, the implementation must be able to deliver the typed value of the node as an instance of the appropriate member type.

    3. If the type annotation denotes a complex type with empty content, then the typed value of the node is the empty sequence and its string value is the zero-length string.

    4. If the type annotation denotes a complex type with element-only content, then the typed value of the node is undefined. The fn:data function raises a type error [err:FOTY0012] when applied to such a node. The string value of such a node is equal to the concatenated string values of all its text node descendants, in document order.

      Example: E6 is an element node with the type annotation weather, which is a complex type whose content type specifies element-only. E6 has two child elements named temperature and precipitation. The typed value of E6 is undefined, and the fn:data function applied to E6 raises an error.

2.5.3 SequenceType Syntax

Whenever it is necessary to refer to a type in an XQuery 3.0 expression, the SequenceType syntax is used.

[169]   SequenceType   ::=   ("empty-sequence" "(" ")")
| (ItemType OccurrenceIndicator?)
[171]   ItemType   ::=    KindTest | ("item" "(" ")") | FunctionTest | AtomicOrUnionType | ParenthesizedItemType
[170]   OccurrenceIndicator   ::=   "?" | "*" | "+"
[172]   AtomicOrUnionType   ::=    EQName
[173]   KindTest   ::=    DocumentTest
| ElementTest
| AttributeTest
| SchemaElementTest
| SchemaAttributeTest
| PITest
| CommentTest
| TextTest
| NamespaceNodeTest
| AnyKindTest
[175]   DocumentTest   ::=   "document-node" "(" (ElementTest | SchemaElementTest)? ")"
[184]   ElementTest   ::=   "element" "(" (ElementNameOrWildcard ("," TypeName "?"?)?)? ")"
[186]   SchemaElementTest   ::=   "schema-element" "(" ElementDeclaration ")"
[187]   ElementDeclaration   ::=    ElementName
[180]   AttributeTest   ::=   "attribute" "(" (AttribNameOrWildcard ("," TypeName)?)? ")"
[182]   SchemaAttributeTest   ::=   "schema-attribute" "(" AttributeDeclaration ")"
[183]   AttributeDeclaration   ::=    AttributeName
[185]   ElementNameOrWildcard   ::=    ElementName | "*"
[189]   ElementName   ::=    EQName
[181]   AttribNameOrWildcard   ::=    AttributeName | "*"
[188]   AttributeName   ::=    EQName
[190]   TypeName   ::=    EQName
[179]   PITest   ::=   "processing-instruction" "(" (NCName | StringLiteral)? ")"
[177]   CommentTest   ::=   "comment" "(" ")"
[176]   TextTest   ::=   "text" "(" ")"
[174]   AnyKindTest   ::=   "node" "(" ")"
[191]   FunctionTest   ::=    Annotation* (AnyFunctionTest
| TypedFunctionTest)
[192]   AnyFunctionTest   ::=   "function" "(" "*" ")"
[193]   TypedFunctionTest   ::=   "function" "(" (SequenceType ("," SequenceType)*)? ")" "as" SequenceType
[194]   ParenthesizedItemType   ::=   "(" ItemType ")"

With the exception of the special type empty-sequence(), a sequence type consists of an item type that constrains the type of each item in the sequence, and a cardinality that constrains the number of items in the sequence. Apart from the item type item(), which permits any kind of item, item types divide into node types (such as element()), atomic types (such as xs:integer) and function types (such as function() as item()*).

Item types representing element and attribute nodes may specify the required type annotations of those nodes, in the form of a schema type. Thus the item type element(*, us:address) denotes any element node whose type annotation is (or is derived from) the schema type named us:address.

Any occurrence of '+' and '*', as well as '?' immediately following a sequence type is assumed to be an occurrence indicator, which binds to the last ItemType in the SequenceType, as described in occurrence-indicators constraint.

Here are some examples of sequence types that might be used in XQuery 3.0:

  • xs:date refers to the built-in atomic schema type named xs:date

  • attribute()? refers to an optional attribute node

  • element() refers to any element node

  • element(po:shipto, po:address) refers to an element node that has the name po:shipto and has the type annotation po:address (or a schema type derived from po:address)

  • element(*, po:address) refers to an element node of any name that has the type annotation po:address (or a type derived from po:address)

  • element(customer) refers to an element node named customer with any type annotation

  • schema-element(customer) refers to an element node whose name is customer (or is in the substitution group headed by customer) and whose type annotation matches the schema type declared for a customer element in the in-scope element declarations

  • node()* refers to a sequence of zero or more nodes of any kind

  • item()+ refers to a sequence of one or more items

  • function(*) refers to any function itemDM30, regardless of arity or type

  • function(node()) as xs:string* refers to a function itemDM30 that takes a single argument whose value is a single node, and returns a sequence of zero or more xs:string values

  • (function(node()) as xs:string)* refers to a sequence of zero or more function itemsDM30, each of which takes a single argument whose value is a single node, and returns as its result a single xs:string value

2.5.4 SequenceType Matching

[Definition: During evaluation of an expression, it is sometimes necessary to determine whether a value with a known dynamic type "matches" an expected sequence type. This process is known as SequenceType matching.] For example, an instance of expression returns true if the dynamic type of a given value matches a given sequence type, or false if it does not.

Lexical QNames appearing in a sequence type have their prefixes expanded to namespace URIs by means of the statically known namespaces and (where applicable) the default element/type namespace or default function namespace. Equality of QNames is defined by the eq operator.

The rules for SequenceType matching compare the dynamic type of a value with an expected sequence type.

Some of the rules for SequenceType matching require determining whether a given schema type encountered as a type annotation in an instance document is the same as or derived from an expected schema type. This determination is done by reference to a schema S (that is, a set of schema components). This schema S is the union of:

  1. the in-scope schema definitions in the static context of the module.

  2. potentially, the schema used for validating the instance document; whether a processor adds this schema to S is implementation-defined.

  3. potentially, further schema components that have been made available to the processor in an implementation-defined way.

A type error [err:XPTY0004] may be raised if this union does not constitute a valid schema (for example, if there are conflicts between types present in the static context and types used dynamically for validating instances.)

Whether the schema used to validate the instance document is in S is implementation-defined. Whether the implementation provides further schema components in S is also implementation-defined.

[Definition: The use of a value whose dynamic type is derived from an expected type is known as subtype substitution.] Subtype substitution does not change the actual type of a value. For example, if an xs:integer value is used where an xs:decimal value is expected, the value retains its type as xs:integer.

The definition of SequenceType matching relies on a pseudo-function named derives-from( AT, ET ), which takes an actual simple or complex schema type AT and an expected simple or complex schema type ET, and either returns a boolean value or raises a type error [err:XPTY0004]. This function is defined as follows:

  • derives-from( AT, ET ) raises a type error [err:XPTY0004] if either AT or ET is not present in S

  • derives-from( AT, ET ) returns true if AT is derived from ET by restriction or extension, or if ET is a union type of which AT is a member type.

    Formally, it returns true if AT and ET are both present in S and AT is validly derived from ET given the empty set, as defined in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] Part 1 constraints Type Derivation OK (Complex) (if AT is a complex type), or Type Derivation OK (Simple) (if AT is a simple type). The phrase "given the empty set" is used because the rules in the XML Schema specification are parameterized: the parameter is a list of the kinds of derivation that are not allowed, and in this case the list is always empty.

    Note:

    The current (second) edition of XML Schema 1.0 contains an error in respect of the substitutability of a union type by one of its members: it fails to recognize that this is unsafe if the union is derived by restriction from another union. This problem is fixed in the current working draft of XML Schema 1.1, and implementers are advised to adopt the solution given there. It is likely that this specification will be updated to refer normatively to XML Schema 1.1 when that specification reaches Recommendation status.

  • Otherwise, derives-from( AT, ET ) returns false

The rules for SequenceType matching are given below, with examples (the examples are for purposes of illustration, and do not cover all possible cases).

2.5.4.1 Matching a SequenceType and a Value

An OccurrenceIndicator specifies the number of items in a sequence, as follows:

  • ? matches zero or one items

  • * matches zero or more items

  • + matches one or more items

As a consequence of these rules, any sequence type whose OccurrenceIndicator is * or ? matches a value that is an empty sequence.

2.5.4.2 Matching an ItemType and an Item
  • An ItemType consisting simply of an EQName is interpreted as an AtomicOrUnionType. The expected type AtomicOrUnionType matches an atomic value whose actual type is AT if derives-from( AT, AtomicOrUnionType ) is true.

    Note:

    derives-from() is defined for both union types and atomic types.

    The name of an AtomicOrUnionType has its prefix expanded to a namespace URI by means of the statically known namespaces, or if unprefixed, the default element/type namespace. If the expanded QName of an AtomicOrUnionType is not defined as an atomic type or a union type in the in-scope schema types, a static error is raised [err:XPST0051].

    Example: The ItemType xs:decimal matches any value of type xs:decimal. It also matches any value of type shoesize, if shoesize is an atomic type derived by restriction from xs:decimal.

    Example: Suppose ItemType dress-size is a union type that allows either xs:decimal values for numeric sizes (e.g. 4, 6, 10, 12), or one of an enumerated set of xs:strings (e.g. "small", "medium", "large"). The ItemType dress-size matches any of these values.

    Note:

    The names of non-atomic types such as xs:IDREFS are not accepted in this context, but can often be replaced by an atomic type with an occurrence indicator, such as xs:IDREF+.

  • item() matches any single item.

    Example: item() matches the atomic value 1, the element <a/>, or the function item fn:concat#3.

  • node() matches any node.

  • text() matches any text node.

  • processing-instruction() matches any processing-instruction node.

  • processing-instruction( N ) matches any processing-instruction node whose PITarget is equal to fn:normalize-space(N). If fn:normalize-space(N) is not in the lexical space of NCName, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004]

    Example: processing-instruction(xml-stylesheet) matches any processing instruction whose PITarget is xml-stylesheet.

    For backward compatibility with XPath 1.0, the PITarget of a processing instruction may also be expressed as a string literal, as in this example: processing-instruction("xml-stylesheet").

    If the specified PITarget is not a syntactically valid NCName, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  • comment() matches any comment node.

  • namespace-node() matches any namespace node.

  • document-node() matches any document node.

  • document-node( E ) matches any document node that contains exactly one element node, optionally accompanied by one or more comment and processing instruction nodes, if E is an ElementTest or SchemaElementTest that matches the element node (see 2.5.4.3 Element Test and 2.5.4.4 Schema Element Test).

    Example: document-node(element(book)) matches a document node containing exactly one element node that is matched by the ElementTest element(book).

  • A ParenthesizedItemType matches an item if and only if the item matches the ItemType that is in parentheses.

  • An ItemType that is an ElementTest, SchemaElementTest, AttributeTest, SchemaAttributeTest, or FunctionTest matches an item as described in the following sections.

2.5.4.3 Element Test
[184]   ElementTest   ::=   "element" "(" (ElementNameOrWildcard ("," TypeName "?"?)?)? ")"
[185]   ElementNameOrWildcard   ::=    ElementName | "*"
[189]   ElementName   ::=    EQName
[190]   TypeName   ::=    EQName

An ElementTest is used to match an element node by its name and/or type annotation.

The ElementName and TypeName of an ElementTest have their prefixes expanded to namespace URIs by means of the statically known namespaces, or if unprefixed, the default element/type namespace. The ElementName need not be present in the in-scope element declarations, but the TypeName must be present in the in-scope schema types [err:XPST0008]. Note that substitution groups do not affect the semantics of ElementTest.

An ElementTest may take any of the following forms:

  1. element() and element(*) match any single element node, regardless of its name or type annotation.

  2. element( ElementName ) matches any element node whose name is ElementName, regardless of its type annotation or nilled property.

    Example: element(person) matches any element node whose name is person.

  3. element( ElementName , TypeName ) matches an element node whose name is ElementName if derives-from( AT, TypeName ) is true, where AT is the type annotation of the element node, and the nilled property of the node is false.

    Example: element(person, surgeon) matches a non-nilled element node whose name is person and whose type annotation is surgeon (or is derived from surgeon).

  4. element( ElementName, TypeName ?) matches an element node whose name is ElementName if derives-from( AT, TypeName ) is true, where AT is the type annotation of the element node. The nilled property of the node may be either true or false.

    Example: element(person, surgeon?) matches a nilled or non-nilled element node whose name is person and whose type annotation is surgeon (or is derived from surgeon).

  5. element(*, TypeName ) matches an element node regardless of its name, if derives-from( AT, TypeName ) is true, where AT is the type annotation of the element node, and the nilled property of the node is false.

    Example: element(*, surgeon) matches any non-nilled element node whose type annotation is surgeon (or is derived from surgeon), regardless of its name.

  6. element(*, TypeName ?) matches an element node regardless of its name, if derives-from( AT, TypeName ) is true, where AT is the type annotation of the element node. The nilled property of the node may be either true or false.

    Example: element(*, surgeon?) matches any nilled or non-nilled element node whose type annotation is surgeon (or is derived from surgeon), regardless of its name.

2.5.4.4 Schema Element Test
[186]   SchemaElementTest   ::=   "schema-element" "(" ElementDeclaration ")"
[187]   ElementDeclaration   ::=    ElementName
[189]   ElementName   ::=    EQName

A SchemaElementTest matches an element node against a corresponding element declaration found in the in-scope element declarations.

The ElementName of a SchemaElementTest has its prefixes expanded to a namespace URI by means of the statically known namespaces, or if unprefixed, the default element/type namespace. If the ElementName specified in the SchemaElementTest is not found in the in-scope element declarations, a static error is raised [err:XPST0008].

A SchemaElementTest matches a candidate element node if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

  1. The name of the candidate node matches the specified ElementName, or it matches the name of an element in a substitution group headed by an element named ElementName and the substituted element is not abstract.

  2. derives-from( AT, ET ) is true, where AT is the type annotation of the candidate node and ET is the schema type declared for element ElementName in the in-scope element declarations.

  3. If the element declaration for ElementName in the in-scope element declarations is not nillable, then the nilled property of the candidate node is false.

Example: The SchemaElementTest schema-element(customer) matches a candidate element node if customer is a top-level element declaration in the in-scope element declarations, the name of the candidate node is customer or is in a substitution group headed by customer, the type annotation of the candidate node is the same as or derived from the schema type declared for the customer element, and either the candidate node is not nilled or customer is declared to be nillable.

2.5.4.5 Attribute Test
[180]   AttributeTest   ::=   "attribute" "(" (AttribNameOrWildcard ("," TypeName)?)? ")"
[181]   AttribNameOrWildcard   ::=    AttributeName | "*"
[188]   AttributeName   ::=    EQName
[190]   TypeName   ::=    EQName

An AttributeTest is used to match an attribute node by its name and/or type annotation.

The AttributeName and TypeName of an AttributeTest have their prefixes expanded to namespace URIs by means of the statically known namespaces. If unprefixed, the AttributeName is in no namespace, but an unprefixed TypeName is in the default element/type namespace. The AttributeName need not be present in the in-scope attribute declarations, but the TypeName must be present in the in-scope schema types [err:XPST0008].

An AttributeTest may take any of the following forms:

  1. attribute() and attribute(*) match any single attribute node, regardless of its name or type annotation.

  2. attribute( AttributeName ) matches any attribute node whose name is AttributeName, regardless of its type annotation.

    Example: attribute(price) matches any attribute node whose name is price.

  3. attribute( AttributeName, TypeName ) matches an attribute node whose name is AttributeName if derives-from( AT, TypeName ) is true, where AT is the type annotation of the attribute node.

    Example: attribute(price, currency) matches an attribute node whose name is price and whose type annotation is currency (or is derived from currency).

  4. attribute(*, TypeName ) matches an attribute node regardless of its name, if derives-from( AT, TypeName ) is true, where AT is the type annotation of the attribute node.

    Example: attribute(*, currency) matches any attribute node whose type annotation is currency (or is derived from currency), regardless of its name.

2.5.4.6 Schema Attribute Test
[182]   SchemaAttributeTest   ::=   "schema-attribute" "(" AttributeDeclaration ")"
[183]   AttributeDeclaration   ::=    AttributeName
[188]   AttributeName   ::=    EQName

A SchemaAttributeTest matches an attribute node against a corresponding attribute declaration found in the in-scope attribute declarations.

The AttributeName of a SchemaAttributeTest has its prefixes expanded to a namespace URI by means of the statically known namespaces. If unprefixed, an AttributeName is in no namespace. If the AttributeName specified in the SchemaAttributeTest is not found in the in-scope attribute declarations, a static error is raised [err:XPST0008].

A SchemaAttributeTest matches a candidate attribute node if both of the following conditions are satisfied:

  1. The name of the candidate node matches the specified AttributeName.

  2. derives-from( AT, ET ) is true, where AT is the type annotation of the candidate node and ET is the schema type declared for attribute AttributeName in the in-scope attribute declarations.

Example: The SchemaAttributeTest schema-attribute(color) matches a candidate attribute node if color is a top-level attribute declaration in the in-scope attribute declarations, the name of the candidate node is color, and the type annotation of the candidate node is the same as or derived from the schema type declared for the color attribute.

2.5.4.7 Function Test
[191]   FunctionTest   ::=    Annotation* (AnyFunctionTest
| TypedFunctionTest)
[192]   AnyFunctionTest   ::=   "function" "(" "*" ")"
[193]   TypedFunctionTest   ::=   "function" "(" (SequenceType ("," SequenceType)*)? ")" "as" SequenceType

A FunctionTest matches a function itemDM30, potentially also checking its function signature and annotations (see 4.15 Annotations).

[Definition: If an annotation is present in a FunctionTest, it is called an annotation assertion.] Annotation assertions further restrict the set of function items that are matched by a FunctionTest.

XQuery 3.0 defines two annotation assertions: %fn:deterministic matches function items that are deterministic. %fn:nondeterministic matches both function items that are deterministic and function items that are not deterministic.

Implementations MAY define further annotation assertions, whose behaviour is implementation-defined. Implementations MAY provide a way for users to create their own annotation assertions. Implementations MUST NOT define annotation assertions in the following reserved namespaces; it is an error for users to create annotation assertions in the following reserved namespaces [err:XQST0045]:

  • http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace

  • http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema

  • http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance

  • http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions

  • http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions/math

Note:

There are no annotation assertions that correspond to the %public and %private annotations. Annotation assertions are not automatically defined as a side effect of creating an annotation.

Note:

Other specifications in the XQuery family will also use annotation assertions. For instance, in the XQuery Update Facility, %fn:updating matches function items with a %fn:simple or %fn:updating annotation. In the XQuery Scripting Extension, %fn:sequential matches function items with a %fn:simple or %fn:sequential annotation, and %fn:simple matches function items with a %fn:simple annotation. If no %fn:updating or %fn:sequential annotation assertion is present, this is the default matching behaviour.

A FunctionTest may take any of the following forms:

  1. function(*) matches any function itemDM30.

  2. A TypedFunctionTest matches an item if it is a function itemDM30, and the function item's type signature (as defined in Section Function ItemsDM30) is a subtype of the TypedFunctionTest.

2.5.5 SequenceType Subtype Relationships

Given two sequence types, it is possible to determine if one is a subtype of the other. [Definition: A sequence type A is a subtype of a sequence type B if and only if, for every value V, if V matches A according to the rules of SequenceType matching, then V also matches B.] The subtype relationship can be computed using the subtype(A, B), subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi), and derives-from(AT, ET) judgements.

2.5.5.1 The SequenceType Subtype Judgement

The judgement subtype(A, B) determines if the sequence type A is a subtype of the sequence type B. A can either be empty-sequence() or an ItemType, Ai, possibly followed by an occurrence indicator. Similarly B can either be empty-sequence() or an ItemType, Bi, possibly followed by an occurrence indicator. The result of the subtype(A, B) judgement can be determined from the table below, which makes use of the auxiliary judgement subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi) defined in 2.5.5.2 The ItemType Subtype Judgement.

Sequence type B
empty-sequence() Bi? Bi* Bi Bi+
Sequence type A empty-sequence() truetruetruefalsefalse
Ai? false subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi) subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi) falsefalse
Ai* falsefalse subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi) falsefalse
Ai false subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi) subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi) subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi) subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi)
Ai+ falsefalse subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi) false subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi)
2.5.5.2 The ItemType Subtype Judgement

The judgement subtype-itemtype(Ai, Bi) determines if the ItemType Ai is a subtype of the ItemType Bi. Ai is a subtype of Bi if and only if at least one of the following conditions applies:

  • Ai and Bi are AtomicOrUnionTypes, and derives-from(Ai, Bi) returns true.

  • Bi is item().

  • Bi is node(), and Ai is a KindTest.

  • Bi is function(*), and Ai is a FunctionTest.

  • Bi is text() and Ai is also text().

  • Bi is comment() and Ai is also comment().

  • Bi is namespace-node() and Ai is also namespace-node().

  • Bi is processing-instruction() and Ai is either processing-instruction() or processing-instruction(N) for any name N..

  • Bi is processing-instruction(Bn), and Ai is also processing-instruction(Bn).

  • Bi is document-node() and Ai is either document-node() or document-node(E) for any ElementTest E.

  • Bi is document-node(Be) and Ai is document-node(Ae), and subtype-itemtype(Ae, Be).

  • Bi is either element() or element(*), and Ai is an ElementTest.

  • Bi is either element(Bn) or element(Bn, xs:anyType), and Ai is either element(Bn), or element(Bn, T) for any type T.

  • Bi is element(Bn, Bt), Ai is element(Bn, At), and derives-from(At, Bt) returns true.

  • Bi is element(Bn, Bt?), Ai is either element(Bn, At), or element(Bn, At?), and derives-from(At, Bt) returns true.

  • Bi is element(*, Bt), Ai is either element(*, At), or element(N, At) for any name N, and derives-from(At, Bt) returns true.

  • Bi is element(*, Bt?), Ai is either element(*, At), element(*, At?), element(N, At), or element(N, At?) for any name N, and derives-from(At, Bt) returns true.

  • Bi is schema-element(Bn), Ai is schema-element(An), and either the expanded QName An equals the expanded QName Bn or the element declaration named An is in the substitution group of the element declaration named Bn.

  • Bi is either attribute() or attribute(*), and Ai is an AttributeTest.

  • Bi is either attribute(Bn) or attribute(Bn, xs:anyType), and Ai is either attribute(Bn), or attribute(Bn, T) for any type T.

  • Bi is attribute(Bn, Bt), Ai is attribute(Bn, At), and derives-from(At, Bt) returns true.

  • Bi is attribute(*, Bt), Ai is either attribute(*, At), or attribute(N, At) for any name N, and derives-from(At, Bt) returns true.

  • Bi is schema-attribute(Bn) and Ai is also schema-attribute(Bn).

  • Bi is function(Ba_1, Ba_2, ... Ba_N) as Br, Ai is function(Aa_1, Aa_2, ... Aa_M) as Ar, N (arity of Bi) equals M (arity of Ai), subtype(Ar, Br), and for values of I between 1 and N, subtype(Ba_I, Aa_I).

2.6 Comments

[207]   Comment   ::=   "(:" (CommentContents | Comment)* ":)"
[215]   CommentContents   ::=   (Char+ - (Char* ('(:' | ':)') Char*))

Comments may be used to provide informative annotation for a query, either in the Prolog or in the Query Body . Comments are lexical constructs only, and do not affect query processing.

Comments are strings, delimited by the symbols (: and :). Comments may be nested.

A comment may be used anywhere ignorable whitespace is allowed (see A.2.4.1 Default Whitespace Handling).

The following is an example of a comment:

(: Houston, we have a problem :)

3 Expressions

This section discusses each of the basic kinds of expression. Each kind of expression has a name such as PathExpr, which is introduced on the left side of the grammar production that defines the expression. Since XQuery 3.0 is a composable language, each kind of expression is defined in terms of other expressions whose operators have a higher precedence. In this way, the precedence of operators is represented explicitly in the grammar.

The order in which expressions are discussed in this document does not reflect the order of operator precedence. In general, this document introduces the simplest kinds of expressions first, followed by more complex expressions. For the complete grammar, see Appendix [A XQuery 3.0 Grammar].

[Definition: A query consists of one or more modules.] If a query is executable, one of its modules has a Query Body containing an expression whose value is the result of the query. An expression is represented in the XQuery grammar by the symbol Expr.

[39]   Expr   ::=    ExprSingle ("," ExprSingle)*
[40]   ExprSingle   ::=    FLWORExpr
| QuantifiedExpr
| SwitchExpr
| TypeswitchExpr
| IfExpr
| TryCatchExpr
| OrExpr

The XQuery 3.0 operator that has lowest precedence is the comma operator, which is used to combine two operands to form a sequence. As shown in the grammar, a general expression (Expr) can consist of multiple ExprSingle operands, separated by commas. The name ExprSingle denotes an expression that does not contain a top-level comma operator (despite its name, an ExprSingle may evaluate to a sequence containing more than one item.)

The symbol ExprSingle is used in various places in the grammar where an expression is not allowed to contain a top-level comma. For example, each of the arguments of a function call must be an ExprSingle, because commas are used to separate the arguments of a function call.

After the comma, the expressions that have next lowest precedence are FLWORExpr, QuantifiedExpr, TypeswitchExpr, IfExpr, and OrExpr. Each of these expressions is described in a separate section of this document.

3.1 Primary Expressions

[Definition: Primary expressions are the basic primitives of the language. They include literals, variable references, context item expressions, constructors, and function calls. A primary expression may also be created by enclosing any expression in parentheses, which is sometimes helpful in controlling the precedence of operators.] Constructors are described in 3.8 Constructors.

[125]   PrimaryExpr   ::=    Literal
| VarRef
| ParenthesizedExpr
| ContextItemExpr
| FunctionCall
| OrderedExpr
| UnorderedExpr
| Constructor
| FunctionItemExpr
[164]   FunctionItemExpr   ::=    LiteralFunctionItem | InlineFunction

3.1.1 Literals

[Definition: A literal is a direct syntactic representation of an atomic value.] XQuery 3.0 supports two kinds of literals: numeric literals and string literals.

[126]   Literal   ::=    NumericLiteral | StringLiteral
[127]   NumericLiteral   ::=    IntegerLiteral | DecimalLiteral | DoubleLiteral
[197]   IntegerLiteral   ::=    Digits
[198]   DecimalLiteral   ::=   ("." Digits) | (Digits "." [0-9]*)
[199]   DoubleLiteral   ::=   (("." Digits) | (Digits ("." [0-9]*)?)) [eE] [+-]? Digits
[200]   StringLiteral   ::=   ('"' (PredefinedEntityRef | CharRef | EscapeQuot | [^"&])* '"') | ("'" (PredefinedEntityRef | CharRef | EscapeApos | [^'&])* "'")
[201]   PredefinedEntityRef   ::=   "&" ("lt" | "gt" | "amp" | "quot" | "apos") ";"
[214]   Digits   ::=   [0-9]+

The value of a numeric literal containing no "." and no e or E character is an atomic value of type xs:integer. The value of a numeric literal containing "." but no e or E character is an atomic value of type xs:decimal. The value of a numeric literal containing an e or E character is an atomic value of type xs:double. The value of the numeric literal is determined by casting it to the appropriate type according to the rules for casting from xs:untypedAtomic to a numeric type as specified in Section Casting from xs:string and xs:untypedAtomicFO30.

The value of a string literal is an atomic value whose type is xs:string and whose value is the string denoted by the characters between the delimiting apostrophes or quotation marks. If the literal is delimited by apostrophes, two adjacent apostrophes within the literal are interpreted as a single apostrophe. Similarly, if the literal is delimited by quotation marks, two adjacent quotation marks within the literal are interpreted as one quotation mark.

A string literal may contain a predefined entity reference. [Definition: A predefined entity reference is a short sequence of characters, beginning with an ampersand, that represents a single character that might otherwise have syntactic significance.] Each predefined entity reference is replaced by the character it represents when the string literal is processed. The predefined entity references recognized by XQuery are as follows:

Entity ReferenceCharacter Represented
&lt; <
&gt; >
&amp; &
&quot; "
&apos; '

A string literal may also contain a character reference. [Definition: A character reference is an XML-style reference to a [Unicode] character, identified by its decimal or hexadecimal codepoint.] For example, the Euro symbol (€) can be represented by the character reference &#8364;. Character references are normatively defined in Section 4.1 of the XML specification (it is implementation-defined whether the rules in [XML 1.0] or [XML 1.1] apply.) A static error [err:XQST0090] is raised if a character reference does not identify a valid character in the version of XML that is in use.

Here are some examples of literal expressions:

  • "12.5" denotes the string containing the characters '1', '2', '.', and '5'.

  • 12 denotes the xs:integer value twelve.

  • 12.5 denotes the xs:decimal value twelve and one half.

  • 125E2 denotes the xs:double value twelve thousand, five hundred.

  • "He said, ""I don't like it.""" denotes a string containing two quotation marks and one apostrophe.

  • "Ben &amp; Jerry&apos;s" denotes the xs:string value "Ben & Jerry's".

  • "&#8364;99.50" denotes the xs:string value "€99.50".

The xs:boolean values true and false can be constructed by calls to the built-in functions fn:true() and fn:false(), respectively.

Values of other atomic types can be constructed by calling the constructor function for the given type. The constructor functions for XML Schema built-in types are defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0]. In general, the name of a constructor function for a given type is the same as the name of the type (including its namespace). For example:

  • xs:integer("12") returns the integer value twelve.

  • xs:date("2001-08-25") returns an item whose type is xs:date and whose value represents the date 25th August 2001.

  • xs:dayTimeDuration("PT5H") returns an item whose type is xs:dayTimeDuration and whose value represents a duration of five hours.

Constructor functions can also be used to create special values that have no literal representation, as in the following examples:

  • xs:float("NaN") returns the special floating-point value, "Not a Number."

  • xs:double("INF") returns the special double-precision value, "positive infinity."

It is also possible to construct values of various types by using a cast expression. For example:

  • 9 cast as hatsize returns the atomic value 9 whose type is hatsize.

3.1.2 Variable References

[128]   VarRef   ::=   "$" VarName
[129]   VarName   ::=    EQName

[Definition: A variable reference is an EQName preceded by a $-sign.] Two variable references are equivalent if their local names are the same and their namespace prefixes are bound to the same namespace URI in the statically known namespaces. An unprefixed variable reference is in no namespace.

Every variable reference must match a name in the in-scope variables, which include variables from the following sources:

  1. A variable may be declared in a Prolog, in the current module or an imported module. See 4 Modules and Prologs for a discussion of modules and Prologs.

  2. The in-scope variables may be augmented by implementation-defined variables.

  3. A variable may be bound by an XQuery 3.0 expression. The kinds of expressions that can bind variables are FLWOR expressions (3.9 FLWOR Expressions), quantified expressions (3.13 Quantified Expressions), and typeswitch expressions (3.15.2 Typeswitch). Function calls also bind values to the formal parameters of functions before executing the function body.

Every variable binding has a static scope. The scope defines where references to the variable can validly occur. It is a static error [err:XPST0008] to reference a variable that is not in scope. If a variable is bound in the static context for an expression, that variable is in scope for the entire expression.

A reference to a variable that was declared external, but was not bound to a value by the external environment, raises a dynamic error [err:XPDY0002].

If a variable reference matches two or more variable bindings that are in scope, then the reference is taken as referring to the inner binding, that is, the one whose scope is smaller. At evaluation time, the value of a variable reference is the value of the expression to which the relevant variable is bound. The scope of a variable binding is defined separately for each kind of expression that can bind variables.

3.1.4 Context Item Expression

[131]   ContextItemExpr   ::=   "."

A context item expression evaluates to the context item, which may be either a node (as in the expression fn:doc("bib.xml")/books/book[fn:count(./author)>1]), or an atomic value or function item (as in the expression (1 to 100)[. mod 5 eq 0]).

If the context item is undefined, a context item expression raises a dynamic error [err:XPDY0002].

3.1.5 Function Calls

[Definition: The built-in functions supported by XQuery 3.0 are defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].] Additional functions may be declared in a Prolog, imported from a library module, or provided by the external environment as part of the static context.

[134]   FunctionCall   ::=    EQName ArgumentList
[135]   Argument   ::=    ExprSingle | ArgumentPlaceholder
[136]   ArgumentPlaceholder   ::=   "?"

A function call consists of a EQName followed by a parenthesized list of zero or more arguments. [Definition: An argument to a function call is either an argument expression or an ArgumentPlaceholder ("?").] If the EQName in the function call has no namespace prefix, it is considered to be in the default function namespace.

If the expanded QName and number of arguments in a function call do not match the name and arity of a function signature in the static context, a static error is raised [err:XPST0017].

[Definition: A function call is a partial function application if one or more arguments is an ArgumentPlaceholder.] Evaluation of partial function applications is described in 3.1.5.4 Evaluating Partial Function Applications, while evaluation of (non-partial) function calls is described in 3.1.5.1 Evaluating Function Calls.

Since the arguments of a function call are separated by commas, any argument expression that contains a top-level comma operator must be enclosed in parentheses. Here are some illustrative examples of function calls:

  • my:three-argument-function(1, 2, 3) denotes a function call with three arguments.

  • my:two-argument-function((1, 2), 3) denotes a function call with two arguments, the first of which is a sequence of two values.

  • my:two-argument-function(1, ()) denotes a function call with two arguments, the second of which is an empty sequence.

  • my:one-argument-function((1, 2, 3)) denotes a function call with one argument that is a sequence of three values.

  • my:one-argument-function(( )) denotes a function call with one argument that is an empty sequence.

  • my:zero-argument-function( ) denotes a function call with zero arguments.

3.1.5.1 Evaluating Function Calls

The result of a function call on a function or function itemDM30 $f is calculated as follows:

  1. [Definition: Argument expressions are evaluated, producing argument values.] The order of argument evaluation is implementation-dependent and a function need not evaluate an argument if the function can evaluate its body without evaluating that argument.

  2. Each argument value is converted by applying the function conversion rules.

  3. If $f is a function itemDM30, then the set of variable values from the function item's closureDM30 are added to the dynamic context with a scope of the invocation of the function.

  4. If $f is a built-in function, it is evaluated using the converted argument values. The result is either an instance of the function's declared return type or a dynamic error. Errors raised by built-in functions are defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

  5. If $f is an inline function or user-defined function , the converted argument values are bound to the formal parameters of $f, and the function body is evaluated. The value returned by the function body is then converted to the declared return type of $f by applying the function conversion rules.

    When a converted argument value is bound to a function parameter, the argument value retains its most specific dynamic type, even though this type may be derived from the type of the formal parameter. For example, a function with a parameter $p of type xs:decimal can be invoked with an argument of type xs:integer, which is derived from xs:decimal. During the processing of this function invocation, the dynamic type of $p inside the body of the function is considered to be xs:integer. Similarly, the value returned by a function retains its most specific type, which may be derived from the declared return type of $f. For example, a function that has a declared return type of xs:decimal may in fact return a value of dynamic type xs:integer.

    During evaluation of a function body, the static context and dynamic context for expression evaluation are defined by the module or expression in which the function is declared, which is not necessarily the same as the context in which the function is called. For example, the variables in scope while evaluating a function body are defined by the in-scope variables where it is declared, rather than those in scope where the function is called. During evaluation of a function body, the focus (context item, context position, and context size) is undefined, except where it is defined by some expression inside the function body.

  6. If $f is an external function, its function implementation is invoked with the converted argument values. The result is either a value of the declared type or an implementation-defined error (see 2.2.5 Consistency Constraints).

3.1.5.2 Function Conversion Rules

[Definition: The function conversion rules are used to convert an argument value or a return value to its expected type; that is, to the declared type of the function parameter or return. ] The expected type is expressed as a sequence type. The function conversion rules are applied to a given value as follows:

  • If the expected type is a sequence of an atomic type (possibly with an occurrence indicator *, +, or ?), the following conversions are applied:

    1. Atomization is applied to the given value, resulting in a sequence of atomic values.

    2. Each item in the atomic sequence that is of type xs:untypedAtomic is cast to the expected atomic type. For built-in functions where the expected type is specified as numeric, arguments of type xs:untypedAtomic are cast to xs:double.

    3. For each numeric item in the atomic sequence that can be promoted to the expected atomic type using numeric promotion as described in B.1 Type Promotion, the promotion is done.

    4. For each item of type xs:anyURI in the atomic sequence that can be promoted to the expected atomic type using URI promotion as described in B.1 Type Promotion, the promotion is done.

  • If the expected type is a TypedFunctionTest (possibly with an occurrence indicator *, +, or ?), function item coercion is applied to each function item in the given value.

  • If, after the above conversions, the resulting value does not match the expected type according to the rules for SequenceType Matching, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004]. If the function call takes place in a module other than the module in which the function is defined, this rule must be satisfied in both the module where the function is called and the module where the function is defined (the test is repeated because the two modules may have different in-scope schema definitions.) Note that the rules for SequenceType Matching permit a value of a derived type to be substituted for a value of its base type.

3.1.5.3 Function Item Coercion

Function item coercion is a transformation applied to function itemsDM30 during application of the function conversion rules. [Definition: Function item coercion wraps a function itemDM30 in a new inline function with signature the same as the expected type. This effectively delays the checking of the argument and return types until the function item is invoked.]

Function item coercion is only defined to operate on function itemsDM30. Given a function item, $function, function item coercion returns a new function item with the following properties (as defined in Section Function ItemsDM30):

  • An empty set of variable values.

  • The name of $function.

  • A function signatureDM30 equal to the expected type for the function argument or return type.

  • A new function, whose result is calculated by invoking $function with the arguments that were specified at the new function's invocation.

If the result of invoking the new function item would necessarily result in a type error, that error may be raised during function coercion. It is implementation dependent whether this happens or not.

These rules have the following consequences:

  • SequenceType matching of the function item's arguments and result are delayed until that function item is invoked.

  • The function conversion rules applied to the function item's arguments and result are defined by the SequenceType it has most recently been coerced to. Additional function conversion rules could apply when the wrapped function item is invoked.

  • If an implementation has static type information about a function item, that can be used to type check the function item's argument and return types during static analysis.

For instance, consider the following query:

declare function local:filter($s as item()*, $p as function(xs:string) as xs:boolean) as item()*
{
  $s[$p(.)]
};

let $f := function($a) { starts-with($a, "E") }
return
  local:filter(("Ethel", "Enid", "Gertrude"), $f)
      

The function item $f has a static type of function(item()*) as item()*. When the local:filter() function is called, the following occurs to the function item:

  1. The function conversion rules result in applying function coercion to $function, wrapping $f in a new inline function ($p) with the signature function(xs:string) as xs:boolean.

  2. $p is matched against the SequenceType of function(xs:string) as xs:boolean, and succeeds.

  3. When $p is invoked inside the predicate, function conversion and SequenceType matching rules are applied to the context item argument, resulting in an xs:string value or a type error.

  4. $f is invoked with the xs:string, which returns an xs:boolean.

  5. $p applies function conversion rules to the result sequence from $f, which already matches its declared return type of xs:boolean.

  6. The xs:boolean is returned as the result of $p.

Note:

Although the semantics of function item coercion are specified in terms of wrapping the function items, static typing will often be able to reduce the number of places where this is actually necessary.

3.1.5.4 Evaluating Partial Function Applications

The result of a partial function application of a function or function itemDM30 $f is computed as follows:

  1. The argument expressions supplied are evaluated, producing argument values.

  2. A single function item $new is returned, with the following properties (as defined in Section Function ItemsDM30):

    • An empty set of variable values.

    • An absent name.

    • The function signatureDM30 of $new is the same as $f, removing the parameters in the positions for which any argument expressions have been provided to the partial function application. The function arity of $new is the arity of $f minus the number of argument expressions provided.

    • The result of invoking $new is the result of invoking $f with the argument expressions from the invocation of $new, inserting any argument values from the partial function application in their respective positions.

If the value of any argument expression specified to a partial function application cannot be converted to the required type of the corresponding argument of $f by applying the function conversion rules, then a type error [err:XPTY0004] MAY be raised. (If a type error is not raised at this stage, it will be raised later when the new function is invoked.)

The static context for evaluation of the function item $f is inherited from the location of the partial function application expression, with the exception of the static type of the context item which is initially undefined.

Partially applied function items cannot access the focus (context item, context position, and context size), which is undefined when they are invokedDM30. It is a static error to partially apply a function which accesses the focus [err:XPST0112].

3.1.6 Literal Function Items

[165]   LiteralFunctionItem   ::=    EQName "#" IntegerLiteral
[196]   EQName   ::=    QName | (URILiteral ":" NCName)

[Definition: A literal function item creates a function itemDM30 that represents a named function.] [Definition: A named function is a function defined in the static context for the query. To uniquely identify a particular named function, both its name as a QName and its arity are required.]

If the EQName is a lexical QName that has no namespace prefix, it is considered to be in the default function namespace.

If the expanded QName and arity in a literal function item do not match the name and arity of a function signature in the static context, a static error is raised [err:XPST0017].

The result of a literal function item is a single function item with the following properties (as defined in Section Function ItemsDM30):

  • An empty set of variable values.

  • The name specified in the literal function item.

  • The function signatureDM30 of the function from the static context that matches the name and arity given.

  • The function from the static context that matches the name and arity given.

The static context for evaluation of the function item is inherited from the location of the literal function item expression, with the exception of the static type of the context item which is initially undefined.

Literal function items cannot access the focus (context item, context position, and context size), which is undefined when they are invokedDM30. It is a static error to create a function item for a function which accesses the focus [err:XPST0112].

Note:

User-defined functions cannot access the focus, so this error only applies to built-in functions like:

  • fn:position#0

  • fn:last#0

  • fn:name#0

  • fn:namespace-uri#0

  • fn:local-name#0

  • fn:number#0

  • fn:string#0

  • fn:string-length#0

  • fn:normalize-space#0

  • fn:root#0

  • fn:id#1

  • fn:idref#1

  • fn:lang#1

  • fn:base-uri#0

Certain functions in the [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0] specification are defined to be polymorphic. These are denoted as accepting parameters of "numeric" type, or returning "numeric" type. Here "numeric" is a pseudonym for the four primitive numeric types xs:decimal, xs:integer, xs:float, and xs:double. The functions in question are:

  • fn:abs

  • fn:ceiling

  • fn:floor

  • fn:round

  • fn:round-half-to-even

For the purposes of literal function items, these functions are regarded as taking arguments and producing results of type xs:anyAtomicType, with a type error raised at runtime if the argument value provided is not of the correct numeric type.

Note:

The above way of modeling polymorphic functions is semantically backwards compatible with XQuery 1.0. An implementation that supports static typing can choose to model the types of these functions more accurately if desired.

The following are examples of some literal function item expressions:

  • fn:abs#1 references the fn:abs function which takes a single argument.

  • fn:concat#5 references the fn:concat function which takes 5 arguments.

  • local:myfunc#2 references a function named local:myfunc which takes 2 arguments.

3.1.7 Inline Functions

[166]   InlineFunction   ::=   "function" "(" ParamList? ")" ("as" SequenceType)? EnclosedExpr

[Definition: An inline function expression creates a function itemDM30 that represents an anonymous function defined directly in the inline function expression itself.] An inline function specifies the names and SequenceTypes of the parameters to the function, the SequenceType of the result, and the body of the function.

If a function parameter is declared using a name but no type, its default type is item()*. If the result type is omitted from a function declaration, its default result type is item()*.

The parameters of a function declaration are considered to be variables whose scope is the function body. It is a static error [err:XQST0039] for a function declaration to have more than one parameter with the same name.

The static context for the function body is inherited from the location of the inline function expression, with the exception of the static type of the context item which is initially undefined.

The variables in scope for the function body include all variables representing the function parameters, as well as all variables that are in scope for the inline function expression.

Note:

Function parameter names can mask variables that would otherwise be in scope for the function body.

The result of an inline function is a single function item with the following properties (as defined in Section Function ItemsDM30):

  • The set of variable values for any variables referenced by the inline function's body.

  • An absent name.

  • The function signatureDM30 of the inline function.

  • The inline function itself.

The following are examples of some inline functions:

  • This example creates an inline function that takes no arguments and returns a sequence of the first 6 primes:

    function() as xs:integer+ { 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 }
  • This example creates an inline function that takes two xs:double arguments and returns their product:

    function($a as xs:double, $b as xs:double) as xs:double { $a * $b }
  • This example creates an inline function that returns its item()* argument:

    function($a) { $a }
  • This example creates an inline function that returns the xs:integer value 7, i.e.: the value of the variable $a from the scope of the inline function expression:

    let $a := 7
    return
    let $f := function() { $a }
    return
    let $a := 8
    return $f()
    

3.2 Postfix Expressions

[121]   PostfixExpr   ::=    PrimaryExpr (Predicate | ArgumentList)*
[124]   Predicate   ::=   "[" Expr "]"
[122]   ArgumentList   ::=   "(" (Argument ("," Argument)*)? ")"

[Definition: An expression followed by a predicate (that is, E1[E2]) is referred to as a filter expression: its effect is to return those items from the value of E1 that satisfy the predicate in E2.] Filter expressions are described in 3.2.1 Filter Expressions

[Definition: An expression (other than a raw EQName) followed by an argument list in parentheses (that is, E1(E2, E3, ...)) is referred to as a dynamic function invocation. Its effect is to evaluate E1 to obtain a function item, and then call the function represented by that function item, with E2, E3, ... as arguments.] Dynamic function invocations are described in 3.2.2 Dynamic Function Invocation.

3.2.1 Filter Expressions

[121]   PostfixExpr   ::=    PrimaryExpr (Predicate | ArgumentList)*
[124]   Predicate   ::=   "[" Expr "]"

A filter expression consists of a base expression followed by a predicate, which is an expression written in square brackets. The result of the filter expression consists of the items returned by the base expression, filtered by applying the predicate to each item in turn. The ordering of the items returned by a filter expression is the same as their order in the result of the primary expression.

Note:

Where the expression before the square brackets is a ReverseStep or ForwardStep, the expression is technically not a filter expression but an AxisStep. There are minor differences in the semantics: see 3.3.2 Predicates within Steps

Here are some examples of filter expressions:

  • Given a sequence of products in a variable, return only those products whose price is greater than 100.

    $products[price gt 100]
  • List all the integers from 1 to 100 that are divisible by 5. (See 3.4.1 Constructing Sequences for an explanation of the to operator.)

    (1 to 100)[. mod 5 eq 0]
  • The result of the following expression is the integer 25:

    (21 to 29)[5]
  • The following example returns the fifth through ninth items in the sequence bound to variable $orders.

    $orders[fn:position() = (5 to 9)]
  • The following example illustrates the use of a filter expression as a step in a path expression. It returns the last chapter or appendix within the book bound to variable $book:

    $book/(chapter | appendix)[fn:last()]
  • The following example also illustrates the use of a filter expression as a step in a path expression. It returns the element node within the specified document whose ID value is tiger:

    fn:doc("zoo.xml")/fn:id('tiger')

For each item in the input sequence, the predicate expression is evaluated using an inner focus, defined as follows: The context item is the item currently being tested against the predicate. The context size is the number of items in the input sequence. The context position is the position of the context item within the input sequence.

For each item in the input sequence, the result of the predicate expression is coerced to an xs:boolean value, called the predicate truth value, as described below. Those items for which the predicate truth value is true are retained, and those for which the predicate truth value is false are discarded.

The predicate truth value is derived by applying the following rules, in order:

  1. If the value of the predicate expression is a singleton atomic value of a numeric type or derived from a numeric type, the predicate truth value is true if the value of the predicate expression is equal (by the eq operator) to the context position, and is false otherwise. [Definition: A predicate whose predicate expression returns a numeric type is called a numeric predicate.]

    Note:

    In a region of a query where ordering mode is unordered, the result of a numeric predicate is nondeterministic, as explained in 3.10 Ordered and Unordered Expressions.

  2. Otherwise, the predicate truth value is the effective boolean value of the predicate expression.

3.2.2 Dynamic Function Invocation

[121]   PostfixExpr   ::=    PrimaryExpr (Predicate | ArgumentList)*
[122]   ArgumentList   ::=   "(" (Argument ("," Argument)*)? ")"
[135]   Argument   ::=    ExprSingle | ArgumentPlaceholder
[136]   ArgumentPlaceholder   ::=   "?"

[Definition: A dynamic function invocation consists of a PrimaryExpr that returns the function item and a parenthesized list of zero or more arguments (argument expressions or ArgumentPlaceholders).]

If the PrimaryExpr does not return a sequence consisting of a single function item with the same arity as the number of specified arguments, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

A dynamic function invocation is a partial function application if at least one of the arguments is an ArgumentPlaceholder ("?"), and is evaluated according to the rules in 3.1.5.4 Evaluating Partial Function Applications.

A dynamic function invocation that is not a partial function application invokesDM30 the function itemDM30, calling the function it represents, and is evaluated as described in 3.1.5.1 Evaluating Function Calls.

The following are examples of some dynamic function invocations:

  • This example invokes the function item contained in $f, passing the arguments 2 and 3:

    $f(2, 3)
  • This example fetches the second item from sequence $f, treats it as a function item and invokes it, passing an xs:string argument:

    $f[2]("Hi there")
  • This example invokes the function item $f passing no arguments, and filters the result with a positional predicate:

    $f()[2]

3.3 Path Expressions

[108]   PathExpr   ::=   ("/" RelativePathExpr?)
| ("//" RelativePathExpr)
| RelativePathExpr
[109]   RelativePathExpr   ::=    StepExpr (("/" | "//") StepExpr)*

[Definition: A path expression can be used to locate nodes within trees. A path expression consists of a series of one or more steps, separated by "/" or "//", and optionally beginning with "/" or "//".] An initial "/" or "//" is an abbreviation for one or more initial steps that are implicitly added to the beginning of the path expression, as described below.

A path expression consisting of a single step is evaluated as described in 3.3.1 Steps.

A "/" at the beginning of a path expression is an abbreviation for the initial step (fn:root(self::node()) treat as document-node())/ (however, if the "/" is the entire path expression, the trailing "/" is omitted from the expansion.) The effect of this initial step is to begin the path at the root node of the tree that contains the context node. If the context item is not a node, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0020]. At evaluation time, if the root node above the context node is not a document node, a dynamic error is raised [err:XPDY0050].

A "//" at the beginning of a path expression is an abbreviation for the initial steps (fn:root(self::node()) treat as document-node())/descendant-or-self::node()/ (however, "//" by itself is not a valid path expression [err:XPST0003].) The effect of these initial steps is to establish an initial node sequence that contains the root of the tree in which the context node is found, plus all nodes descended from this root. This node sequence is used as the input to subsequent steps in the path expression. If the context item is not a node, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0020]. At evaluation time, if the root node above the context node is not a document node, a dynamic error is raised [err:XPDY0050].

Note:

The descendants of a node do not include attribute nodes .

Each non-initial occurrence of "//" in a path expression is expanded as described in 3.3.4 Abbreviated Syntax, leaving a sequence of steps separated by "/". This sequence of steps is then evaluated from left to right. Each operation E1/E2 is evaluated as follows: Expression E1 is evaluated, and if the result is not a (possibly empty) sequence of nodes, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0019]. Each node resulting from the evaluation of E1 then serves in turn to provide an inner focus for an evaluation of E2, as described in 2.1.2 Dynamic Context. The sequences resulting from all the evaluations of E2 are combined as follows:

  1. If every evaluation of E2 returns a (possibly empty) sequence of nodes, these sequences are combined, and duplicate nodes are eliminated based on node identity. If ordering mode is ordered, the resulting node sequence is returned in document order; otherwise it is returned in implementation-dependent order.

  2. If every evaluation of E2 returns a (possibly empty) sequence of non-nodes, these sequences are concatenated and returned. If ordering mode is ordered, the returned sequence preserves the orderings within and among the subsequences generated by the evaluations of E2; otherwise the order of the returned sequence is implementation-dependent.

  3. If the multiple evaluations of E2 return at least one node and at least one non-node, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0018].

Note:

Since each step in a path provides context nodes for the following step, in effect, only the last step in a path is allowed to return a sequence of non-nodes.

As an example of a path expression, child::div1/child::para selects the para element children of the div1 element children of the context node, or, in other words, the para element grandchildren of the context node that have div1 parents.

Note:

The "/" character can be used either as a complete path expression or as the beginning of a longer path expression such as "/*". Also, "*" is both the multiply operator and a wildcard in path expressions. This can cause parsing difficulties when "/" appears on the left hand side of "*". This is resolved using the leading-lone-slash constraint. For example, "/*" and "/ *" are valid path expressions containing wildcards, but "/*5" and "/ * 5" raise syntax errors. Parentheses must be used when "/" is used on the left hand side of an operator, as in "(/) * 5". Similarly, "4 + / * 5" raises a syntax error, but "4 + (/) * 5" is a valid expression. The expression "4 + /" is also valid, because / does not occur on the left hand side of the operator.

Similarly, in the expression / union /*, "union" is interpreted as an element name rather than an operator. For it to be parsed as an operator, the expression should be written (/) union /*.

3.3.1 Steps

[110]   StepExpr   ::=    PostfixExpr | AxisStep
[111]   AxisStep   ::=   (ReverseStep | ForwardStep) PredicateList
[112]   ForwardStep   ::=   (ForwardAxis NodeTest) | AbbrevForwardStep
[115]   ReverseStep   ::=   (ReverseAxis NodeTest) | AbbrevReverseStep
[123]   PredicateList   ::=    Predicate*

[Definition: A step is a part of a path expression that generates a sequence of items and then filters the sequence by zero or more predicates. The value of the step consists of those items that satisfy the predicates, working from left to right. A step may be either an axis step or a postfix expression.] Postfix expressions are described in 3.2 Postfix Expressions.

[Definition: An axis step returns a sequence of nodes that are reachable from the context node via a specified axis. Such a step has two parts: an axis, which defines the "direction of movement" for the step, and a node test, which selects nodes based on their kind, name, and/or type annotation.] If the context item is a node, an axis step returns a sequence of zero or more nodes; otherwise, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0020]. If ordering mode is ordered, the resulting node sequence is returned in document order; otherwise it is returned in implementation-dependent order. An axis step may be either a forward step or a reverse step, followed by zero or more predicates.

In the abbreviated syntax for a step, the axis can be omitted and other shorthand notations can be used as described in 3.3.4 Abbreviated Syntax.

The unabbreviated syntax for an axis step consists of the axis name and node test separated by a double colon. The result of the step consists of the nodes reachable from the context node via the specified axis that have the node kind, name, and/or type annotation specified by the node test. For example, the step child::para selects the para element children of the context node: child is the name of the axis, and para is the name of the element nodes to be selected on this axis. The available axes are described in 3.3.1.1 Axes. The available node tests are described in 3.3.1.2 Node Tests. Examples of steps are provided in 3.3.3 Unabbreviated Syntax and 3.3.4 Abbreviated Syntax.

3.3.1.1 Axes
[113]   ForwardAxis   ::=   ("child" "::")
| ("descendant" "::")
| ("attribute" "::")
| ("self" "::")
| ("descendant-or-self" "::")
| ("following-sibling" "::")
| ("following" "::")
[116]   ReverseAxis   ::=   ("parent" "::")
| ("ancestor" "::")
| ("preceding-sibling" "::")
| ("preceding" "::")
| ("ancestor-or-self" "::")

XQuery supports the following axes:

  • The child axis contains the children of the context node, which are the nodes returned by the dm:children accessor in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0].

    Note:

    Only document nodes and element nodes have children. If the context node is any other kind of node, or if the context node is an empty document or element node, then the child axis is an empty sequence. The children of a document node or element node may be element, processing instruction, comment, or text nodes. Attribute and document nodes can never appear as children.

  • the descendant axis is defined as the transitive closure of the child axis; it contains the descendants of the context node (the children, the children of the children, and so on)

  • the parent axis contains the sequence returned by the dm:parent accessor in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0], which returns the parent of the context node, or an empty sequence if the context node has no parent

    Note:

    An attribute node may have an element node as its parent, even though the attribute node is not a child of the element node.

  • the ancestor axis is defined as the transitive closure of the parent axis; it contains the ancestors of the context node (the parent, the parent of the parent, and so on)

    Note:

    The ancestor axis includes the root node of the tree in which the context node is found, unless the context node is the root node.

  • the following-sibling axis contains the context node's following siblings, those children of the context node's parent that occur after the context node in document order; if the context node is an attribute node, the following-sibling axis is empty

  • the preceding-sibling axis contains the context node's preceding siblings, those children of the context node's parent that occur before the context node in document order; if the context node is an attribute node, the preceding-sibling axis is empty

  • the following axis contains all nodes that are descendants of the root of the tree in which the context node is found, are not descendants of the context node, and occur after the context node in document order

  • the preceding axis contains all nodes that are descendants of the root of the tree in which the context node is found, are not ancestors of the context node, and occur before the context node in document order

  • the attribute axis contains the attributes of the context node, which are the nodes returned by the dm:attributes accessor in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0]; the axis will be empty unless the context node is an element

  • the self axis contains just the context node itself

  • the descendant-or-self axis contains the context node and the descendants of the context node

  • the ancestor-or-self axis contains the context node and the ancestors of the context node; thus, the ancestor-or-self axis will always include the root node

Axes can be categorized as forward axes and reverse axes. An axis that only ever contains the context node or nodes that are after the context node in document order is a forward axis. An axis that only ever contains the context node or nodes that are before the context node in document order is a reverse axis.

The parent, ancestor, ancestor-or-self, preceding, and preceding-sibling axes are reverse axes; all other axes are forward axes. The ancestor, descendant, following, preceding and self axes partition a document (ignoring attribute nodes): they do not overlap and together they contain all the nodes in the document.

[Definition: Every axis has a principal node kind. If an axis can contain elements, then the principal node kind is element; otherwise, it is the kind of nodes that the axis can contain.] Thus:

  • For the attribute axis, the principal node kind is attribute.

  • For all other axes, the principal node kind is element.

3.3.1.2 Node Tests

[Definition: A node test is a condition that must be true for each node selected by a step.] The condition may be based on the kind of the node (element, attribute, text, document, comment, or processing instruction), the name of the node, or (in the case of element, attribute, and document nodes), the type annotation of the node.

[118]   NodeTest   ::=    KindTest | NameTest
[119]   NameTest   ::=    EQName | Wildcard
[120]   Wildcard   ::=   "*"
| (NCName ":" "*")
| ("*" ":" NCName)
[196]   EQName   ::=    QName | (URILiteral ":" NCName)

[Definition: A node test that consists only of a EQName or a Wildcard is called a name test.] A name test is true if and only if the kind of the node is the principal node kind for the step axis and the expanded QName of the node is equal (as defined by the eq operator) to the expanded QName specified by the name test. For example, child::para selects the para element children of the context node; if the context node has no para children, it selects an empty set of nodes. attribute::abc:href selects the attribute of the context node with the QName abc:href; if the context node has no such attribute, it selects an empty set of nodes.

If the EQName is a lexical QName, it is resolved into an expanded QName using the statically known namespaces in the expression context. It is a static error [err:XPST0081] if the QName has a prefix that does not correspond to any statically known namespace. It is a static error [err:XQST0070] if the URILiteral for an EQName is http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/. An unprefixed QName, when used as a name test on an axis whose principal node kind is element, has the namespace URI of the default element/type namespace in the expression context; otherwise, it has no namespace URI.

A name test is not satisfied by an element node whose name does not match the expanded QName of the name test, even if it is in a substitution group whose head is the named element.

A node test * is true for any node of the principal node kind of the step axis. For example, child::* will select all element children of the context node, and attribute::* will select all attributes of the context node.

A node test can have the form NCName:*. In this case, the prefix is expanded in the same way as with a lexical QName, using the statically known namespaces in the static context. If the prefix is not found in the statically known namespaces, a static error is raised [err:XPST0081]. The node test is true for any node of the principal node kind of the step axis whose expanded QName has the namespace URI to which the prefix is bound, regardless of the local part of the name.

A node test can also have the form *:NCName. In this case, the node test is true for any node of the principal node kind of the step axis whose local name matches the given NCName, regardless of its namespace or lack of a namespace.

[Definition: An alternative form of a node test called a kind test can select nodes based on their kind, name, and type annotation.] The syntax and semantics of a kind test are described in 2.5.3 SequenceType Syntax and 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching. When a kind test is used in a node test, only those nodes on the designated axis that match the kind test are selected. Shown below are several examples of kind tests that might be used in path expressions:

  • node() matches any node.

  • text() matches any text node.

  • comment() matches any comment node.

  • namespace-node() matches any namespace node.

  • element() matches any element node.

  • schema-element(person) matches any element node whose name is person (or is in the substitution group headed by person), and whose type annotation is the same as (or is derived from) the declared type of the person element in the in-scope element declarations.

  • element(person) matches any element node whose name is person, regardless of its type annotation.

  • element(person, surgeon) matches any non-nilled element node whose name is person, and whose type annotation is surgeon or is derived from surgeon.

  • element(*, surgeon) matches any non-nilled element node whose type annotation is surgeon (or is derived from surgeon), regardless of its name.

  • attribute() matches any attribute node.

  • attribute(price) matches any attribute whose name is price, regardless of its type annotation.

  • attribute(*, xs:decimal) matches any attribute whose type annotation is xs:decimal (or is derived from xs:decimal), regardless of its name.

  • document-node() matches any document node.

  • document-node(element(book)) matches any document node whose content consists of a single element node that satisfies the kind test element(book), interleaved with zero or more comments and processing instructions.

3.3.2 Predicates within Steps

[111]   AxisStep   ::=   (ReverseStep | ForwardStep) PredicateList
[123]   PredicateList   ::=    Predicate*
[124]   Predicate   ::=   "[" Expr "]"

A predicate within a Step has similar syntax and semantics to a predicate within a filter expression. The only difference is in the way the context position is set for evaluation of the predicate.

For the purpose of evaluating the context position within a predicate, the input sequence is considered to be sorted as follows: into document order if the predicate is in a forward-axis step, into reverse document order if the predicate is in a reverse-axis step, or in its original order if the predicate is not in a step.

Here are some examples of axis steps that contain predicates:

  • This example selects the second chapter element that is a child of the context node:

    child::chapter[2]
  • This example selects all the descendants of the context node that are elements named "toy" and whose color attribute has the value "red":

    descendant::toy[attribute::color = "red"]
  • This example selects all the employee children of the context node that have both a secretary child element and an assistant child element:

    child::employee[secretary][assistant]

Note:

When using predicates with a sequence of nodes selected using a reverse axis, it is important to remember that the the context positions for such a sequence are assigned in reverse document order. For example, preceding::foo[1] returns the first qualifying foo element in reverse document order, because the predicate is part of an axis step using a reverse axis. By contrast, (preceding::foo)[1] returns the first qualifying foo element in document order, because the parentheses cause (preceding::foo) to be parsed as a primary expression in which context positions are assigned in document order. Similarly, ancestor::*[1] returns the nearest ancestor element, because the ancestor axis is a reverse axis, whereas (ancestor::*)[1] returns the root element (first ancestor in document order).

The fact that a reverse-axis step assigns context positions in reverse document order for the purpose of evaluating predicates does not alter the fact that the final result of the step (when in ordered mode) is always in document order.

3.3.3 Unabbreviated Syntax

This section provides a number of examples of path expressions in which the axis is explicitly specified in each step. The syntax used in these examples is called the unabbreviated syntax. In many common cases, it is possible to write path expressions more concisely using an abbreviated syntax, as explained in 3.3.4 Abbreviated Syntax.

  • child::para selects the para element children of the context node

  • child::* selects all element children of the context node

  • child::text() selects all text node children of the context node

  • child::node() selects all the children of the context node. Note that no attribute nodes are returned, because attributes are not children.

  • attribute::name selects the name attribute of the context node

  • attribute::* selects all the attributes of the context node

  • parent::node() selects the parent of the context node. If the context node is an attribute node, this expression returns the element node (if any) to which the attribute node is attached.

  • descendant::para selects the para element descendants of the context node

  • ancestor::div selects all div ancestors of the context node

  • ancestor-or-self::div selects the div ancestors of the context node and, if the context node is a div element, the context node as well

  • descendant-or-self::para selects the para element descendants of the context node and, if the context node is a para element, the context node as well

  • self::para selects the context node if it is a para element, and otherwise returns an empty sequence

  • child::chapter/descendant::para selects the para element descendants of the chapter element children of the context node

  • child::*/child::para selects all para grandchildren of the context node

  • / selects the root of the tree that contains the context node, but raises a dynamic error if this root is not a document node

  • /descendant::para selects all the para elements in the same document as the context node

  • /descendant::list/child::member selects all the member elements that have a list parent and that are in the same document as the context node

  • child::para[fn:position() = 1] selects the first para child of the context node

  • child::para[fn:position() = fn:last()] selects the last para child of the context node

  • child::para[fn:position() = fn:last()-1] selects the last but one para child of the context node

  • child::para[fn:position() > 1] selects all the para children of the context node other than the first para child of the context node

  • following-sibling::chapter[fn:position() = 1] selects the next chapter sibling of the context node

  • preceding-sibling::chapter[fn:position() = 1] selects the previous chapter sibling of the context node

  • /descendant::figure[fn:position() = 42] selects the forty-second figure element in the document containing the context node

  • /child::book/child::chapter[fn:position() = 5]/child::section[fn:position() = 2] selects the second section of the fifth chapter of the book whose parent is the document node that contains the context node

  • child::para[attribute::type eq "warning"] selects all para children of the context node that have a type attribute with value warning

  • child::para[attribute::type eq 'warning'][fn:position() = 5] selects the fifth para child of the context node that has a type attribute with value warning

  • child::para[fn:position() = 5][attribute::type eq "warning"] selects the fifth para child of the context node if that child has a type attribute with value warning

  • child::chapter[child::title = 'Introduction'] selects the chapter children of the context node that have one or more title children whose typed value is equal to the string Introduction

  • child::chapter[child::title] selects the chapter children of the context node that have one or more title children

  • child::*[self::chapter or self::appendix] selects the chapter and appendix children of the context node

  • child::*[self::chapter or self::appendix][fn:position() = fn:last()] selects the last chapter or appendix child of the context node

3.3.4 Abbreviated Syntax

[114]   AbbrevForwardStep   ::=   "@"? NodeTest
[117]   AbbrevReverseStep   ::=   ".."

The abbreviated syntax permits the following abbreviations:

  1. The attribute axis attribute:: can be abbreviated by @. For example, a path expression para[@type="warning"] is short for child::para[attribute::type="warning"] and so selects para children with a type attribute with value equal to warning.

  2. If the axis name is omitted from an axis step, the default axis is child, with two exceptions: if the axis step contains an AttributeTest or SchemaAttributeTest then the default axis is attribute; if the axis step contains namespace-node() then the default axis is namespace.

    Note:

    In an implementation that does not support the namespace axis, an attempt to access it it always raises an error. Thus, an XQuery implementation will always raise an error in this case, since XQuery does not support the namespace axis. The namespace axis is deprecated in XPath 3.0, but required in some languages that use XPath, including XSLT.

    For example, the path expression section/para is an abbreviation for child::section/child::para, and the path expression section/@id is an abbreviation for child::section/attribute::id. Similarly, section/attribute(id) is an abbreviation for child::section/attribute::attribute(id). Note that the latter expression contains both an axis specification and a node test.

  3. Each non-initial occurrence of // is effectively replaced by /descendant-or-self::node()/ during processing of a path expression. For example, div1//para is short for child::div1/descendant-or-self::node()/child::para and so will select all para descendants of div1 children.

    Note:

    The path expression //para[1] does not mean the same as the path expression /descendant::para[1]. The latter selects the first descendant para element; the former selects all descendant para elements that are the first para children of their respective parents.

  4. A step consisting of .. is short for parent::node(). For example, ../title is short for parent::node()/child::title and so will select the title children of the parent of the context node.

    Note:

    The expression ., known as a context item expression, is a primary expression, and is described in 3.1.4 Context Item Expression.

Here are some examples of path expressions that use the abbreviated syntax:

  • para selects the para element children of the context node

  • * selects all element children of the context node

  • text() selects all text node children of the context node

  • @name selects the name attribute of the context node

  • @* selects all the attributes of the context node

  • para[1] selects the first para child of the context node

  • para[fn:last()] selects the last para child of the context node

  • */para selects all para grandchildren of the context node

  • /book/chapter[5]/section[2] selects the second section of the fifth chapter of the book whose parent is the document node that contains the context node

  • chapter//para selects the para element descendants of the chapter element children of the context node

  • //para selects all the para descendants of the root document node and thus selects all para elements in the same document as the context node

  • //@version selects all the version attribute nodes that are in the same document as the context node

  • //list/member selects all the member elements in the same document as the context node that have a list parent

  • .//para selects the para element descendants of the context node

  • .. selects the parent of the context node

  • ../@lang selects the lang attribute of the parent of the context node

  • para[@type="warning"] selects all para children of the context node that have a type attribute with value warning

  • para[@type="warning"][5] selects the fifth para child of the context node that has a type attribute with value warning

  • para[5][@type="warning"] selects the fifth para child of the context node if that child has a type attribute with value warning

  • chapter[title="Introduction"] selects the chapter children of the context node that have one or more title children whose typed value is equal to the string Introduction

  • chapter[title] selects the chapter children of the context node that have one or more title children

  • employee[@secretary and @assistant] selects all the employee children of the context node that have both a secretary attribute and an assistant attribute

  • book/(chapter|appendix)/section selects every section element that has a parent that is either a chapter or an appendix element, that in turn is a child of a book element that is a child of the context node.

  • If E is any expression that returns a sequence of nodes, then the expression E/. returns the same nodes in document order, with duplicates eliminated based on node identity.

3.4 Sequence Expressions

XQuery 3.0 supports operators to construct, filter, and combine sequences of items. Sequences are never nested—for example, combining the values 1, (2, 3), and ( ) into a single sequence results in the sequence (1, 2, 3).

3.4.1 Constructing Sequences

[39]   Expr   ::=    ExprSingle ("," ExprSingle)*
[89]   RangeExpr   ::=    AdditiveExpr ( "to" AdditiveExpr )?

[Definition: One way to construct a sequence is by using the comma operator, which evaluates each of its operands and concatenates the resulting sequences, in order, into a single result sequence.] Empty parentheses can be used to denote an empty sequence.

A sequence may contain duplicate items, but a sequence is never an item in another sequence. When a new sequence is created by concatenating two or more input sequences, the new sequence contains all the items of the input sequences and its length is the sum of the lengths of the input sequences.

Note:

In places where the grammar calls for ExprSingle, such as the arguments of a function call, any expression that contains a top-level comma operator must be enclosed in parentheses.

Here are some examples of expressions that construct sequences:

  • The result of this expression is a sequence of five integers:

    (10, 1, 2, 3, 4)
  • This expression combines four sequences of length one, two, zero, and two, respectively, into a single sequence of length five. The result of this expression is the sequence 10, 1, 2, 3, 4.

    (10, (1, 2), (), (3, 4))
  • The result of this expression is a sequence containing all salary children of the context node followed by all bonus children.

    (salary, bonus)
  • Assuming that $price is bound to the value 10.50, the result of this expression is the sequence 10.50, 10.50.

    ($price, $price)

A range expression can be used to construct a sequence of consecutive integers. Each of the operands of the to operator is converted as though it was an argument of a function with the expected parameter type xs:integer?. If either operand is an empty sequence, or if the integer derived from the first operand is greater than the integer derived from the second operand, the result of the range expression is an empty sequence. If the two operands convert to the same integer, the result of the range expression is that integer. Otherwise, the result is a sequence containing the two integer operands and every integer between the two operands, in increasing order.

  • This example uses a range expression as one operand in constructing a sequence. It evaluates to the sequence 10, 1, 2, 3, 4.

    (10, 1 to 4)
  • This example constructs a sequence of length one containing the single integer 10.

    10 to 10
  • The result of this example is a sequence of length zero.

    15 to 10
  • This example uses the fn:reverse function to construct a sequence of six integers in decreasing order. It evaluates to the sequence 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10.

    fn:reverse(10 to 15)

3.4.2 Combining Node Sequences

[92]   UnionExpr   ::=    IntersectExceptExpr ( ("union" | "|") IntersectExceptExpr )*
[93]   IntersectExceptExpr   ::=    InstanceofExpr ( ("intersect" | "except") InstanceofExpr )*

XQuery 3.0 provides the following operators for combining sequences of nodes:

All these operators eliminate duplicate nodes from their result sequences based on node identity. If ordering mode is ordered, the resulting sequence is returned in document order; otherwise it is returned in implementation-dependent order.

If an operand of union, intersect, or except contains an item that is not a node, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

If an IntersectExceptExpr contains more than two InstanceofExprs, they are grouped from left to right. With a UnionExpr, it makes no difference how operands are grouped, the results are the same.

Here are some examples of expressions that combine sequences. Assume the existence of three element nodes that we will refer to by symbolic names A, B, and C. Assume that the variables $seq1, $seq2 and $seq3 are bound to the following sequences of these nodes:

  • $seq1 is bound to (A, B)

  • $seq2 is bound to (A, B)

  • $seq3 is bound to (B, C)

Then:

  • $seq1 union $seq2 evaluates to the sequence (A, B).

  • $seq2 union $seq3 evaluates to the sequence (A, B, C).

  • $seq1 intersect $seq2 evaluates to the sequence (A, B).

  • $seq2 intersect $seq3 evaluates to the sequence containing B only.

  • $seq1 except $seq2 evaluates to the empty sequence.

  • $seq2 except $seq3 evaluates to the sequence containing A only.

In addition to the sequence operators described here, [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0] includes functions for indexed access to items or sub-sequences of a sequence, for indexed insertion or removal of items in a sequence, and for removing duplicate items from a sequence.

3.5 Arithmetic Expressions

XQuery 3.0 provides arithmetic operators for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and modulus, in their usual binary and unary forms.

[90]   AdditiveExpr   ::=    MultiplicativeExpr ( ("+" | "-") MultiplicativeExpr )*
[91]   MultiplicativeExpr   ::=    UnionExpr ( ("*" | "div" | "idiv" | "mod") UnionExpr )*
[98]   UnaryExpr   ::=   ("-" | "+")* ValueExpr
[99]   ValueExpr   ::=    ValidateExpr | PathExpr | ExtensionExpr

A subtraction operator must be preceded by whitespace if it could otherwise be interpreted as part of the previous token. For example, a-b will be interpreted as a name, but a - b and a -b will be interpreted as arithmetic expressions. (See A.2.4 Whitespace Rules for further details on whitespace handling.)

If an AdditiveExpr contains more than two MultiplicativeExprs, they are grouped from left to right. So, for instance,

A - B + C - D

is equivalent to

((A - B) + C) - D

Similarly, the operands of a MultiplicativeExpr are grouped from left to right.

The first step in evaluating an arithmetic expression is to evaluate its operands. The order in which the operands are evaluated is implementation-dependent.

Each operand is evaluated by applying the following steps, in order:

  1. Atomization is applied to the operand. The result of this operation is called the atomized operand.

  2. If the atomized operand is an empty sequence, the result of the arithmetic expression is an empty sequence, and the implementation need not evaluate the other operand or apply the operator. However, an implementation may choose to evaluate the other operand in order to determine whether it raises an error.

  3. If the atomized operand is a sequence of length greater than one, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  4. If the atomized operand is of type xs:untypedAtomic, it is cast to xs:double. If the cast fails, a dynamic error is raised. [err:FORG0001]

After evaluation of the operands, if the types of the operands are a valid combination for the given arithmetic operator, the operator is applied to the operands, resulting in an atomic value or a dynamic error (for example, an error might result from dividing by zero.) The combinations of atomic types that are accepted by the various arithmetic operators, and their respective result types, are listed in B.2 Operator Mapping together with the operator functions that define the semantics of the operator for each type combination, including the dynamic errors that can be raised by the operator. The definitions of the operator functions are found in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

If the types of the operands, after evaluation, are not a valid combination for the given operator, according to the rules in B.2 Operator Mapping, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

XQuery 3.0 supports two division operators named div and idiv. Each of these operators accepts two operands of any numeric type. As described in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0], $arg1 idiv $arg2 is equivalent to ($arg1 div $arg2) cast as xs:integer? except for error cases.

Here are some examples of arithmetic expressions:

  • The first expression below returns the xs:decimal value -1.5, and the second expression returns the xs:integer value -1:

    -3 div 2
    -3 idiv 2
  • Subtraction of two date values results in a value of type xs:dayTimeDuration:

    $emp/hiredate - $emp/birthdate
  • This example illustrates the difference between a subtraction operator and a hyphen:

    $unit-price - $unit-discount
  • Unary operators have higher precedence than binary operators, subject of course to the use of parentheses. Therefore, the following two examples have different meanings:

    -$bellcost + $whistlecost
    -($bellcost + $whistlecost)

Note:

Multiple consecutive unary arithmetic operators are permitted by XQuery 3.0 for compatibility with [XML Path Language (XPath) Version 1.0].

3.6 Comparison Expressions

Comparison expressions allow two values to be compared. XQuery 3.0 provides three kinds of comparison expressions, called value comparisons, general comparisons, and node comparisons.

[88]   ComparisonExpr   ::=    RangeExpr ( (ValueComp
| GeneralComp
| NodeComp) RangeExpr )?
[101]   ValueComp   ::=   "eq" | "ne" | "lt" | "le" | "gt" | "ge"
[100]   GeneralComp   ::=   "=" | "!=" | "<" | "<=" | ">" | ">="
[102]   NodeComp   ::=   "is" | "<<" | ">>"

3.6.1 Value Comparisons

The value comparison operators are eq, ne, lt, le, gt, and ge. Value comparisons are used for comparing single values.

The first step in evaluating a value comparison is to evaluate its operands. The order in which the operands are evaluated is implementation-dependent. Each operand is evaluated by applying the following steps, in order:

  1. Atomization is applied to the operand. The result of this operation is called the atomized operand.

  2. If the atomized operand is an empty sequence, the result of the value comparison is an empty sequence, and the implementation need not evaluate the other operand or apply the operator. However, an implementation may choose to evaluate the other operand in order to determine whether it raises an error.

  3. If the atomized operand is a sequence of length greater than one, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  4. If the atomized operand is of type xs:untypedAtomic, it is cast to xs:string.

    Note:

    The purpose of this rule is to make value comparisons transitive. Users should be aware that the general comparison operators have a different rule for casting of xs:untypedAtomic operands. Users should also be aware that transitivity of value comparisons may be compromised by loss of precision during type conversion (for example, two xs:integer values that differ slightly may both be considered equal to the same xs:float value because xs:float has less precision than xs:integer).

Next, if possible, the two operands are converted to their least common type by a combination of type promotion and subtype substitution. For example, if the operands are of type hatsize (derived from xs:integer) and shoesize (derived from xs:float), their least common type is xs:float.

Finally, if the types of the operands are a valid combination for the given operator, the operator is applied to the operands. The combinations of atomic types that are accepted by the various value comparison operators, and their respective result types, are listed in B.2 Operator Mapping together with the operator functions that define the semantics of the operator for each type combination. The definitions of the operator functions are found in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

Informally, if both atomized operands consist of exactly one atomic value, then the result of the comparison is true if the value of the first operand is (equal, not equal, less than, less than or equal, greater than, greater than or equal) to the value of the second operand; otherwise the result of the comparison is false.

If the types of the operands, after evaluation, are not a valid combination for the given operator, according to the rules in B.2 Operator Mapping, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

Here are some examples of value comparisons:

  • The following comparison atomizes the node(s) that are returned by the expression $book/author. The comparison is true only if the result of atomization is the value "Kennedy" as an instance of xs:string or xs:untypedAtomic. If the result of atomization is an empty sequence, the result of the comparison is an empty sequence. If the result of atomization is a sequence containing more than one value, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

    $book1/author eq "Kennedy"
  • The following path expression contains a predicate that selects products whose weight is greater than 100. For any product that does not have a weight subelement, the value of the predicate is the empty sequence, and the product is not selected. This example assumes that weight is a validated element with a numeric type.

    //product[weight gt 100]
  • The following comparisons are true because, in each case, the two constructed nodes have the same value after atomization, even though they have different identities and/or names:

    <a>5</a> eq <a>5</a>
    <a>5</a> eq <b>5</b>
  • The following comparison is true if my:hatsize and my:shoesize are both user-defined types that are derived by restriction from a primitive numeric type:

    my:hatsize(5) eq my:shoesize(5)
  • The following comparison is true. The eq operator compares two QNames by performing codepoint-comparisons of their namespace URIs and their local names, ignoring their namespace prefixes.

    fn:QName("http://example.com/ns1", "this:color")
       eq fn:QName("http://example.com/ns1", "that:color")

3.6.2 General Comparisons

The general comparison operators are =, !=, <, <=, >, and >=. General comparisons are existentially quantified comparisons that may be applied to operand sequences of any length. The result of a general comparison that does not raise an error is always true or false.

A general comparison is evaluated by applying the following rules, in order:

  1. Atomization is applied to each operand. After atomization, each operand is a sequence of atomic values.

  2. The result of the comparison is true if and only if there is a pair of atomic values, one in the first operand sequence and the other in the second operand sequence, that have the required magnitude relationship. Otherwise the result of the comparison is false. The magnitude relationship between two atomic values is determined by applying the following rules. If a cast operation called for by these rules is not successful, a dynamic error is raised. [err:FORG0001]

    Note:

    The purpose of these rules is to preserve compatibility with XPath 1.0, in which (for example) x < 17 is a numeric comparison if x is an untyped value. Users should be aware that the value comparison operators have different rules for casting of xs:untypedAtomic operands.

    1. If both atomic values are instances of xs:untypedAtomic, then the values are cast to the type xs:string.

    2. If exactly one of the atomic values is an instance of xs:untypedAtomic, it is cast to a type depending on the other value's dynamic type T according to the following rules, in which V denotes the value to be cast:

      1. If T is a numeric type or is derived from a numeric type, then V is cast to xs:double.

      2. If T is xs:dayTimeDuration or is derived from xs:dayTimeDuration, then V is cast to xs:dayTimeDuration.

      3. If T is xs:yearMonthDuration or is derived from xs:yearMonthDuration, then V is cast to xs:yearMonthDuration.

      4. In all other cases, V is cast to the primitive base type of T.

      Note:

      The special treatment of the duration types is required to avoid errors that may arise when comparing the primitive type xs:duration with any duration type.

    3. After performing the conversions described above, the atomic values are compared using one of the value comparison operators eq, ne, lt, le, gt, or ge, depending on whether the general comparison operator was =, !=, <, <=, >, or >=. The values have the required magnitude relationship if and only if the result of this value comparison is true.

When evaluating a general comparison in which either operand is a sequence of items, an implementation may return true as soon as it finds an item in the first operand and an item in the second operand that have the required magnitude relationship. Similarly, a general comparison may raise a dynamic error as soon as it encounters an error in evaluating either operand, or in comparing a pair of items from the two operands. As a result of these rules, the result of a general comparison is not deterministic in the presence of errors.

Here are some examples of general comparisons:

  • The following comparison is true if the typed value of any author subelement of $book1 is "Kennedy" as an instance of xs:string or xs:untypedAtomic:

    $book1/author = "Kennedy"
  • The following example contains three general comparisons. The value of the first two comparisons is true, and the value of the third comparison is false. This example illustrates the fact that general comparisons are not transitive.

    (1, 2) = (2, 3)
    (2, 3) = (3, 4)
    (1, 2) = (3, 4)
  • The following example contains two general comparisons, both of which are true. This example illustrates the fact that the = and != operators are not inverses of each other.

    (1, 2) = (2, 3)
    (1, 2) != (2, 3)
  • Suppose that $a, $b, and $c are bound to element nodes with type annotation xs:untypedAtomic, with string values "1", "2", and "2.0" respectively. Then ($a, $b) = ($c, 3.0) returns false, because $b and $c are compared as strings. However, ($a, $b) = ($c, 2.0) returns true, because $b and 2.0 are compared as numbers.

3.6.3 Node Comparisons

Node comparisons are used to compare two nodes, by their identity or by their document order. The result of a node comparison is defined by the following rules:

  1. The operands of a node comparison are evaluated in implementation-dependent order.

  2. If either operand is an empty sequence, the result of the comparison is an empty sequence, and the implementation need not evaluate the other operand or apply the operator. However, an implementation may choose to evaluate the other operand in order to determine whether it raises an error.

  3. Each operand must be either a single node or an empty sequence; otherwise a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  4. A comparison with the is operator is true if the two operand nodes have the same identity, and are thus the same node; otherwise it is false. See [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0] for a definition of node identity.

  5. A comparison with the << operator returns true if the left operand node precedes the right operand node in document order; otherwise it returns false.

  6. A comparison with the >> operator returns true if the left operand node follows the right operand node in document order; otherwise it returns false.

Here are some examples of node comparisons:

  • The following comparison is true only if the left and right sides each evaluate to exactly the same single node:

    /books/book[isbn="1558604820"] is /books/book[call="QA76.9 C3845"]
  • The following comparison is false because each constructed node has its own identity:

    <a>5</a> is <a>5</a>
  • The following comparison is true only if the node identified by the left side occurs before the node identified by the right side in document order:

    /transactions/purchase[parcel="28-451"] 
       << /transactions/sale[parcel="33-870"]

3.7 Logical Expressions

A logical expression is either an and-expression or an or-expression. If a logical expression does not raise an error, its value is always one of the boolean values true or false.

[86]   OrExpr   ::=    AndExpr ( "or" AndExpr )*
[87]   AndExpr   ::=    ComparisonExpr ( "and" ComparisonExpr )*

The first step in evaluating a logical expression is to find the effective boolean value of each of its operands (see 2.4.3 Effective Boolean Value).

The value of an and-expression is determined by the effective boolean values (EBV's) of its operands, as shown in the following table:

AND:EBV2 = true EBV2 = false error in EBV2
EBV1 = true true false error
EBV1 = false false false either false or error
error in EBV1 error either false or error error

The value of an or-expression is determined by the effective boolean values (EBV's) of its operands, as shown in the following table:

OR:EBV2 = true EBV2 = false error in EBV2
EBV1 = true true true either true or error
EBV1 = false true false error
error in EBV1 either true or error errorerror

The order in which the operands of a logical expression are evaluated is implementation-dependent. The tables above are defined in such a way that an or-expression can return true if the first expression evaluated is true, and it can raise an error if evaluation of the first expression raises an error. Similarly, an and-expression can return false if the first expression evaluated is false, and it can raise an error if evaluation of the first expression raises an error. As a result of these rules, a logical expression is not deterministic in the presence of errors, as illustrated in the examples below.

Here are some examples of logical expressions:

  • The following expressions return true:

    1 eq 1 and 2 eq 2
    1 eq 1 or 2 eq 3
  • The following expression may return either false or raise a dynamic error:

    1 eq 2 and 3 idiv 0 = 1
  • The following expression may return either true or raise a dynamic error:

    1 eq 1 or 3 idiv 0 = 1
  • The following expression must raise a dynamic error:

    1 eq 1 and 3 idiv 0 = 1

In addition to and- and or-expressions, XQuery 3.0 provides a function named fn:not that takes a general sequence as parameter and returns a boolean value. The fn:not function is defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0]. The fn:not function reduces its parameter to an effective boolean value. It then returns true if the effective boolean value of its parameter is false, and false if the effective boolean value of its parameter is true. If an error is encountered in finding the effective boolean value of its operand, fn:not raises the same error.

3.8 Constructors

XQuery provides constructors that can create XML structures within a query. Constructors are provided for element, attribute, document, text, comment, and processing instruction nodes. Two kinds of constructors are provided: direct constructors, which use an XML-like notation, and computed constructors, which use a notation based on enclosed expressions.

[137]   Constructor   ::=    DirectConstructor
| ComputedConstructor
[138]   DirectConstructor   ::=    DirElemConstructor
| DirCommentConstructor
| DirPIConstructor
[139]   DirElemConstructor   ::=   "<" QName DirAttributeList ("/>" | (">" DirElemContent* "</" QName S? ">"))
[144]   DirElemContent   ::=    DirectConstructor
| CDataSection
| CommonContent
| ElementContentChar
[204]   ElementContentChar   ::=    Char - [{}<&]
[145]   CommonContent   ::=    PredefinedEntityRef | CharRef | "{{" | "}}" | EnclosedExpr
[150]   CDataSection   ::=   "<![CDATA[" CDataSectionContents "]]>"
[151]   CDataSectionContents   ::=   (Char* - (Char* ']]>' Char*))
[140]   DirAttributeList   ::=   (S (QName S? "=" S? DirAttributeValue)?)*
[141]   DirAttributeValue   ::=   ('"' (EscapeQuot | QuotAttrValueContent)* '"')
| ("'" (EscapeApos | AposAttrValueContent)* "'")
[142]   QuotAttrValueContent   ::=    QuotAttrContentChar
| CommonContent
[143]   AposAttrValueContent   ::=    AposAttrContentChar
| CommonContent
[205]   QuotAttrContentChar   ::=    Char - ["{}<&]
[206]   AposAttrContentChar   ::=    Char - ['{}<&]
[202]   EscapeQuot   ::=   '""'
[203]   EscapeApos   ::=   "''"
[36]   EnclosedExpr   ::=   "{" Expr "}"

This section contains a conceptual description of the semantics of various kinds of constructor expressions. An XQuery implementation is free to use any implementation technique that produces the same result as the processing steps described in this section.

3.8.1 Direct Element Constructors

An element constructor creates an element node. [Definition: A direct element constructor is a form of element constructor in which the name of the constructed element is a constant.] Direct element constructors are based on standard XML notation. For example, the following expression is a direct element constructor that creates a book element containing an attribute and some nested elements:

<book isbn="isbn-0060229357">
    <title>Harold and the Purple Crayon</title>
    <author>
        <first>Crockett</first>
        <last>Johnson</last>
    </author>
</book>

If the element name in a direct element constructor has a namespace prefix, the namespace prefix is resolved to a namespace URI using the statically known namespaces. If the element name has no namespace prefix, it is implicitly qualified by the default element/type namespace. Note that both the statically known namespaces and the default element/type namespace may be affected by namespace declaration attributes found inside the element constructor. The namespace prefix of the element name is retained after expansion of the lexical QName , as described in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0]. The resulting expanded QName becomes the node-name property of the constructed element node.

In a direct element constructor, the name used in the end tag must exactly match the name used in the corresponding start tag, including its prefix or absence of a prefix.

In a direct element constructor, curly braces { } delimit enclosed expressions, distinguishing them from literal text. Enclosed expressions are evaluated and replaced by their value, as illustrated by the following example:

<example>
   <p> Here is a query. </p>
   <eg> $b/title </eg>
   <p> Here is the result of the query. </p>
   <eg>{ $b/title }</eg>
</example>

The above query might generate the following result (whitespace has been added for readability to this result and other result examples in this document):

<example>
  <p> Here is a query. </p>
  <eg> $b/title </eg>
  <p> Here is the result of the query. </p>
  <eg><title>Harold and the Purple Crayon</title></eg>
</example>

Since XQuery uses curly braces to denote enclosed expressions, some convention is needed to denote a curly brace used as an ordinary character. For this purpose, a pair of identical curly brace characters within the content of an element or attribute are interpreted by XQuery as a single curly brace character (that is, the pair "{{" represents the character "{" and the pair "}}" represents the character "}".) Alternatively, the character references &#x7b; and &#x7d; can be used to denote curly brace characters. A single left curly brace ("{") is interpreted as the beginning delimiter for an enclosed expression. A single right curly brace ("}") without a matching left curly brace is treated as a static error [err:XPST0003].

The result of an element constructor is a new element node, with its own node identity. All the attribute and descendant nodes of the new element node are also new nodes with their own identities, even if they are copies of existing nodes.

3.8.1.1 Attributes

The start tag of a direct element constructor may contain one or more attributes. As in XML, each attribute is specified by a name and a value. In a direct element constructor, the name of each attribute is specified by a constant lexical QName, and the value of the attribute is specified by a string of characters enclosed in single or double quotes. As in the main content of the element constructor, an attribute value may contain expressions enclosed in curly braces, which are evaluated and replaced by their value during processing of the element constructor.

Each attribute in a direct element constructor creates a new attribute node, with its own node identity, whose parent is the constructed element node. However, note that namespace declaration attributes (see 3.8.1.2 Namespace Declaration Attributes) do not create attribute nodes.

If an attribute name has a namespace prefix, the prefix is resolved to a namespace URI using the statically known namespaces. If the attribute name has no namespace prefix, the attribute is in no namespace. Note that the statically known namespaces used in resolving an attribute name may be affected by namespace declaration attributes that are found inside the same element constructor. The namespace prefix of the attribute name is retained after expansion of the lexical QName, as described in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0]. The resulting expanded QName becomes the node-name property of the constructed attribute node.

If the attributes in a direct element constructor do not have distinct expanded QNames as their respective node-name properties, a static error is raised [err:XQST0040].

Conceptually, an attribute (other than a namespace declaration attribute) in a direct element constructor is processed by the following steps:

  1. Each consecutive sequence of literal characters in the attribute content is processed as a string literal containing those characters, with the following exceptions:

    1. Each occurrence of two consecutive { characters is replaced by a single { character.

    2. Each occurrence of two consecutive } characters is replaced by a single } character.

    3. Each occurrence of EscapeQuot is replaced by a single " character.

    4. Each occurrence of EscapeApos is replaced by a single ' character.

    Attribute value normalization is then applied to normalize whitespace and expand character references and predefined entity references. An XQuery processor that supports XML 1.0 uses the rules for attribute value normalization in Section 3.3.3 of [XML 1.0]; an XQuery processor that supports XML 1.1 uses the rules for attribute value normalization in Section 3.3.3 of [XML 1.1]. In either case, the normalization rules are applied as though the type of the attribute were CDATA (leading and trailing whitespace characters are not stripped.) The choice between XML 1.0 and XML 1.1 rules is implementation-defined.

  2. Each enclosed expression is converted to a string as follows:

    1. Atomization is applied to the value of the enclosed expression, converting it to a sequence of atomic values.

    2. If the result of atomization is an empty sequence, the result is the zero-length string. Otherwise, each atomic value in the atomized sequence is cast into a string.

    3. The individual strings resulting from the previous step are merged into a single string by concatenating them with a single space character between each pair.

  3. Adjacent strings resulting from the above steps are concatenated with no intervening blanks. The resulting string becomes the string-value property of the attribute node. The attribute node is given a type annotation (type-name property) of xs:untypedAtomic (this type annotation may change if the parent element is validated). The typed-value property of the attribute node is the same as its string-value, as an instance of xs:untypedAtomic.

  4. The parent property of the attribute node is set to the element node constructed by the direct element constructor that contains this attribute.

  5. If the attribute name is xml:id, then xml:id processing is performed as defined in [XML ID]. This ensures that the attribute has the type xs:ID and that its value is properly normalized. If an error is encountered during xml:id processing, an implementation may raise a dynamic error [err:XQDY0091].

  6. If the attribute name is xml:id, the is-id property of the resulting attribute node is set to true; otherwise the is-id property is set to false. The is-idrefs property of the attribute node is unconditionally set to false.

  • Example:

    <shoe size="7"/>

    The string value of the size attribute is "7".

  • Example:

    <shoe size="{7}"/>

    The string value of the size attribute is "7".

  • Example:

    <shoe size="{()}"/>

    The string value of the size attribute is the zero-length string.

  • Example:

    <chapter ref="[{1, 5 to 7, 9}]"/>

    The string value of the ref attribute is "[1 5 6 7 9]".

  • Example:

    <shoe size="As big as {$hat/@size}"/>

    The string value of the size attribute is the string "As big as ", concatenated with the string value of the node denoted by the expression $hat/@size.

3.8.1.2 Namespace Declaration Attributes

The names of a constructed element and its attributes may be lexical QNames that include namespace prefixes. Namespace prefixes can be bound to namespaces in the Prolog or by namespace declaration attributes. It is a static error to use a namespace prefix that has not been bound to a namespace [err:XPST0081].

[Definition: A namespace declaration attribute is used inside a direct element constructor. Its purpose is to bind a namespace prefix or to set the default element/type namespace for the constructed element node, including its attributes.] Syntactically, a namespace declaration attribute has the form of an attribute with namespace prefix xmlns, or with name xmlns and no namespace prefix. All the namespace declaration attributes of a given element must have distinct names [err:XQST0071]. Each namespace declaration attribute is processed as follows:

  • The value of the namespace declaration attribute (a DirAttributeValue) is processed as follows. If the DirAttributeValue contains an EnclosedExpr, a static error is raised [err:XQST0022]. Otherwise, it is processed as described in rule 1 of 3.8.1.1 Attributes. An implementation MAY raise a static error [err:XQST0046] if the resulting value is of nonzero length and is not in the lexical space of xs:anyURI. The resulting value is used as the namespace URI in the following rules.

  • If the prefix of the attribute name is xmlns, then the local part of the attribute name is interpreted as a namespace prefix. This prefix and the namespace URI are added to the statically known namespaces of the constructor expression (overriding any existing binding of the given prefix), and are also added as a namespace binding to the in-scope namespaces of the constructed element. If the namespace URI is a zero-length string and the implementation supports [XML Names 1.1], any existing namespace binding for the given prefix is removed from the in-scope namespaces of the constructed element and from the statically known namespaces of the constructor expression. If the namespace URI is a zero-length string and the implementation does not support [XML Names 1.1], a static error is raised [err:XQST0085]. It is implementation-defined whether an implementation supports [XML Names] or [XML Names 1.1].

  • If the name of the namespace declaration attribute is xmlns with no prefix, then the namespace URI specifies the default element/type namespace of the constructor expression (overriding any existing default), and is added (with no prefix) to the in-scope namespaces of the constructed element (overriding any existing namespace binding with no prefix). If the namespace URI is a zero-length string, the default element/type namespace of the constructor expression is set to absentDM30, and any no-prefix namespace binding is removed from the in-scope namespaces of the constructed element.

  • It is a static error [err:XQST0070] if a namespace declaration attribute attempts to do any of the following:

    • Bind the prefix xml to some namespace URI other than http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

    • Bind a prefix other than xml to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

    • Bind the prefix xmlns to any namespace URI.

    • Bind a prefix to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/.

A namespace declaration attribute does not cause an attribute node to be created.

The following examples illustrate namespace declaration attributes:

  • In this element constructor, a namespace declaration attribute is used to set the default element/type namespace to http://example.org/animals:

    <cat xmlns = "http://example.org/animals">
      <breed>Persian</breed>
    </cat>
  • In this element constructor, namespace declaration attributes are used to bind the namespace prefixes metric and english:

    <box xmlns:metric = "http://example.org/metric/units"
         xmlns:english = "http://example.org/english/units">
      <height> <metric:meters>3</metric:meters> </height>
      <width> <english:feet>6</english:feet> </width>
      <depth> <english:inches>18</english:inches> </depth>
    </box>
3.8.1.3 Content

The part of a direct element constructor between the start tag and the end tag is called the content of the element constructor. This content may consist of text characters (parsed as ElementContentChar), nested direct constructors, CDataSections, character and predefined entity references, and expressions enclosed in curly braces. In general, the value of an enclosed expression may be any sequence of nodes and/or atomic values. Enclosed expressions can be used in the content of an element constructor to compute both the content and the attributes of the constructed node.

Conceptually, the content of an element constructor is processed as follows:

  1. The content is evaluated to produce a sequence of nodes called the content sequence, as follows:

    1. If the boundary-space policy in the static context is strip, boundary whitespace is identified and deleted (see 3.8.1.4 Boundary Whitespace for a definition of boundary whitespace.)

    2. Predefined entity references and character references are expanded into their referenced strings, as described in 3.1.1 Literals. Characters inside a CDataSection, including special characters such as < and &, are treated as literal characters rather than as markup characters (except for the sequence ]]>, which terminates the CDataSection).

    3. Each consecutive sequence of literal characters evaluates to a single text node containing the characters.

    4. Each nested direct constructor is evaluated according to the rules in 3.8.1 Direct Element Constructors or 3.8.2 Other Direct Constructors, resulting in a new element, comment, or processing instruction node. Then:

      1. The parent property of the resulting node is then set to the newly constructed element node.

      2. The base-uri property of the resulting node, and of each of its descendants, is set to be the same as that of its new parent, unless it (the child node) has an xml:base attribute, in which case its base-uri property is set to the value of that attribute, resolved (if it is relative) against the base-uri property of its new parent node.

    5. Enclosed expressions are evaluated as follows:

      1. If an enclosed expression returns a function itemDM30, a type error is raised [err:XQTY0105].

      2. For each adjacent sequence of one or more atomic values returned by an enclosed expression, a new text node is constructed, containing the result of casting each atomic value to a string, with a single space character inserted between adjacent values.

        Note:

        The insertion of blank characters between adjacent values applies even if one or both of the values is a zero-length string.

      3. For each node returned by an enclosed expression, a new copy is made of the given node and all nodes that have the given node as an ancestor, collectively referred to as copied nodes. The properties of the copied nodes are as follows:

        1. Each copied node receives a new node identity.

        2. The parent, children, and attributes properties of the copied nodes are set so as to preserve their inter-node relationships. For the topmost node (the node directly returned by the enclosed expression), the parent property is set to the node constructed by this constructor.

        3. If construction mode in the static context is strip:

          1. If the copied node is an element node, its type-name property is set to xs:untyped. Its nilled, is-id, and is-idrefs properties are set to false.

          2. If the copied node is an attribute node, its type-name property is set to xs:untypedAtomic. Its is-idrefs property is set to false. Its is-id property is set to true if the qualified name of the attribute node is xml:id; otherwise it is set to false.

          3. The string-value of each copied element and attribute node remains unchanged, and its typed-value becomes equal to its string-value as an instance of xs:untypedAtomic.

            Note:

            Implementations that store only the typed value of a node are required at this point to convert the typed value to a string form.

          On the other hand, if construction mode in the static context is preserve, the type-name, nilled, string-value, typed-value, is-id, and is-idrefs properties of the copied nodes are preserved.

        4. The in-scope-namespaces property of a copied element node is determined by the following rules. In applying these rules, the default namespace or absence of a default namespace is treated like any other namespace binding:

          1. If copy-namespaces mode specifies preserve, all in-scope-namespaces of the original element are retained in the new copy. If copy-namespaces mode specifies no-preserve, the new copy retains only those in-scope namespaces of the original element that are used in the names of the element and its attributes.

          2. If copy-namespaces mode specifies inherit, the copied node inherits all the in-scope namespaces of the constructed node, augmented and overridden by the in-scope namespaces of the original element that were preserved by the preceding rule. If copy-namespaces mode specifies no-inherit, the copied node does not inherit any in-scope namespaces from the constructed node.

        5. An enclosed expression in the content of an element constructor may cause one or more existing nodes to be copied. Type error [err:XQTY0086] is raised in the following cases:

          1. An element node is copied, and the typed value of the element node or one of its attributes is namespace-sensitive, and construction mode is preserve, and copy-namespaces mode is no-preserve.

          2. An attribute node is copied but its parent element node is not copied, and the typed value of the copied attribute node is namespace-sensitive, and construction mode is preserve.

          [Definition: A value is namespace-sensitive if it includes an item whose dynamic type is xs:QName or xs:NOTATION or is derived by restriction from xs:QName or xs:NOTATION.]

          Note:

          The rationale for error [err:XQTY0086] is as follows: It is not possible to preserve the type of a QName without also preserving the namespace binding that defines the prefix of the QName.

        6. When an element or processing instruction node is copied, its base-uri property is set to be the same as that of its new parent, with the following exception: if a copied element node has an xml:base attribute, its base-uri property is set to the value of that attribute, resolved (if it is relative) against the base-uri property of the new parent node.

        7. All other properties of the copied nodes are preserved.

  2. If the content sequence contains a document node, the document node is replaced in the content sequence by its children.

  3. Adjacent text nodes in the content sequence are merged into a single text node by concatenating their contents, with no intervening blanks. After concatenation, any text node whose content is a zero-length string is deleted from the content sequence.

  4. If the content sequence contains an attribute node or a namespace node following a node that is not an attribute node or a namespace node, a type error is raised [err:XQTY0024].

  5. The properties of the newly constructed element node are determined as follows:

    1. node-name is the expanded QName resulting from resolving the element name in the start tag, including its original namespace prefix (if any), as described in 3.8.1 Direct Element Constructors.

    2. parent is set to empty.

    3. attributes consist of all the attributes specified in the start tag as described in 3.8.1.1 Attributes, together with all the attribute nodes in the content sequence, in implementation-dependent order. Note that the parent property of each of these attribute nodes has been set to the newly constructed element node. If two or more attributes have the same node-name, a dynamic error is raised [err:XQDY0025]. If an attribute named xml:space has a value other than preserve or default, a dynamic error may be raised [err:XQDY0092].

    4. children consist of all the element, text, comment, and processing instruction nodes in the content sequence. Note that the parent property of each of these nodes has been set to the newly constructed element node.

    5. base-uri is set to the following value:

      1. If the constructed node has an attribute named xml:base, then the value of this attribute, resolved (if it is relative) against the base URI in the static context. The value of the xml:base attribute is normalized as described in [XML Base].

      2. Otherwise, the value of the base URI in the static context.

    6. in-scope-namespaces consist of all the namespace bindings resulting from namespace declaration attributes as described in 3.8.1.2 Namespace Declaration Attributes, and possibly additional namespace bindings as described in 3.8.4 In-scope Namespaces of a Constructed Element.

    7. The nilled property is false.

    8. The string-value property is equal to the concatenated contents of the text-node descendants in document order. If there are no text-node descendants, the string-value property is a zero-length string.

    9. The typed-value property is equal to the string-value property, as an instance of xs:untypedAtomic.

    10. If construction mode in the static context is strip, the type-name property is xs:untyped. On the other hand, if construction mode is preserve, the type-name property is xs:anyType.

    11. The is-id and is-idrefs properties are set to false.

  • Example:

    <a>{1}</a>

    The constructed element node has one child, a text node containing the value "1".

  • Example:

    <a>{1, 2, 3}</a>

    The constructed element node has one child, a text node containing the value "1 2 3".

  • Example:

    <c>{1}{2}{3}</c>

    The constructed element node has one child, a text node containing the value "123".

  • Example:

    <b>{1, "2", "3"}</b>

    The constructed element node has one child, a text node containing the value "1 2 3".

  • Example:

    <fact>I saw 8 cats.</fact>

    The constructed element node has one child, a text node containing the value "I saw 8 cats.".

  • Example:

    <fact>I saw {5 + 3} cats.</fact>

    The constructed element node has one child, a text node containing the value "I saw 8 cats.".

  • Example:

    <fact>I saw <howmany>{5 + 3}</howmany> cats.</fact>

    The constructed element node has three children: a text node containing "I saw ", a child element node named howmany, and a text node containing " cats.". The child element node in turn has a single text node child containing the value "8".

3.8.1.4 Boundary Whitespace

In a direct element constructor, whitespace characters may appear in the content of the constructed element. In some cases, enclosed expressions and/or nested elements may be separated only by whitespace characters. For example, in the expression below, the end-tag </title> and the start-tag <author> are separated by a newline character and four space characters:

[Definition: Boundary whitespace is a sequence of consecutive whitespace characters within the content of a direct element constructor, that is delimited at each end either by the start or end of the content, or by a DirectConstructor, or by an EnclosedExpr. For this purpose, characters generated by character references such as &#x20; or by CDataSections are not considered to be whitespace characters.]

The boundary-space policy in the static context controls whether boundary whitespace is preserved by element constructors. If boundary-space policy is strip, boundary whitespace is not considered significant and is discarded. On the other hand, if boundary-space policy is preserve, boundary whitespace is considered significant and is preserved.

  • Example:

    <cat> 
       <breed>{$b}</breed>
       <color>{$c}</color> 
    </cat>

    The constructed cat element node has two child element nodes named breed and color. Whitespace surrounding the child elements will be stripped away by the element constructor if boundary-space policy is strip.

  • Example:

    <a>  {"abc"}  </a>

    If boundary-space policy is strip, this example is equivalent to <a>abc</a>. However, if boundary-space policy is preserve, this example is equivalent to <a>  abc  </a>.

  • Example:

    <a> z {"abc"}</a>

    Since the whitespace surrounding the z is not boundary whitespace, it is always preserved. This example is equivalent to <a> z abc</a>.

  • Example:

    <a>&#x20;{"abc"}</a>

    This example is equivalent to <a> abc</a>, regardless of the boundary-space policy, because the space generated by the character reference is not treated as a whitespace character.

  • Example:

    <a>{"  "}</a>

    This example constructs an element containing two space characters, regardless of the boundary-space policy, because whitespace inside an enclosed expression is never considered to be boundary whitespace.

Note:

Element constructors treat attributes named xml:space as ordinary attributes. An xml:space attribute does not affect the handling of whitespace by an element constructor.

3.8.2 Other Direct Constructors

XQuery allows an expression to generate a processing instruction node or a comment node. This can be accomplished by using a direct processing instruction constructor or a direct comment constructor. In each case, the syntax of the constructor expression is based on the syntax of a similar construct in XML.

[148]   DirPIConstructor   ::=   "<?" PITarget (S DirPIContents)? "?>"
[149]   DirPIContents   ::=   (Char* - (Char* '?>' Char*))
[146]   DirCommentConstructor   ::=   "<!--" DirCommentContents "-->"
[147]   DirCommentContents   ::=   ((Char - '-') | ('-' (Char - '-')))*

A direct processing instruction constructor creates a processing instruction node whose target property is PITarget and whose content property is DirPIContents. The base-uri property of the node is empty. The parent property of the node is empty.

The PITarget of a processing instruction must not consist of the characters "XML" in any combination of upper and lower case. The DirPIContents of a processing instruction must not contain the string "?>".

The following example illustrates a direct processing instruction constructor:

<?format role="output" ?>

A direct comment constructor creates a comment node whose content property is DirCommentContents. Its parent property is empty.

The DirCommentContents of a comment must not contain two consecutive hyphens or end with a hyphen. These rules are syntactically enforced by the grammar shown above.

The following example illustrates a direct comment constructor:

<!-- Tags are ignored in the following section -->

Note:

A direct comment constructor is different from a comment, since a direct comment constructor actually constructs a comment node, whereas a comment is simply used in documenting a query and is not evaluated.

3.8.3 Computed Constructors

[152]   ComputedConstructor   ::=    CompDocConstructor
| CompElemConstructor
| CompAttrConstructor
| CompNamespaceConstructor
| CompTextConstructor
| CompCommentConstructor
| CompPIConstructor

An alternative way to create nodes is by using a computed constructor. A computed constructor begins with a keyword that identifies the type of node to be created: element, attribute, document, text, processing-instruction, comment, or namespace.

For those kinds of nodes that have names (element, attribute, and processing instruction nodes), the keyword that specifies the node kind is followed by the name of the node to be created. This name may be specified either as an EQName or as an expression enclosed in braces. [Definition: When an expression is used to specify the name of a constructed node, that expression is called the name expression of the constructor.]

[Definition: The final part of a computed constructor is an expression enclosed in braces, called the content expression of the constructor, that generates the content of the node.]

The following example illustrates the use of computed element and attribute constructors in a simple case where the names of the constructed nodes are constants. This example generates exactly the same result as the first example in 3.8.1 Direct Element Constructors:

element book { 
   attribute isbn {"isbn-0060229357" }, 
   element title { "Harold and the Purple Crayon"},
   element author { 
      element first { "Crockett" }, 
      element last {"Johnson" }
   }
}
3.8.3.1 Computed Element Constructors
[154]   CompElemConstructor   ::=   "element" (EQName | ("{" Expr "}")) "{" ContentExpr? "}"
[196]   EQName   ::=    QName | (URILiteral ":" NCName)
[155]   ContentExpr   ::=    Expr

[Definition: A computed element constructor creates an element node, allowing both the name and the content of the node to be computed.]

If the keyword element is followed by an EQName, it is expanded to an expanded QName as follows: if the EQName has a URILiteral it is expanded using the specified URI; if the EQName is a lexical QName with a namespace prefix it is expanded using the statically known namespaces; if the EQName is a lexical QName without a prefix it is implicitly qualified by the default element/type namespace. The resulting expanded QName is used as the node-name property of the constructed element node. If expansion of the QName is not successful, a static error is raised [err:XPST0081].

If the keyword element is followed by a name expression, the name expression is processed as follows:

  1. Atomization is applied to the value of the name expression. If the result of atomization is not a single atomic value of type xs:QName, xs:string, or xs:untypedAtomic, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  2. If the atomized value of the name expression is of type xs:QName, that expanded QName is used as the node-name property of the constructed element, retaining the prefix part of the QName.

  3. If the atomized value of the name expression is of type xs:string or xs:untypedAtomic, that value is converted to an expanded QName. If the string value contains a namespace prefix, that prefix is resolved to a namespace URI using the statically known namespaces. If the string value contains no namespace prefix, it is treated as a local name in the default element/type namespace. The resulting expanded QName is used as the node-name property of the constructed element, retaining the prefix part of the QName. If conversion of the atomized name expression to an expanded QName is not successful, a dynamic error is raised [err:XQDY0074].

A dynamic error is raised [err:XQDY0096] if the node-name of the constructed element node has any of the following properties:

  • Its namespace prefix is xmlns.

  • Its namespace URI is http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/.

  • Its namespace prefix is xml and its namespace URI is not http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

  • Its namespace prefix is other than xml and its namespace URI is http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

The content expression of a computed element constructor (if present) is processed in exactly the same way as an enclosed expression in the content of a direct element constructor, as described in Step 1e of 3.8.1.3 Content. The result of processing the content expression is a sequence of nodes called the content sequence. If the content expression is absent, the content sequence is an empty sequence.

Processing of the computed element constructor proceeds as follows:

  1. If the content sequence contains a document node, the document node is replaced in the content sequence by its children.

  2. Adjacent text nodes in the content sequence are merged into a single text node by concatenating their contents, with no intervening blanks. After concatenation, any text node whose content is a zero-length string is deleted from the content sequence.

  3. If the content sequence contains an attribute node or a namespace node following a node that is not an attribute node or a namespace node, a type error is raised [err:XQTY0024].

  4. The properties of the newly constructed element node are determined as follows:

    1. node-name is the expanded QName resulting from processing the specified lexical QName or name expression, as described above.

    2. parent is empty.

    3. attributes consist of all the attribute nodes in the content sequence, in implementation-dependent order. Note that the parent property of each of these attribute nodes has been set to the newly constructed element node. If two or more attributes have the same node-name, a dynamic error is raised [err:XQDY0025]. If an attribute named xml:space has a value other than preserve or default, a dynamic error may be raised [err:XQDY0092].

    4. children consist of all the element, text, comment, and processing instruction nodes in the content sequence. Note that the parent property of each of these nodes has been set to the newly constructed element node.

    5. base-uri is set to the following value:

      1. If the constructed node has an attribute named xml:base, then the value of this attribute, resolved (if it is relative) against the base URI in the static context. The value of the xml:base attribute is normalized as described in [XML Base].

      2. Otherwise, the value of the base URI in the static context.

    6. in-scope-namespaces are computed as described in 3.8.4 In-scope Namespaces of a Constructed Element.

    7. The nilled property is false.

    8. The string-value property is equal to the concatenated contents of the text-node descendants in document order.

    9. The typed-value property is equal to the string-value property, as an instance of xs:untypedAtomic.

    10. If construction mode in the static context is strip, the type-name property is xs:untyped. On the other hand, if construction mode is preserve, the type-name property is xs:anyType.

    11. The is-id and is-idrefs properties are set to false.

A computed element constructor might be used to make a modified copy of an existing element. For example, if the variable $e is bound to an element with numeric content, the following constructor might be used to create a new element with the same name and attributes as $e and with numeric content equal to twice the value of $e:

element {fn:node-name($e)}
   {$e/@*, 2 * fn:data($e)}

In this example, if $e is bound by the expression let $e := <length units="inches">{5}</length>, then the result of the example expression is the element <length units="inches">10</length>.

Note:

The static type of the expression fn:node-name($e) is xs:QName?, denoting zero or one QName. Therefore, if the Static Typing Feature is in effect, the above example raises a static type error, since the name expression in a computed element constructor is required to return exactly one string or QName. In order to avoid the static type error, the name expression fn:node-name($e) could be rewritten as fn:exactly-one(fn:node-name($e)). If the Static Typing Feature is not in effect, the example can be successfully evaluated as written, provided that $e is bound to exactly one element node with numeric content.

One important purpose of computed constructors is to allow the name of a node to be computed. We will illustrate this feature by an expression that translates the name of an element from one language to another. Suppose that the variable $dict is bound to a dictionary element containing a sequence of entry elements, each of which encodes translations for a specific word. Here is an example entry that encodes the German and Italian variants of the word "address":

<entry word="address">
   <variant xml:lang="de">Adresse</variant>
   <variant xml:lang="it">indirizzo</variant>
</entry> 

Suppose further that the variable $e is bound to the following element:

<address>123 Roosevelt Ave. Flushing, NY 11368</address>

Then the following expression generates a new element in which the name of $e has been translated into Italian and the content of $e (including its attributes, if any) has been preserved. The first enclosed expression after the element keyword generates the name of the element, and the second enclosed expression generates the content and attributes:

  element 
    {$dict/entry[@word=name($e)]/variant[@xml:lang="it"]}
    {$e/@*, $e/node()}

The result of this expression is as follows:

<indirizzo>123 Roosevelt Ave. Flushing, NY 11368</indirizzo>

Note:

As in the previous example, if the Static Typing Feature is in effect, the enclosed expression that computes the element name in the above computed element constructor must be wrapped in a call to the fn:exactly-one function in order to avoid a static type error.

Additional examples of computed element constructors can be found in I.3 Recursive Transformations.

3.8.3.2 Computed Attribute Constructors
[156]   CompAttrConstructor   ::=   "attribute" (EQName | ("{" Expr "}")) "{" Expr? "}"
[196]   EQName   ::=    QName | (URILiteral ":" NCName)

A computed attribute constructor creates a new attribute node, with its own node identity.

If the keyword attribute is followed by an EQName, it is expanded to an expanded QName as follows: if the EQName has a URILiteral it is expanded using the specified URI; if the EQName is a lexical QName with a namespace prefix it is expanded using the statically known namespaces; if the EQName is a lexical QName without a prefix, the expanded QName is in no namespace. The resulting expanded QName (including its prefix) is used as the node-name property of the constructed attribute node. If expansion of the QName is not successful, a static error is raised [err:XPST0081].

If the keyword attribute is followed by a name expression, the name expression is processed as follows:

  1. Atomization is applied to the result of the name expression. If the result of atomization is not a single atomic value of type xs:QName, xs:string, or xs:untypedAtomic, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  2. If the atomized value of the name expression is of type xs:QName:

    1. If the expanded QName returned by the atomized name expression has a namespace URI but has no prefix, it is given an implementation-dependent prefix.

      Note:

      This step is necessary because attributes have no default namespace. Therefore any attribute name that has a namespace URI must also have a prefix.

    2. The resulting expanded QName (including its prefix) is used as the node-name property of the constructed attribute node.

  3. If the atomized value of the name expression is of type xs:string or xs:untypedAtomic, that value is converted to an expanded QName. If the string value contains a namespace prefix, that prefix is resolved to a namespace URI using the statically known namespaces. If the string value contains no namespace prefix, it is treated as a local name in no namespace. The resulting expanded QName (including its prefix) is used as the node-name property of the constructed attribute. If conversion of the atomized name expression to an expanded QName is not successful, a dynamic error is raised [err:XQDY0074].

A dynamic error is raised [err:XQDY0044] if the node-name of the constructed attribute node has any of the following properties:

  • Its namespace prefix is xmlns.

  • It has no namespace prefix and its local name is xmlns.

  • Its namespace URI is http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/.

  • Its namespace prefix is xml and its namespace URI is not http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

  • Its namespace prefix is other than xml and its namespace URI is http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

The content expression of a computed attribute constructor is processed as follows:

  1. Atomization is applied to the result of the content expression, converting it to a sequence of atomic values. (If the content expression is absent, the result of this step is an empty sequence.)

  2. If the result of atomization is an empty sequence, the value of the attribute is the zero-length string. Otherwise, each atomic value in the atomized sequence is cast into a string.

  3. The individual strings resulting from the previous step are merged into a single string by concatenating them with a single space character between each pair. The resulting string becomes the string-value property of the new attribute node. The type annotation (type-name property) of the new attribute node is xs:untypedAtomic. The typed-value property of the attribute node is the same as its string-value, as an instance of xs:untypedAtomic.

  4. The parent property of the attribute node is set to empty.

  5. If the attribute name is xml:id, then xml:id processing is performed as defined in [XML ID]. This ensures that the attribute node has the type xs:ID and that its value is properly normalized. If an error is encountered during xml:id processing, an implementation may raise a dynamic error [err:XQDY0091].

  6. If the attribute name is xml:id, the is-id property of the resulting attribute node is set to true; otherwise the is-id property is set to false. The is-idrefs property of the attribute node is unconditionally set to false.

  7. If the attribute name is xml:space and the attribute value is other than preserve or default, a dynamic error MAY be raised [err:XQDY0092].

  • Example:

    attribute size {4 + 3}

    The string value of the size attribute is "7" and its type is xs:untypedAtomic.

  • Example:

    attribute  
       { if ($sex = "M") then "husband" else "wife" } 
       { <a>Hello</a>, 1 to 3, <b>Goodbye</b> }
    

    The name of the constructed attribute is either husband or wife. Its string value is "Hello 1 2 3 Goodbye".

3.8.3.3 Document Node Constructors
[153]   CompDocConstructor   ::=   "document" "{" Expr "}"

All document node constructors are computed constructors. The result of a document node constructor is a new document node, with its own node identity.

A document node constructor is useful when the result of a query is to be a document in its own right. The following example illustrates a query that returns an XML document containing a root element named author-list:

The content expression of a document node constructor is processed in exactly the same way as an enclosed expression in the content of a direct element constructor, as described in Step 1e of 3.8.1.3 Content. The result of processing the content expression is a sequence of nodes called the content sequence. Processing of the document node constructor then proceeds as follows:

  1. If the content sequence contains a document node, the document node is replaced in the content sequence by its children.

  2. Adjacent text nodes in the content sequence are merged into a single text node by concatenating their contents, with no intervening blanks. After concatenation, any text node whose content is a zero-length string is deleted from the content sequence.

  3. If the content sequence contains an attribute node, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  4. If the content sequence contains a namespace node, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  5. The properties of the newly constructed document node are determined as follows:

    1. base-uri is taken from base URI in the static context. If no base URI is defined in the static context, the base-uri property is empty.

    2. children consist of all the element, text, comment, and processing instruction nodes in the content sequence. Note that the parent property of each of these nodes has been set to the newly constructed document node.

    3. The unparsed-entities and document-uri properties are empty.

    4. The string-value property is equal to the concatenated contents of the text-node descendants in document order.

    5. The typed-value property is equal to the string-value property, as an instance of xs:untypedAtomic.

No validation is performed on the constructed document node. The [XML 1.0] rules that govern the structure of an XML document (for example, the document node must have exactly one child that is an element node) are not enforced by the XQuery document node constructor.

3.8.3.4 Text Node Constructors
[161]   CompTextConstructor   ::=   "text" "{" Expr "}"

All text node constructors are computed constructors. The result of a text node constructor is a new text node, with its own node identity.

The content expression of a text node constructor is processed as follows:

  1. Atomization is applied to the value of the content expression, converting it to a sequence of atomic values.

  2. If the result of atomization is an empty sequence, no text node is constructed. Otherwise, each atomic value in the atomized sequence is cast into a string.

  3. The individual strings resulting from the previous step are merged into a single string by concatenating them with a single space character between each pair. The resulting string becomes the content property of the constructed text node.

The parent property of the constructed text node is set to empty.

Note:

It is possible for a text node constructor to construct a text node containing a zero-length string. However, if used in the content of a constructed element or document node, such a text node will be deleted or merged with another text node.

The following example illustrates a text node constructor:

text {"Hello"}
3.8.3.5 Computed Processing Instruction Constructors
[163]   CompPIConstructor   ::=   "processing-instruction" (NCName | ("{" Expr "}")) "{" Expr? "}"

A computed processing instruction constructor (CompPIConstructor) constructs a new processing instruction node with its own node identity.

If the keyword processing-instruction is followed by an NCName, that NCName is used as the target property of the constructed node. If the keyword processing-instruction is followed by a name expression, the name expression is processed as follows:

  1. Atomization is applied to the value of the name expression. If the result of atomization is not a single atomic value of type xs:NCName, xs:string, or xs:untypedAtomic, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  2. If the atomized value of the name expression is of type xs:string or xs:untypedAtomic, that value is cast to the type xs:NCName. If the value cannot be cast to xs:NCName, a dynamic error is raised [err:XQDY0041].

  3. The resulting NCName is then used as the target property of the newly constructed processing instruction node. However, a dynamic error is raised if the NCName is equal to "XML" (in any combination of upper and lower case) [err:XQDY0064].

The content expression of a computed processing instruction constructor is processed as follows:

  1. Atomization is applied to the value of the content expression, converting it to a sequence of atomic values. (If the content expression is absent, the result of this step is an empty sequence.)

  2. If the result of atomization is an empty sequence, it is replaced by a zero-length string. Otherwise, each atomic value in the atomized sequence is cast into a string. If any of the resulting strings contains the string "?>", a dynamic error [err:XQDY0026] is raised.

  3. The individual strings resulting from the previous step are merged into a single string by concatenating them with a single space character between each pair. Leading whitespace is removed from the resulting string. The resulting string then becomes the content property of the constructed processing instruction node.

The remaining properties of the new processing instruction node are determined as follows:

  1. The parent property is empty.

  2. The base-uri property is empty.

The following example illustrates a computed processing instruction constructor:

let $target := "audio-output",
    $content := "beep" 
return processing-instruction {$target} {$content}

The processing instruction node constructed by this example might be serialized as follows:

<?audio-output beep?>
3.8.3.6 Computed Comment Constructors
[162]   CompCommentConstructor   ::=   "comment" "{" Expr "}"

A computed comment constructor (CompCommentConstructor) constructs a new comment node with its own node identity. The content expression of a computed comment constructor is processed as follows:

  1. Atomization is applied to the value of the content expression, converting it to a sequence of atomic values.

  2. If the result of atomization is an empty sequence, it is replaced by a zero-length string. Otherwise, each atomic value in the atomized sequence is cast into a string.

  3. The individual strings resulting from the previous step are merged into a single string by concatenating them with a single space character between each pair. The resulting string becomes the content property of the constructed comment node.

  4. It is a dynamic error [err:XQDY0072] if the result of the content expression of a computed comment constructor contains two adjacent hyphens or ends with a hyphen.

The parent property of the constructed comment node is set to empty.

The following example illustrates a computed comment constructor:

let $homebase := "Houston" 
return comment {fn:concat($homebase, ", we have a problem.")}

The comment node constructed by this example might be serialized as follows:

<!--Houston, we have a problem.-->
3.8.3.7 Computed Namespace Constructors
[157]   CompNamespaceConstructor   ::=   "namespace" (Prefix | ("{" PrefixExpr "}")) "{" URIExpr? "}"
[159]   PrefixExpr   ::=    Expr
[160]   URIExpr   ::=    Expr

A computed namespace constructor creates a new namespace node, with its own node identity. The parent of the newly created namespace node is empty.

If the constructor specifies a Prefix, it is used as the prefix for the namespace node.

If the constructor specifies a PrefixExpr, the prefix expression is evaluated as follows:

  1. Atomization is applied to the result of the PrefixExpr.

  2. If the result of atomization is a single atomic value of type xs:NCName, xs:string, or xs:untypedAtomic, it is used as the prefix property of the newly constructed namespace node; if it can not be cast to xs:NCName, dynamic error is raised [err:XQDY0074]. If the result is the empty sequence or an empty string, the prefix property of the newly constructed namespace node is empty. For any other result, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  3. The URIExpr is evaluated, and the result is cast to xs:anyURI to create the URI property for the newly created node.

    An error [err:XQDY0101] is raised if a computed namespace constructor attempts to do any of the following:

    • Bind the prefix xml to some namespace URI other than http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

    • Bind a prefix other than xml to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

    • Bind the prefix xmlns to any namespace URI.

    • Bind a prefix to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/.

By itself, a computed namespace constructor has no effect on in-scope namespaces, but if an element constructor's content sequence contains a namespace node, the namespace binding it represents is added to the elements in-scope namespaces.

A computed namespace constructor has no effect on the statically known namespaces.

Note:

The newly created namespace node has all properties defined for a namespace node in the data model. Like all nodes, it has identity. Like all nodes which do not share a common parent, the relative order of these nodes is implementation dependent. As defined in the data model, the name of the node is the prefix, and the string value of the node is the URI.

Examples:

  • A computed namespace constructor with a prefix:

    namespace a {"http://a.example.com" }
  • A computed namespace constructor with a prefix expression:

    namespace {"a"} {"http://a.example.com" }
  • A computed namespace constructor with an empty prefix:

    namespace { "" } {"http://a.example.com" }

Computed namespace constructors are generally used to add to the in-scope namespaces of elements created with element constructors:

<form>
 {
    namespace a {"http://a.example.com" },
    attribute { xs:QName("a:id") } { "a-12-XE-45" },
    element { xs:QName("a:field")} { "Sample data" }
 }
</form>

Computed namespace constructors have no effect on the statically known namespaces. If the prefix a is not already defined in the statically known namespaces, the following expression results in a static error [err:XPST0081].

<a:form>
 {
  namespace a { "http://a.example.com" }
 }
</a:form>

3.8.4 In-scope Namespaces of a Constructed Element

An element node constructed by a direct or computed element constructor has an in-scope namespaces property that consists of a set of namespace bindings. The in-scope namespaces of an element node may affect the way the node is serialized (see 2.2.4 Serialization), and may also affect the behavior of certain functions that operate on nodes, such as fn:name. Note the difference between in-scope namespaces, which is a dynamic property of an element node, and statically known namespaces, which is a static property of an expression. Also note that one of the namespace bindings in the in-scope namespaces may have no prefix (denoting the default namespace for the given element). The in-scope namespaces of a constructed element node consist of the following namespace bindings:

  • A namespace binding is created for each namespace declared in the current element constructor by a namespace declaration attribute.

  • A namespace binding is created for each namespace node in the context sequence of the current element constructor.

  • A namespace binding is created for each namespace that is declared in a namespace declaration attribute of an enclosing direct element constructor and not overridden by the current element constructor or an intermediate constructor.

  • A namespace binding is always created to bind the prefix xml to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

  • For each namespace used in the name of the constructed element or in the names of its attributes, a namespace binding must exist. If a namespace binding does not already exist for one of these namespaces, a new namespace binding is created for it. If the name of the node includes a prefix, that prefix is used in the namespace binding; if the name has no prefix, then a binding is created for the empty prefix. If this would result in a conflict, because it would require two different bindings of the same prefix, then the prefix used in the node name is changed to an arbitrary implementation-dependent prefix that does not cause such a conflict, and a namespace binding is created for this new prefix.

Note:

Copy-namespaces mode does not affect the namespace bindings of a newly constructed element node. It applies only to existing nodes that are copied by a constructor expression.

In an element constructor, if two or more namespace bindings in the in-scope bindings would have the same prefix, then an error is raised if they have different URIs [err:XQTY0102]; if they would have the same prefix and URI, duplicate bindings are ignored.

The following query serves as an example:

declare namespace p="http://example.com/ns/p";
declare namespace q="http://example.com/ns/q";
declare namespace f="http://example.com/ns/f";

<p:a q:b="{f:func(2)}" xmlns:r="http://example.com/ns/r"/>

The in-scope namespaces of the resulting p:a element consists of the following namespace bindings:

  • p = "http://example.com/ns/p"

  • q = "http://example.com/ns/q"

  • r = "http://example.com/ns/r"

  • xml = "http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"

The namespace bindings for p and q are added to the result element because their respective namespaces are used in the names of the element and its attributes. The namespace binding r="http://example.com/ns/r" is added to the in-scope namespaces of the constructed element because it is defined by a namespace declaration attribute, even though it is not used in a name.

No namespace binding corresponding to f="http://example.com/ns/f" is created, because the namespace prefix f appears only in the query prolog and is not used in an element or attribute name of the constructed node. This namespace binding does not appear in the query result, even though it is present in the statically known namespaces and is available for use during processing of the query.

Note that the following constructed element, if nested within a validate expression, cannot be validated:

<p xsi:type="xs:integer">3</p>

The constructed element will have namespace bindings for the prefixes xsi (because it is used in a name) and xml (because it is defined for every constructed element node). During validation of the constructed element, the validator will be unable to interpret the namespace prefix xs because it is has no namespace binding. Validation of this constructed element could be made possible by providing a namespace declaration attribute, as in the following example:

<p xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
   xsi:type="xs:integer">3</p>

3.9 FLWOR Expressions

XQuery provides a versatile expression called a FLWOR expression that may contain multiple clauses. The FLWOR expression can be used for many purposes, including iterating over sequences, joining multiple documents, and performing grouping and aggregation. The name FLWOR, pronounced "flower", is suggested by the keywords for, let, where, order by, and return, which introduce some of the clauses used in FLWOR expressions (but this is not a complete list of such clauses.)

The complete syntax of a FLWOR expression is shown here, and relevant parts of the syntax are repeated in subsequent sections of this document.

[41]   FLWORExpr   ::=    InitialClause IntermediateClause* ReturnClause
[42]   InitialClause   ::=    ForClause | LetClause | WindowClause
[43]   IntermediateClause   ::=    InitialClause | WhereClause | GroupByClause | OrderByClause | CountClause
[44]   ForClause   ::=   "for" ForBinding ("," ForBinding)*
[45]   ForBinding   ::=   "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? AllowingEmpty? PositionalVar? "in" ExprSingle
[48]   LetClause   ::=   "let" LetBinding ("," LetBinding)*
[49]   LetBinding   ::=   "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? ":=" ExprSingle
[168]   TypeDeclaration   ::=   "as" SequenceType
[46]   AllowingEmpty   ::=   "allowing" "empty"
[47]   PositionalVar   ::=   "at" "$" VarName
[50]   WindowClause   ::=   "for" (TumblingWindowClause | SlidingWindowClause)
[51]   TumblingWindowClause   ::=   "tumbling" "window" "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? "in" ExprSingle WindowStartCondition WindowEndCondition?
[52]   SlidingWindowClause   ::=   "sliding" "window" "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? "in" ExprSingle WindowStartCondition WindowEndCondition
[53]   WindowStartCondition   ::=   "start" WindowVars "when" ExprSingle
[54]   WindowEndCondition   ::=   "only"? "end" WindowVars "when" ExprSingle
[55]   WindowVars   ::=   ("$" CurrentItem)? PositionalVar? ("previous" "$" PreviousItem)? ("next" "$" NextItem)?
[56]   CurrentItem   ::=    EQName
[57]   PreviousItem   ::=    EQName
[58]   NextItem   ::=    EQName
[59]   CountClause   ::=   "count" "$" VarName
[60]   WhereClause   ::=   "where" ExprSingle
[61]   GroupByClause   ::=   "group" "by" GroupingSpecList
[62]   GroupingSpecList   ::=    GroupingSpec ("," GroupingSpec)*
[63]   GroupingSpec   ::=   "$" VarName ("collation" URILiteral)?
[64]   OrderByClause   ::=   (("order" "by") | ("stable" "order" "by")) OrderSpecList
[65]   OrderSpecList   ::=    OrderSpec ("," OrderSpec)*
[66]   OrderSpec   ::=    ExprSingle OrderModifier
[67]   OrderModifier   ::=   ("ascending" | "descending")? ("empty" ("greatest" | "least"))? ("collation" URILiteral)?
[68]   ReturnClause   ::=   "return" ExprSingle

The semantics of FLWOR expressions are based on a concept called a tuple stream. [Definition: A tuple stream is an ordered sequence of zero or more tuples.] [Definition: A tuple is a set of zero or more named variables, each of which is bound to a value that is an XDM instance.] Each tuple stream is homogeneous in the sense that all its tuples contain variables with the same names and the same static types. The following example illustrates a tuple stream consisting of four tuples, each containing three variables named $x, $y, and $z:

($x = 1003, $y = "Fred", $z = <age>21</age>)
($x = 1017, $y = "Mary", $z = <age>35</age>)
($x = 1020, $y = "Bill", $z = <age>18</age>)
($x = 1024, $y = "John", $z = <age>29</age>)

Note:

In this section, tuple streams are represented as shown in the above example. Each tuple is on a separate line and is enclosed in parentheses, and the variable bindings inside each tuple are separated by commas. This notation does not represent XQuery syntax, but is simply a representation of a tuple stream for the purpose of defining the semantics of FLWOR expressions.

Tuples and tuple streams are not part of the data model. They exist only as conceptual intermediate results during the processing of a FLWOR expression.

A FLWOR expression consists of an initial clause, zero or more intermediate clauses, and a final clause. Conceptually, the initial clause generates a tuple stream. Each intermediate clause takes the tuple stream generated by the previous clause as input and generates a (possibly different) tuple stream as output. The final clause takes a tuple stream as input and, for each tuple in this tuple stream, generates an XDM instance; the final result of the FLWOR expression is the ordered concatenation of these XDM instances.

The initial clause in a FLWOR expression may be a for, let, window, or count clause. Intermediate clauses may be for, let, window, count, where, group by, or order by clauses. These intermediate clauses may be repeated as many times as desired, in any order. The final clause of the FLWOR expression must be a return clause. The semantics of the various clauses are described in the following sections.

3.9.1 Variable Bindings

The following clauses in FLWOR expressions bind values to variables: for, let, window, and count (in addition, a group by clause changes the values of variables that were previously bound.) In each case, binding of variables is governed by the following rules:

  1. The scope of a bound variable includes all subexpressions of the containing FLWOR that appear after the variable binding. The scope does not include the expression to which the variable is bound. The following code fragment, containing two let clauses, illustrates how variable bindings may reference variables that were bound in earlier clauses, or in earlier bindings in the same clause:

  2. A given variable may be bound more than once in a FLWOR expression, or even within one clause of a FLWOR expression. In such a case, each new binding occludes the previous one, which becomes inaccessible in the remainder of the FLWOR expression.

  3. [Definition: A variable binding may be accompanied by a type declaration, which consists of the keyword as followed by the static type of the variable, declared using the syntax in 2.5.3 SequenceType Syntax.] At run time, if the value bound to the variable does not match the declared type according to the rules for SequenceType matching, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004]. For example, the following let clause raises a type error because the variable $salary has a type declaration that is not satisfied by the value that is bound to it:

    let $salary as xs:decimal :=  "cat"
  4. [Definition: In a for clause or window clause, when an expression is preceded by the keyword in, the value of that expression is called a binding sequence.] The for and window clauses iterate over their binding sequences, producing multiple bindings for one or more variables. Details on how binding sequences are used in for and window clauses are described in the following sections.

3.9.2 For Clause

[44]   ForClause   ::=   "for" ForBinding ("," ForBinding)*
[45]   ForBinding   ::=   "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? AllowingEmpty? PositionalVar? "in" ExprSingle
[168]   TypeDeclaration   ::=   "as" SequenceType
[46]   AllowingEmpty   ::=   "allowing" "empty"
[47]   PositionalVar   ::=   "at" "$" VarName

A for clause is used for iteration. Each variable in a for clause iterates over a sequence and is bound in turn to each item in the sequence.

If a for clause contains multiple variables, it is semantically equivalent to multiple for clauses, each containing one of the variables in the original for clause.

Example:

In the remainder of this section, we define the semantics of a for clause containing a single variable and an associated expression (following the keyword in) whose value is called the binding sequence for that variable.

If a single-variable for clause is the initial clause in a FLWOR expression, it iterates over its binding sequence, binding the variable to each item in turn. The resulting sequence of variable bindings becomes the initial tuple stream that serves as input to the next clause of the FLWOR expression. If ordering mode is ordered, the order of tuples in the tuple stream preserves the order of the binding sequence; otherwise the order of the tuple stream is implementation-dependent.

If the binding sequence contains no items, the output tuple stream depends on whether allowing empty is specified. If allowing empty is specified, the output tuple stream consists of one tuple in which the variable is bound to an empty sequence. If allowing empty is not specified, the output tuple stream consists of zero tuples.

The following examples illustrates tuple streams that are generated by initial for clauses:

  • Initial clause:

    for $x in (100, 200, 300)

    or (equivalently):

    for $x allowing empty in (100, 200, 300)

    Output tuple stream:

    ($x = 100)
    ($x = 200)
    ($x = 300)
  • Initial clause:

    for $x in ()

    Output tuple stream contains no tuples.

  • Initial clause:

    for $x allowing empty in ()

    Output tuple stream:

    ($x = ())

[Definition: A positional variable is a variable that is preceded by the keyword at.] A positional variable may be associated with a variable that is bound in a for clause. In this case, as the main variable iterates over the items in its binding sequence, the positional variable iterates over the integers that represent the ordinal numbers of these items in the binding sequence, starting with one. Each tuple in the output tuple stream contains bindings for both the main variable and the positional variable. If the binding sequence is empty and allowing empty is specified, the positional variable in the output tuple is bound to the integer zero. Positional variables always have the implied type xs:integer. The expanded QName of a positional variable must be distinct from the expanded QName of the main variable with which it is associated [err:XQST0089].

The following examples illustrate how a positional variable would have affected the results of the previous examples that generated tuples:

  • Initial clause:

    for $x at $i in (100, 200, 300)

    Output tuple stream:

    ($x = 100, $i = 1)
    ($x = 200, $i = 2)
    ($x = 300, $i = 3)
  • Initial clause:

    for $x allowing empty at $i in ()

    Output tuple stream:

    ($x = (), $i = 0)

If a single-variable for clause is an intermediate clause in a FLWOR expression, its binding sequence is evaluated for each input tuple, given the bindings in that input tuple. Each input tuple generates zero or more tuples in the output tuple stream. Each of these output tuples consists of the original variable bindings of the input tuple plus a binding of the new variable to one of the items in its binding sequence.

Note:

Although the binding sequence is conceptually evaluated independently for each input tuple, an optimized implementation may sometimes be able to avoid re-evaluating the binding sequence if it can show that the variables that the binding sequence depends on have the same values as in a previous evaluation.

For a given input tuple, if the binding sequence for the new variable in the for clause contains no items, the result depends on whether allowing empty is specified. If allowing empty is specified, the input tuple generates one output tuple, with the original variable bindings plus a binding of the new variable to an empty sequence. If allowing empty is not specified, the input tuple generates zero output tuples (it is not represented in the output tuple stream.)

If the new variable introduced by a for clause has an associated positional variable, the output tuples generated by the for clause also contain bindings for the positional variable. In this case, as the new variable is bound to each item in its binding sequence, the positional variable is bound to the ordinal position of that item within the binding sequence, starting with one. Note that, since the positional variable represents a position within a binding sequence, the output tuples corresponding to each input tuple are independently numbered, starting with one. For a given input tuple, if the binding sequence is empty and allowing empty is specified, the positional variable in the output tuple is bound to the integer zero.

If ordering mode is ordered, the tuples in the output tuple stream are ordered primarily by the order of the input tuples from which they are derived, and secondarily by the order of the binding sequence for the new variable; otherwise the order of the output tuple stream is implementation-dependent.

The following examples illustrates the effects of intermediate for clauses:

  • Input tuple stream:

    ($x = 1)
    ($x = 2)
    ($x = 3)
    ($x = 4)

    Intermediate for clause:

    for $y in ($x to 3)

    Output tuple stream (assuming ordering mode is ordered):

    ($x = 1, $y = 1)
    ($x = 1, $y = 2)
    ($x = 1, $y = 3)
    ($x = 2, $y = 2)
    ($x = 2, $y = 3)
    ($x = 3, $y = 3)
    

    Note:

    In this example, there is no output tuple that corresponds to the input tuple ($x = 4) because, when the for clause is evaluated with the bindings in this input tuple, the resulting binding sequence for $y is empty.

  • This example shows how the previous example would have been affected by a positional variable (assuming the same input tuple stream):

    for $y at $j in ($x to 3)

    Output tuple stream (assuming ordering mode is ordered):

    ($x = 1, $y = 1, $j = 1)
    ($x = 1, $y = 2, $j = 2)
    ($x = 1, $y = 3, $j = 3)
    ($x = 2, $y = 2, $j = 1)
    ($x = 2, $y = 3, $j = 2)
    ($x = 3, $y = 3, $j = 1)
    
  • This example shows how the previous example would have been affected by allowing empty. Note that allowing empty causes the input tuple ($x = 4) to be represented in the output tuple stream, even though the binding sequence for $y contains no items for this input tuple. This example illustrates that allowing empty in a for clause serves a purpose similar to that of an "outer join" in a relational database query. (Assume the same input tuple stream as in the previous example.)

    for $y allowing empty at $j in ($x to 3)

    Output tuple stream (assuming ordering mode is ordered):

    ($x = 1, $y = 1, $j = 1)
    ($x = 1, $y = 2, $j = 2)
    ($x = 1, $y = 3, $j = 3)
    ($x = 2, $y = 2, $j = 1)
    ($x = 2, $y = 3, $j = 2)
    ($x = 3, $y = 3, $j = 1)
    ($x = 4, $y = (), $j = 0)
    
  • This example shows how a for clause that binds two variables is semantically equivalent to two for clauses that bind one variable each. We assume that this for clause occurs at the beginning of a FLWOR expression. It is equivalent to an initial single-variable for clause that provides an input tuple stream to an intermediate single-variable for clause.

    for $x in (1, 2, 3, 4), $y in ($x to 3)

    Output tuple stream (assuming ordering mode is ordered):

    ($x = 1, $y = 1)
    ($x = 1, $y = 2)
    ($x = 1, $y = 3)
    ($x = 2, $y = 2)
    ($x = 2, $y = 3)
    ($x = 3, $y = 3)
    

In the above examples, if ordering mode had been unordered, the output tuple streams would have consisted of the same tuples, with the same values for the positional variables, but the ordering of the tuples would have been implementation-dependent.

A for clause may contain one or more type declarations, identified by the keyword as. The semantics of type declarations are defined in 3.9.1 Variable Bindings.

3.9.3 Let Clause

[48]   LetClause   ::=   "let" LetBinding ("," LetBinding)*
[49]   LetBinding   ::=   "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? ":=" ExprSingle
[168]   TypeDeclaration   ::=   "as" SequenceType

The purpose of a let clause is to bind values to one or more variables. Each variable is bound to the result of evaluating an expression.

If a let clause contains multiple variables, it is semantically equivalent to multiple let clauses, each containing a single variable. For example, the clause

is semantically equivalent to the following sequence of clauses:

In the remainder of this section, we define the semantics of a let clause containing a single variable V and an associated expression E.

If a single-variable let clause is the initial clause in a FLWOR expression, it simply binds the variable V to the result of the expression E. The result of the let clause is a tuple stream consisting of one tuple with a single binding that binds V to the result of E. This tuple stream serves as input to the next clause in the FLWOR expression.

If a single-variable let clause is an intermediate clause in a FLWOR expression, it adds a new binding for variable V to each tuple in the input tuple stream. For each input tuple, the value bound to V is the result of evaluating expression E, given the bindings that are already present in that input tuple. The resulting tuples become the output tuple stream of the let clause.

The number of tuples in the output tuple stream of an intermediate let clause is the same as the number of tuples in the input tuple stream. The number of bindings in the output tuples is one more than the number of bindings in the input tuples, unless the input tuples already contain bindings for V; in this case, the new binding for V occludes (replaces) the earlier binding for V, and the number of bindings is unchanged.

A let clause may contain one or more type declarations, identified by the keyword as. The semantics of type declarations are defined in 3.9.1 Variable Bindings.

The following code fragment illustrates how a for clause and a let clause can be used together. The for clause produces an initial tuple stream containing a binding for variable $d to each department number found in a given input document. The let clause adds an additional binding to each tuple, binding variable $e to a sequence of employees whose department number matches the value of $d in that tuple.

for $d in fn:doc("depts.xml")/depts/deptno
let $e := fn:doc("emps.xml")/emps/emp[deptno eq $d]

3.9.4 Window Clause

[50]   WindowClause   ::=   "for" (TumblingWindowClause | SlidingWindowClause)
[51]   TumblingWindowClause   ::=   "tumbling" "window" "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? "in" ExprSingle WindowStartCondition WindowEndCondition?
[52]   SlidingWindowClause   ::=   "sliding" "window" "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? "in" ExprSingle WindowStartCondition WindowEndCondition
[53]   WindowStartCondition   ::=   "start" WindowVars "when" ExprSingle
[54]   WindowEndCondition   ::=   "only"? "end" WindowVars "when" ExprSingle
[55]   WindowVars   ::=   ("$" CurrentItem)? PositionalVar? ("previous" "$" PreviousItem)? ("next" "$" NextItem)?
[56]   CurrentItem   ::=    EQName
[47]   PositionalVar   ::=   "at" "$" VarName
[57]   PreviousItem   ::=    EQName
[58]   NextItem   ::=    EQName

Like a for clause, a window clause iterates over its binding sequence and generates a sequence of tuples. In the case of a window clause, each tuple represents a window. [Definition: A window is a sequence of consecutive items drawn from the binding sequence.] Each window is represented by at least one and at most nine bound variables. The variables have user-specified names, but their roles are as follows:

  • Window-variable: Bound to the sequence of items from the binding sequence that comprise the window.

  • Start-item: (Optional) Bound to the first item in the window.

  • Start-item-position: (Optional) Bound to the ordinal position of the first window item in the binding sequence. Start-item-position is a positional variable. Its type is xs:integer, and its expanded QName must be distinct from the expanded QName of start-item [err:XQST0089].

  • Start-previous-item: (Optional) Bound to the item in the binding sequence that precedes the first item in the window (empty sequence if none).

  • Start-next-item: (Optional) Bound to the item in the binding sequence that follows the first item in the window (empty sequence if none).

  • End-item: (Optional) Bound to the last item in the window.

  • End-item-position: (Optional) Bound to the ordinal position of the last window item in the binding sequence. End-item-position is a positional variable. Its type is xs:integer, and its expanded QName must be distinct from the expanded QName of end-item [err:XQST0089].

  • End-previous-item: (Optional) Bound to the item in the binding sequence that precedes the last item in the window (empty sequence if none).

  • End-next-item: (Optional) Bound to the item in the binding sequence that follows the last item in the window (empty sequence if none).

All variables in a window clause must have distinct names; otherwise a static error is raised [err:XQST0103].

The following is an example of a window clause that binds nine variables to the roles listed above. In this example, the variables are named $w, $s, $spos, $sprev, $snext, $e, $epos, $eprev, and $enext respectively. A window clause always binds the window variable, but typically binds only a subset of the other variables.

for tumbling window $w in (2, 4, 6, 8, 10)
start $s at $spos previous $sprev next $snext when true() end $e at
$epos previous $eprev next $enext when true()

Windows are created by iterating over the items in the binding sequence, in order, identifying the start item and the end item of each window by evaluating the WindowStartCondition and the WindowEndCondition. Each of these conditions is satisfied if the effective boolean value of the expression following the when keyword is true. The start item of the window is an item that satisfies the WindowStartCondition (see 3.9.4.1 Tumbling Windows and 3.9.4.2 Sliding Windows for a more complete explanation.) The end item of the window is the first item in the binding sequence, beginning with the start item, that satisfies the WindowEndCondition (again, see 3.9.4.1 Tumbling Windows and 3.9.4.2 Sliding Windows for more details.) Each window contains its start item, its end item, and all items that occur between them in the binding sequence. If the end item is the start item, then the window contains only one item. If a start item is identified, but no following item in the binding sequence satisfies the WindowEndCondition, then the only keyword determines whether a window is generated: if only end is specified, then no window is generated; otherwise, the end item is set to the last item in the binding sequence and a window is generated.

In the above example, the WindowStartCondition and WindowEndCondition are both true(), which causes each tuple in the binding sequence to be in a separate window. Typically, the WindowStartCondition and WindowEndCondition are expressed in terms of bound variables. For example, the following WindowStartCondition might be used to start a new window for every item in the binding sequence that is larger than both the previous item and the following item:

start $s previous $sprev next $snext 
   when $s > $sprev and $s > $snext

The scoping rules for the variables bound by a window clause are as follows:

  • In the when-expression of the WindowStartCondition, the following variables (identified here by their roles) are in scope (if bound): start-item, start-item-position, start-previous-item, start-next-item.

  • In the when-expression of the WindowEndCondition, the following variables (identified here by their roles) are in scope (if bound): start-item, start-item-position, start-previous-item, start-next-item, end-item, end-item-position, end-previous-item, end-next-item.

  • In the clauses of the FLWOR expression that follow the window clause, all nine of the variables bound by the window clause (including window-variable) are in scope (if bound).

In a window clause, the keyword tumbling or sliding determines the way in which the starting item of each window is identified, as explained in the following sections.

3.9.4.1 Tumbling Windows

If the window type is tumbling, then windows never overlap. The search for the start of the first window begins at the beginning of the binding sequence. After each window is generated, the search for the start of the next window begins with the item in the binding sequence that occurs after the ending item of the last generated window. Thus, no item that occurs in one window can occur in another window drawn from the same binding sequence. In a tumbling window clause, the end clause is optional; if it is omitted, the start clause is applied to identify all potential starting items in the binding sequence, and a window is constructed for each starting item, including all items from that starting item up to the item before the next window's starting item, or the end of the binding sequence, whichever comes first.

The following examples illustrate the use of tumbling windows.

  • Show non-overlapping windows of three items.

    for tumbling window $w in (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
        start at $s when fn:true()
        only end at $e when $e - $s eq 2
    return <window>{ $w }</window>

    Result of the above query:

    <window>2 4 6</window>
    <window>8 10 12</window>
  • Show averages of non-overlapping three-item windows.

    for tumbling window $w in (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
        start at $s when fn:true()
        only end at $e when $e - $s eq 2
    return avg($w)

    Result of the above query:

    4 10
  • Show first and last items in each window of three items.

    for tumbling window $w in (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
        start $first at $s when fn:true()
        only end $last at $e when $e - $s eq 2
    return <window>{ $first, $last }</window>

    Result of the above query:

    <window>2 6</window>
    <window>8 12</window>
  • Show non-overlapping windows of up to three items (illustrates end clause without the only keyword).

    for tumbling window $w in (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
        start at $s when fn:true()
        end at $e when $e - $s eq 2
    return <window>{ $w }</window>

    Result of the above query:

    <window>2 4 6</window>
    <window>8 10 12</window>
    <window>14</window>
  • Show non-overlapping windows of up to three items (illustrates use of start without explicit end).

    for tumbling window $w in (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
        start at $s when $s mod 3 = 1
    return <window>{ $w }</window>

    Result of the above query:

    <window>2 4 6</window>
    <window>8 10 12</window>
    <window>14</window>
  • Show non-overlapping sequences starting with a number divisible by 3.

    for tumbling window $w in (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
        start $first when $first mod 3 = 0
    return <window>{ $w }</window>

    Result of the above query:

    <window>6 8 10</window>
    <window>12 14</window>
3.9.4.2 Sliding Windows

If the window type is sliding window, then windows may overlap. Every item in the binding sequence that satisfies the WindowStartCondition is the starting item of a new window. Thus, a given item may be found in multiple windows drawn from the same binding sequence.

The following examples illustrate the use of sliding windows.

  • Show windows of three items.

    for sliding window $w in (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
        start at $s when fn:true()
        only end at $e when $e - $s eq 2
    return <window>{ $w }</window>

    Result of the above query:

    <window>2 4 6</window>
    <window>4 6 8</window>
    <window>6 8 10</window>
    <window>8 10 12</window>
    <window>10 12 14</window>
  • Show moving averages of three items.

    for sliding window $w in (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
        start at $s when fn:true()
        only end at $e when $e - $s eq 2
    return avg($w)

    Result of the above query:

    4 6 8 10 12
  • Show overlapping windows of up to three items (illustrates end clause without the only keyword).

    for sliding window $w in (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
        start at $s when fn:true()
        end at $e when $e - $s eq 2
    return <window>{ $w }</window>

    Result of the above query:

    <window>2 4 6</window>
    <window>4 6 8</window>
    <window>6 8 10</window>
    <window>8 10 12</window>
    <window>10 12 14</window>
    <window>12 14</window>
    <window>14</window>
3.9.4.3 Effects of Window Clauses on the Tuple Stream

The effects of a window clause on the tuple stream are similar to the effects of a for clause. As described in 3.9.4 Window Clause, a window clause generates zero or more windows, each of which is represented by at least one and at most nine bound variables.

If the window clause is the initial clause in a FLWOR expression, the bound variables that describe each window become an output tuple. These tuples form the initial tuple stream that serves as input to the next clause of the FLWOR expression. If ordering mode is ordered, the order of tuples in the tuple stream is the order in which their start items appear in the binding sequence; otherwise the order of the tuple stream is implementation-dependent. The cardinality of the tuple stream is equal to the number of windows.

If a window clause is an intermediate clause in a FLWOR expression, each input tuple generates zero or more output tuples, each consisting of the original bound variables of the input tuple plus the new bound variables that represent one of the generated windows. For each tuple T in the input tuple stream, the output tuple stream will contain NT tuples, where NT is the number of windows generated by the window clause, given the bindings in the input tuple T. Input tuples for which no windows are generated are not represented in the output tuple stream. If ordering mode is ordered, the order of tuples in the output stream is determined primarily by the order of the input tuples from which they were derived, and secondarily by the order in which their start items appear in the binding sequence. If ordering mode is unordered, the order of tuples in the output stream is implementation-dependent.

The following example illustrates a window clause that is the initial clause in a FLWOR expression. The example is based on input data that consists of a sequence of closing stock prices for a specific company. For this example we assume the following input data (assume that the price elements have a validated type of xs:decimal):

<stock>
  <closing> <date>2008-01-01</date> <price>105</price> </closing
  <closing> <date>2008-01-02</date> <price>101</price> </closing
  <closing> <date>2008-01-03</date> <price>102</price> </closing
  <closing> <date>2008-01-04</date> <price>103</price> </closing
  <closing> <date>2008-01-05</date> <price>102</price> </closing
  <closing> <date>2008-01-06</date> <price>104</price> </closing
</stock>

A user wishes to find "run-ups," which are defined as sequences of dates that begin with a "low" and end with a "high" price (that is, the stock price begins to rise on the first day of the run-up, and continues to rise or remain even through the last day of the run-up.) The following query uses a tumbling window to find run-ups in the input data:

for tumbling window $w in //closing
   start $first next $second when $first/price < $second/price
   end $last next $beyond when $last/price > $beyond/price
return
   <run-up>
      <start-date>{fn:data($first/date)}</start-date>
      <start-price>{fn:data($first/price)}</start-price>
      <end-date>{fn:data($last/date)}</end-date>
      <end-price>{fn:data($last/price)}</end-price>
   </run-up>

For our sample input data, this tumbling window clause generates a tuple stream consisting of two tuples, each representing a window and containing five bound variables named $w, $first, $second, $last, and $beyond. The return clause is evaluated for each of these tuples, generating the following query result:

<run-up>
   <start-date>2008-01-02</start-date>
   <start-price>101</start-price>
   <end-date>2008-01-04</start-date>
   <end-price>103</end-price>
</run-up>
<run-up>
   <start-date>2008-01-05</start-date>
   <start-price>102</start-price>
   <end-date>2008-01-06</start-date>
   <end-price>104</end-price>
</run-up>

The following example illustrates a window clause that is an intermediate clause in a FLWOR expression. In this example, the input data contains closing stock prices for several different companies, each identified by a three-letter symbol. We assume the following input data (again assuming that the type of the price element is xs:decimal):

<stocks>
  <closing> <symbol>ABC</symbol> <date>2008-01-01</date> <price>105</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>DEF</symbol> <date>2008-01-01</date> <price>057</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>ABC</symbol> <date>2008-01-02</date> <price>101</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>DEF</symbol> <date>2008-01-02</date> <price>054</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>ABC</symbol> <date>2008-01-03</date> <price>102</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>DEF</symbol> <date>2008-01-03</date> <price>056</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>ABC</symbol> <date>2008-01-04</date> <price>103</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>DEF</symbol> <date>2008-01-04</date> <price>052</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>ABC</symbol> <date>2008-01-05</date> <price>101</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>DEF</symbol> <date>2008-01-05</date> <price>055</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>ABC</symbol> <date>2008-01-06</date> <price>104</price> </closing>
  <closing> <symbol>DEF</symbol> <date>2008-01-06</date> <price>059</price> </closing>
</stocks>

As in the previous example, we want to find "run-ups," which are defined as sequences of dates that begin with a "low" and end with a "high" price for a specific company. In this example, however, the input data consists of stock prices for multiple companies. Therefore it is necessary to isolate the stock prices of each company before forming windows. This can be accomplished by an initial for and let clause, followed by a window clause, as follows:

for $symbol in fn:distinct-values(//symbol)
let $closings := //closing[symbol = $symbol]
for tumbling window $w in $closings
   start $first next $second when $first/price < $second/price
   end $last next $beyond when $last/price > $beyond/price
return
   <run-up symbol="{$symbol}">
      <start-date>{fn:data($first/date)}</start-date>
      <start-price>{fn:data($first/price)}</start-price>
      <end-date>{fn:data($last/date)}</end-date>
      <end-price>{fn:data($last/price)}</end-price>
   </run-up>

Note:

In the above example, the for and let clauses could be rewritten as follows:

for $closings in //closing
let $symbol := $closings/symbol
group by $symbol

The group by clause is described in 3.9.7 Group By Clause.

The for and let clauses in this query generate an initial tuple stream consisting of two tuples. In the first tuple, $symbol is bound to "ABC" and $closings is bound to the sequence of closing elements for company ABC. In the second tuple, $symbol is bound to "DEF" and $closings is bound to the sequence of closing elements for company DEF.

The window clause operates on this initial tuple stream, generating two windows for the first tuple and two windows for the second tuple. The result is a tuple stream consisting of four tuples, each with the following bound variables: $symbol, $closings, $w, $first, $second, $last, and $beyond. The return clause is then evaluated for each of these tuples, generating the following query result:

<run-up symbol="ABC">
   <start-date>2008-01-02</start-date>
   <start-price>101</start-price>
   <end-date>2008-01-04</start-date>
   <end-price>103</end-price>
</run-up>
<run-up symbol="ABC">
   <start-date>2008-01-05</start-date>
   <start-price>101</start-price>
   <end-date>2008-01-06</start-date>
   <end-price>104</end-price>
</run-up>
<run-up symbol="DEF">
   <start-date>2008-01-02</start-date>
   <start-price>54</start-price>
   <end-date>2008-01-03</start-date>
   <end-price>56</end-price>
</run-up>
<run-up symbol="DEF">
   <start-date>2008-01-04</start-date>
   <start-price>52</start-price>
   <end-date>2008-01-06</start-date>
   <end-price>59</end-price>
</run-up>

3.9.5 Where Clause

[60]   WhereClause   ::=   "where" ExprSingle

A where clause serves as a filter for the tuples in its input tuple stream. The expression in the where clause, called the where-expression, is evaluated once for each of these tuples. If the effective boolean value of the where-expression is true, the tuple is retained in the output tuple stream; otherwise the tuple is discarded.

Examples:

  • This example illustrates the effect of a where clause on a tuple stream:

    Input tuple stream:

    ($a = 5, $b = 11)
    ($a = 91, $b = 42)
    ($a = 17, $b = 30)
    ($a = 85, $b = 63)

    where clause:

    where $a > $b

    Output tuple stream:

    ($a = 91, $b = 42)
    ($a = 85, $b = 63)
  • The following query illustrates how a where clause might be used with a positional variable to perform sampling on an input sequence. The query returns one value out of each one hundred input values.

    for $x at $i in $inputvalues
        where $i mod 100 = 0   
        return $x

3.9.6 Count Clause

[59]   CountClause   ::=   "count" "$" VarName

The purpose of a count clause is to enhance the tuple stream with a new variable that is bound, in each tuple, to the ordinal position of that tuple in the tuple stream. The name of the new variable is specified in the count clause.

The output tuple stream of a count clause is the same as its input tuple stream, with each tuple enhanced by one additional variable that is bound to the ordinal position of that tuple in the tuple stream. However, if the name of the new variable is the same as the name of an existing variable in the input tuple stream, the new variable occludes (replaces) the existing variable of the same name, and the number of bound variables in each tuple is unchanged.

The following examples illustrate uses of the count clause:

3.9.7 Group By Clause

[61]   GroupByClause   ::=   "group" "by" GroupingSpecList
[62]   GroupingSpecList   ::=    GroupingSpec ("," GroupingSpec)*
[63]   GroupingSpec   ::=   "$" VarName ("collation" URILiteral)?

A group by clause generates an output tuple stream in which each tuple represents a group of tuples from the input tuple stream. We will refer to the tuples in the input tuple stream as pre-grouping tuples, and the tuples in the output tuple stream as post-grouping tuples.

The post-grouping tuples have exactly the same variable-names as the pre-grouping tuples. The number of post-grouping tuples is less than or equal to the number of pre-grouping tuples. The group by clause assigns each pre-grouping tuple to a group, and generates one post-grouping tuple for each group. Subsequent clauses in the FLWOR expression see only the variable bindings in the post-grouping tuples; they no longer have access to the variable bindings in the pre-grouping tuples.

[Definition: A group by clause consists of the keywords group by followed by one or more variables called grouping variables.] The name of each grouping variable must be equal (by the eq operator on expanded QNames) to the name of a bound variable in the input tuple stream; otherwise a static error is raised [err:XQST0094].

The process of group formation proceeds as follows:

  1. [Definition: The atomized value of a grouping variable is called a grouping key.] For each pre-grouping tuple, the grouping keys are created by atomizing the values of the grouping variables. If the resulting value for any grouping variable consists of more than one item, a dynamic error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  2. The input tuple stream is partitioned into groups of tuples whose grouping keys are equivalent. [Definition: Two tuples T1 and T2 have equivalent grouping keys if and only if, for each grouping variable GV, the atomized value of GV in T1 is deep-equal to the atomized value of GV in T2, as defined by applying the function fn:deep-equal using the appropriate collation.] If these values are of different numeric types, and differ from each other by small amounts, then the deep-equal relationship is not transitive, because of rounding effects occurring during type promotion. When comparing three values A, B, and C such that A eq B, B eq C, but A ne C, then the number of items in the result of the function (as well as the choice of which items are returned) is , subject only to the constraints that (a) no two items in the result sequence compare equal to each other, and (b) every input item that does not appear in the result sequence compares equal to some item that does appear in the result sequence. See Section fn:distinct-valuesFO30 for further discussion of this issue in a different context.

    Note:

    The atomized grouping key will always be either an empty sequence or a single atomic value. Defining equivalence by reference to the fn:deep-equal function ensures that the empty sequence is equivalent only to the empty sequence, that NaN is equivalent to NaN, that untypedAtomic values are compared as strings, and that values for which the eq operator is not defined are considered non-equivalent.

  3. The appropriate collation for comparing two grouping keys is the collation specified in the pertinent GroupingSpec if present, or the default collation from the static context otherwise. If the collation is specified by a relative URI, that relative URI is resolved to an absolute URI using the base URI in the static context. If the specified collation is not found in statically known collations, a static error is raised [err:XQST0076].

Each group of tuples produced by the above process results in one post-grouping tuple. The pre-grouping tuples from which the group is derived have equivalent grouping keys, but these keys are not necessarily identical (for example, the strings "Frog" and "frog" might be equivalent according to the collation in use.) In the post-grouping tuple, each grouping variable is bound to the value of that variable in one of the pre-grouping tuples from which the group is derived. The choice of tuple is implementation-dependent.

Editorial note 
Some members of the XQuery Working Group would prefer that the grouping variables in the post-grouping tuple contain the grouping key for a grouping variable in a pre-grouping tuple, which is atomized, rather than the value of the grouping variable in a pre-grouping tuple. We welcome feedback on this question.

In the post-grouping tuple generated for a given group, each non-grouping variable is bound to a sequence containing the concatenated values of that variable in all the pre-grouping tuples that were assigned to that group. If ordering mode is ordered, the values derived from individual tuples are concatenated in a way that preserves the order of the pre-grouping tuple stream; otherwise the ordering of these values is implementation-dependent.

Note:

This behavior may be surprising to SQL programmers, since SQL reduces the equivalent of a non-grouping variable to one representative value. Consider the following query:


let $x := 64000
for $c in //customer
let $d := $c/department
where $c/salary > $x
group by $d
return 
 <department name="{$d}">
  Number of employees earning more than ${$x} is {count($c)}
 </department>

If there are three qualifying customers in the sales department this evaluates to:


<department name="sales">
  Number of employees earning more than $64000 64000 64000 is 3
</department>

In XQuery, each group is a sequence of items that match the group by criteria—in a tree-structured language like XQuery, this is convenient, because further structures can be built based on the items in this sequence. Because there are three items in the group, $x evaluates to a sequence of three items. To reduce this to one item, use fn:distinct-values():

let $x := 64000
for $c in //customer
let $d := $c/department
where $c/salary > $x
group by $d
return 
 <department name="{$d}">
  Number of employees earning more than ${distinct-values($x)} is {count($c)}
 </department>

Note:

In general, the static type of a variable in a post-grouping tuple is different from the static type of the variable with the same name in the pre-grouping tuples.

The order in which tuples appear in the post-grouping tuple stream is implementation-dependent.

Note:

An order by clause can be used to impose a value-based ordering on the post-grouping tuple stream. Similarly, if it is desired to impose a value-based ordering within a group (i.e., on the sequence of items bound to a non-grouping variable), this can be accomplished by a nested FLWOR expression that iterates over these items and applies an order by clause. In some cases, a value-based ordering within groups can be accomplished by applying an order by clause on a non-grouping variable before applying the group by clause.

A group by clause rebinds all the variables in the input tuple stream. The scopes of these variables are not affected by the group by clause, but in post-grouping tuples the values of the variables represent group properties rather than properties of individual pre-grouping tuples.

Examples:

  • This example illustrates the effect of a group by clause on a tuple stream.

    Input tuple stream:

    ($storeno = <storeno>S101</storeno>, $itemno = <itemno>P78395</itemno>)
    ($storeno = <storeno>S102</storeno>, $itemno = <itemno>P94738</itemno>)
    ($storeno = <storeno>S101</storeno>, $itemno = <itemno>P41653</itemno>)
    ($storeno = <storeno>S102</storeno>, $itemno = <itemno>P70421</itemno>)
    

    group by clause:

    group by $storeno

    Output tuple stream:

    ($storeno =  <storeno>S101</storeno>, $itemno = (<itemno>P78395</itemno>, <itemno>P41653<itemno>))
    ($storeno =  <storeno>S102</storeno>, $itemno = (<itemno>P94738</itemno>, <itemno>P70421</itemno>))
  • This example and the ones that follow are based on two separate sequences of elements, named $sales and $products. We assume that the variable $sales is bound to a sequence of elements with the following structure:

    <sales>
       <storeno>S101</storeno>
       <itemno>P78395</itemno>
       <qty>125</qty>
    </sales>

    We also assume that the variable $products is bound to a sequence of elements with the following structure:

    <product>
       <itemno>P78395</itemno>
       <price>25.00</price>
       <category>Men's Wear</category>
    </product>

    The simplest kind of grouping query has a single grouping variable. The query in this example finds the total quantity of items sold by each store:

    for $s in $sales
    let $storeno := $s/storeno
    group by $storeno
    return <store number="{$storeno}" total-qty="{sum($s/qty)}"/>

    The result of this query is a sequence of elements with the following structure:

    <store number="S101" total-qty="1550" />
    <store number="S102" total-qty="2125" />
  • In a more realistic example, a user might be interested in the total revenue generated by each store for each product category. Revenue depends on both the quantity sold of various items and the price of each item. The following query joins the two input sequences and groups the resulting tuples by two grouping variables:

    for $s in $sales,
        $p in $products[itemno = $s/itemno]
    let $storeno := $s/storeno,
        $category := $p/category,
        $revenue := $s/qty * $p/price
    group by $storeno, $category
    return
        <summary storeno="{$storeno}" 
                 category="{$category}" 
                 revenue="{sum($revenue)}"/>
    

    The result of this query is a sequence of elements with the following structure:

    <summary storeno="S101" category="Men's Wear" revenue="10185"/>
    <summary storeno="S101" category="Stationery" revenue="4520"/>
    <summary storeno="S102" category="Men's Wear" revenue="9750"/>
    <summary storeno="S102" category="Appliances" revenue="22650"/>
    <summary storeno="S102" category="Jewelry" revenue="30750"/>
  • The result of the previous example was a "flat" list of elements. A user might prefer the query result to be presented in the form of a hierarchical report, grouped primarily by store (in order by store number) and secondarily by product category. Within each store, the user might want to see only those product categories whose total revenue exceeds $10,000, presented in descending order by their total revenue. This report is generated by the following query:

    for $s1 in $sales
    let $storeno := $s1/storeno
    group by $storeno
    order by $storeno
    return
      <store storeno="{$storeno}">
        {for $s2 in $s1, 
             $p in $products[itemno = $s2/itemno]
         let $category := $p/category,
             $revenue := $s2/qty * $p/price
         group by $category
         let $group-revenue := sum($revenue)
         where $group-revenue > 10000
         order by $group-revenue descending
         return <category name="{$category}" revenue="{$group-revenue}"/>
        }
      </store>
    

    The result of this example query has the following structure:

    <store storeno="S101">
       <category name="Men's Wear" revenue="10185"/>
    </store>
    <store storeno="S102">
       <category name="Jewelry" revenue="30750"/>
       <category name="Appliances" revenue="22650"/>
    </store>
  • The following example illustrates how to avoid a possible pitfall in writing grouping queries.

    In each post-grouping tuple, all variables except for the grouping variable are bound to sequences of items derived from all the pre-grouping tuples from which the group was formed. For instance, in the following query, $high-price is bound to a sequence of items in the post-grouping tuple.

    let $high-price := 1000
    for $p in $products[price > $high-price]
    let $category := $p/category
    group by $category
    return
       <category name="{$category}">
          {fn:count($p)} products have price greater than {$high-price}.
       </category>

    If three products in the "Men's Wear" category have prices greater than 1000, the result of this query might look (in part) like this:

    <category name="Men's Wear">
       3 products have price greater than 1000 1000 1000.
    </category>

    The repetition of "1000" in this query result is due to the fact that $high-price is not a grouping variable. One way to avoid this repetition is to move the binding of $high-price to an outer-level FLWOR expression, as follows:

    let $high-price := 1000
    return
       for $p in $products[price > $high-price]
       let $category := $p/category
       group by $category
       return
          <category name="{$category}">
             {fn:count($p)} products have price greater than {$high-price}.
          </category>

    The result of the revised query might contain the following element:

    <category name="Men's Wear">
       3 products have price greater than 1000.
    </category>

3.9.8 Order By Clause

[64]   OrderByClause   ::=   (("order" "by") | ("stable" "order" "by")) OrderSpecList
[65]   OrderSpecList   ::=    OrderSpec ("," OrderSpec)*
[66]   OrderSpec   ::=    ExprSingle OrderModifier
[67]   OrderModifier   ::=   ("ascending" | "descending")? ("empty" ("greatest" | "least"))? ("collation" URILiteral)?

The purpose of an order by clause is to impose a value-based ordering on the tuples in the tuple stream. The output tuple stream of the order by clause contains the same tuples as its input tuple stream, but the tuples may be in a different order.

An order by clause contains one or more ordering specifications, called orderspecs, as shown in the grammar. For each tuple in the input tuple stream, the orderspecs are evaluated, using the variable bindings in that tuple. The relative order of two tuples is determined by comparing the values of their orderspecs, working from left to right until a pair of unequal values is encountered. If an orderspec specifies a collation, that collation is used in comparing values of type xs:string, xs:anyURI, or types derived from them (otherwise, the default collation is used in comparing values of these types). If an orderspec specifies a collation by a relative URI, that relative URI is resolved to an absolute URI using the base URI in the static context. If an orderspec specifies a collation that is not found in statically known collations, an error is raised [err:XQST0076].

The process of evaluating and comparing the orderspecs is based on the following rules:

  • Atomization is applied to the result of the expression in each orderspec. If the result of atomization is neither a single atomic value nor an empty sequence, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  • If the value of an orderspec has the dynamic type xs:untypedAtomic (such as character data in a schemaless document), it is cast to the type xs:string.

    Note:

    Consistently treating untyped values as strings enables the sorting process to begin without complete knowledge of the types of all the values to be sorted.

  • All the non-empty orderspec values must be convertible to a common type by subtype substitution and/or type promotion. The ordering is performed in the least common type that has a gt operator. If two or more non-empty orderspec values are not convertible to a common type that has a gt operator, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

    • Example: The orderspec values include a value of type hatsize, which is derived from xs:integer, and a value of type shoesize, which is derived from xs:decimal. The least common type reachable by subtype substitution and type promotion is xs:decimal.

    • Example: The orderspec values include a value of type xs:string and a value of type xs:anyURI. The least common type reachable by subtype substitution and type promotion is xs:string.

For the purpose of determining their relative position in the ordering sequence, the greater-than relationship between two orderspec values W and V is defined as follows:

  • When the orderspec specifies empty least, the following rules are applied in order:

    1. If V is an empty sequence and W is not an empty sequence, then W greater-than V is true.

    2. If V is NaN and W is neither NaN nor an empty sequence, then W greater-than V is true.

    3. If a specific collation C is specified, and V and W are both of type xs:string or are convertible to xs:string by subtype substitution and/or type promotion, then:

      If fn:compare(V, W, C) is less than zero, then W greater-than V is true; otherwise W greater-than V is false.

    4. If none of the above rules apply, then:

      If W gt V is true, then W greater-than V is true; otherwise W greater-than V is false.

  • When the orderspec specifies empty greatest, the following rules are applied in order:

    1. If W is an empty sequence and V is not an empty sequence, then W greater-than V is true.

    2. If W is NaN and V is neither NaN nor an empty sequence, then W greater-than V is true.

    3. If a specific collation C is specified, and V and W are both of type xs:string or are convertible to xs:string by subtype substitution and/or type promotion, then:

      If fn:compare(V, W, C) is less than zero, then W greater-than V is true; otherwise W greater-than V is false.

    4. If none of the above rules apply, then:

      If W gt V is true, then W greater-than V is true; otherwise W greater-than V is false.

  • When the orderspec specifies neither empty least nor empty greatest, the default order for empty sequences in the static context determines whether the rules for empty least or empty greatest are used.

If T1 and T2 are two tuples in the input tuple stream, and V1 and V2 are the first pair of values encountered when evaluating their orderspecs from left to right for which one value is greater-than the other (as defined above), then:

  1. If V1 is greater-than V2: If the orderspec specifies descending, then T1 precedes T2 in the output tuple stream; otherwise, T2 precedes T1 in the output tuple stream.

  2. If V2 is greater-than V1: If the orderspec specifies descending, then T2 precedes T1 in the output tuple stream; otherwise, T1 precedes T2 in the output tuple stream.

If neither V1 nor V2 is greater-than the other for any pair of orderspecs for tuples T1 and T2, the following rules apply.

  1. If stable is specified, the original order of T1 and T2 is preserved in the output tuple stream.

  2. If stable is not specified, the order of T1 and T2 in the output tuple stream is implementation-dependent.

Note:

If two orderspecs return the special floating-point values positive and negative zero, neither of these values is greater-than the other, since +0.0 gt -0.0 and -0.0 gt +0.0 are both false.

Examples:

  • This example illustrates the effect of an order by clause on a tuple stream. The keyword stable indicates that, when two tuples have equal sort keys, their order in the input tuple stream is preserved.

    Input tuple stream:

    ($license = "PFQ519", $make = "Ford",  $value = 16500)
    ($license = "HAJ865", $make = "Honda", $value = 22750)
    ($license = "NKV473", $make = "Ford",  $value = 21650)
    ($license = "RCM922", $make = "Dodge", $value = 11400)
    ($license = "ZBX240", $make = "Ford",  $value = 16500)
    ($license = "KLM030", $make = "Dodge", $value = () )

    order by clause:

    stable order by $make,
       $value descending empty least

    Output tuple stream:

    ($license = "RCM922", $make = "Dodge", $value = 11400)
    ($license = "KLM030", $make = "Dodge", $value = () )
    ($license = "NKV473", $make = "Ford",  $value = 21650)
    ($license = "PFQ519", $make = "Ford",  $value = 16500)
    ($license = "ZBX240", $make = "Ford",  $value = 16500)
    ($license = "HAJ865", $make = "Honda", $value = 22750)
  • The following example shows how an order by clause can be used to sort the result of a query, even if the sort key is not included in the query result. This query returns employee names in descending order by salary, without returning the actual salaries:

    for $e in $employees 
    order by $e/salary descending 
    return $e/name

Note:

Since the order by clause in a FLWOR expression is the only facility provided by XQuery for specifying a value ordering, a FLWOR expression must be used in some queries where iteration would not otherwise be necessary. For example, a list of books with price less than 100 might be obtained by a simple path expression such as $books/book[price < 100]. But if these books are to be returned in alphabetic order by title, the query must be expressed as follows:

for $b in $books/book[price < 100]
order by $b/title
return $b

3.9.9 Return Clause

[68]   ReturnClause   ::=   "return" ExprSingle

The return clause is the final clause of a FLWOR expression. The return clause is evaluated once for each tuple in its input tuple stream, using the variable bindings in the respective tuples, in the order in which these tuples appear in the input tuple stream. The results of these evaluations are concatenated, as if by the comma operator, to form the result of the FLWOR expression.

The following example illustrates a FLWOR expression containing several clauses. The for clause iterates over all the departments in an input document named depts.xml, binding the variable $d to each department in turn. For each binding of $d, the let clause binds variable $e to all the employees in the given department, selected from another input document named emps.xml (the relationship between employees and departments is represented by matching their deptno values). Each tuple in the resulting tuple stream contains a pair of bindings for $d and $e ($d is bound to a department and $e is bound to a set of employees in that department). The where clause filters the tuple stream, retaining only those tuples that represent departments having at least ten employees. The order by clause orders the surviving tuples in descending order by the average salary of the employees in the department. The return clause constructs a new big-dept element for each surviving tuple, containing the department number, headcount, and average salary.

for $d in fn:doc("depts.xml")//dept
let $e := fn:doc("emps.xml")//emp[deptno eq $d/deptno]
where fn:count($e) >= 10
order by fn:avg($e/salary) descending
return
   <big-dept>
      {
      $d/deptno,
      <headcount>{fn:count($e)}</headcount>,
      <avgsal>{fn:avg($e/salary)}</avgsal>
      }
   </big-dept>

Notes:

  • The order in which items appear in the result of a FLWOR expression depends on the ordering of the input tuple stream to the return clause, which in turn is influenced by order by clauses and by ordering mode. For example, consider the following query, which is based on the same two input documents as the previous example:

    for $d in fn:doc("depts.xml")//dept
    order by $d/deptno
    for $e in fn:doc("emps.xml")//emp[deptno eq $d/deptno]
    return
       <assignment>
          {$d/deptno, $e/name}
       </assignment>

    The result of this query is a sequence of assignment elements, each containing a deptno element and a name element. The sequence will be ordered primarily by the deptno values because of the order by clause. If ordering mode is ordered, subsequences of assignment elements with equal deptno values will be ordered by the document order of their name elements within the emps.xml document; otherwise the ordering of these subsequences will be implementation-dependent.

  • Parentheses are helpful in return clauses that contain comma operators, since FLWOR expressions have a higher precedence than the comma operator. For example, the following query raises an error because after the comma, $j is no longer within the FLWOR expression, and is an undefined variable:

    let $i := 5,
        $j := 20 * $i
    return $i, $j

    Parentheses can be used to bring $j into the return clause of the FLWOR expression, as the programmer probably intended:

    let $i := 5,
        $j := 20 * $i
    return ($i, $j)

3.10 Ordered and Unordered Expressions

[132]   OrderedExpr   ::=   "ordered" "{" Expr "}"
[133]   UnorderedExpr   ::=   "unordered" "{" Expr "}"

The purpose of ordered and unordered expressions is to set the ordering mode in the static context to ordered or unordered for a certain region in a query. The specified ordering mode applies to the expression nested inside the curly braces. For expressions where the ordering of the result is not significant, a performance advantage may be realized by setting the ordering mode to unordered, thereby granting the system flexibility to return the result in the order that it finds most efficient.

Ordering mode affects the behavior of path expressions that include a "/" or "//" operator or an axis step; union, intersect, and except expressions; the fn:id and fn:idref functions; and certain clauses within a FLWOR expression. If ordering mode is ordered, node sequences returned by path expressions, union, intersect, and except expressions, and the fn:id and fn:idref functions are in document order; otherwise the order of these return sequences is implementation-dependent. The effect of ordering mode on FLWOR expressions is described in 3.9.2 For Clause, 3.9.4.3 Effects of Window Clauses on the Tuple Stream, and 3.9.7 Group By Clause. Ordering mode has no effect on duplicate elimination.

Note:

In a region of a query where ordering mode is unordered, the result of an expression may be nondeterministic if the expression invokes certain functions that are affected by the ordering of node sequences. These functions include fn:position, fn:last, fn:index-of, fn:insert-before, fn:remove, fn:reverse, and fn:subsequence. Also, within a path expression in an unordered region, numeric predicates are nondeterministic. For example, in an ordered region, the path expression (//a/b)[5] will return the fifth qualifying b-element in document order. In an unordered region, the same expression will return an implementation-dependent qualifying b-element.

Note:

The fn:id and fn:idref functions are described in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0] as returning their results in document order. Since ordering mode is a feature of XQuery, relaxation of the ordering requirement for function results when ordering mode is unordered is a feature of XQuery rather than of the functions themselves.

The use of an unordered expression is illustrated by the following example, which joins together two documents named parts.xml and suppliers.xml. The example returns the part numbers of red parts, paired with the supplier numbers of suppliers who supply these parts. If an unordered expression were not used, the resulting list of (part number, supplier number) pairs would be required to have an ordering that is controlled primarily by the document order of parts.xml and secondarily by the document order of suppliers.xml. However, this might not be the most efficient way to process the query if the ordering of the result is not important. An XQuery implementation might be able to process the query more efficiently by using an index to find the red parts, or by using suppliers.xml rather than parts.xml to control the primary ordering of the result. The unordered expression gives the query evaluator freedom to make these kinds of optimizations.

unordered {
  for $p in fn:doc("parts.xml")/parts/part[color = "Red"],
      $s in fn:doc("suppliers.xml")/suppliers/supplier
  where $p/suppno = $s/suppno  
  return
    <ps>
       { $p/partno, $s/suppno }
    </ps>
}

In addition to ordered and unordered expressions, XQuery provides a function named fn:unordered that operates on any sequence of items and returns the same sequence in a nondeterministic order. A call to the fn:unordered function may be thought of as giving permission for the argument expression to be materialized in whatever order the system finds most efficient. The fn:unordered function relaxes ordering only for the sequence that is its immediate operand, whereas an unordered expression sets the ordering mode for its operand expression and all nested expressions.

3.11 Conditional Expressions

XQuery 3.0 supports a conditional expression based on the keywords if, then, and else.

[76]   IfExpr   ::=   "if" "(" Expr ")" "then" ExprSingle "else" ExprSingle

The expression following the if keyword is called the test expression, and the expressions following the then and else keywords are called the then-expression and else-expression, respectively.

The first step in processing a conditional expression is to find the effective boolean value of the test expression, as defined in 2.4.3 Effective Boolean Value.

The value of a conditional expression is defined as follows: If the effective boolean value of the test expression is true, the value of the then-expression is returned. If the effective boolean value of the test expression is false, the value of the else-expression is returned.

Conditional expressions have a special rule for propagating dynamic errors. If the effective value of the test expression is true, the conditional expression ignores (does not raise) any dynamic errors encountered in the else-expression. In this case, since the else-expression can have no observable effect, it need not be evaluated. Similarly, if the effective value of the test expression is false, the conditional expression ignores any dynamic errors encountered in the then-expression, and the then-expression need not be evaluated.

Here are some examples of conditional expressions:

  • In this example, the test expression is a comparison expression:

    if ($widget1/unit-cost < $widget2/unit-cost) 
      then $widget1
      else $widget2
  • In this example, the test expression tests for the existence of an attribute named discounted, independently of its value:

    if ($part/@discounted) 
      then $part/wholesale 
      else $part/retail

3.12 Switch Expression

[70]   SwitchExpr   ::=   "switch" "(" Expr ")" SwitchCaseClause+ "default" "return" ExprSingle
[71]   SwitchCaseClause   ::=   ("case" SwitchCaseOperand)+ "return" ExprSingle
[72]   SwitchCaseOperand   ::=    ExprSingle

The switch expression chooses one of several expressions to evaluate based on the input value.

In a switch expression, the switch keyword is followed by an expression enclosed in parentheses, called the switch operand expression. This is the expression whose value is being compared. The remainder of the switch expression consists of one or more case clauses, with one or more case operand expressions each, and a default clause.

The first step in evaluating a switch expression is to apply atomization to the value of the switch operand expression. If the result is a sequence of length greater than one, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

The resulting value is matched against each SwitchCaseOperand in turn until a match is found or the list is exhausted. The matching is performed as follows:

  1. The SwitchCaseOperand is evaluated.

  2. The resulting value is atomized.

  3. If the atomized sequence has length greater than one, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  4. The atomized value of the switch operand expression is compared with the atomized value of the SwitchCaseOperand using the fn:deep-equal function, with the default collation from the static context.

[Definition: The effective case of a switch expression is the first case clause that matches, using the rules given above, or the default clause if no such case clause exists.] The value of the switch expression is the value of the return expression in the effective case.

Switch expressions have rules regarding the propagation of dynamic errors that take precedence over the general rules given in 2.3.4 Errors and Optimization. The return clauses of a switch expression must not raise any dynamic errors except in the effective case. Dynamic errors raised in the operand expressions of the switch or the case clauses are propagated; however, an implementation must not raise dynamic errors in the operand expressions of case clauses that occur after the effective case. An implementation is permitted to raise dynamic errors in the operand expressions of case clauses that occur before the effective case, but not required to do so.

The following example shows how a switch expression might be used:

switch ($animal) 
   case "Cow" return "Moo"
   case "Cat" return "Meow"
   case "Duck" return "Quack"
   default return "What's that odd noise?" 
 

3.13 Quantified Expressions

Quantified expressions support existential and universal quantification. The value of a quantified expression is always true or false.

[69]   QuantifiedExpr   ::=   ("some" | "every") "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? "in" ExprSingle ("," "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? "in" ExprSingle)* "satisfies" ExprSingle
[168]   TypeDeclaration   ::=   "as" SequenceType

A quantified expression begins with a quantifier, which is the keyword some or every, followed by one or more in-clauses that are used to bind variables, followed by the keyword satisfies and a test expression. Each in-clause associates a variable with an expression that returns a sequence of items, called the binding sequence for that variable. The in-clauses generate tuples of variable bindings, including a tuple for each combination of items in the binding sequences of the respective variables. Conceptually, the test expression is evaluated for each tuple of variable bindings. Results depend on the effective boolean value of the test expressions, as defined in 2.4.3 Effective Boolean Value. The value of the quantified expression is defined by the following rules:

  1. If the quantifier is some, the quantified expression is true if at least one evaluation of the test expression has the effective boolean value true; otherwise the quantified expression is false. This rule implies that, if the in-clauses generate zero binding tuples, the value of the quantified expression is false.

  2. If the quantifier is every, the quantified expression is true if every evaluation of the test expression has the effective boolean value true; otherwise the quantified expression is false. This rule implies that, if the in-clauses generate zero binding tuples, the value of the quantified expression is true.

The scope of a variable bound in a quantified expression comprises all subexpressions of the quantified expression that appear after the variable binding. The scope does not include the expression to which the variable is bound.

Each variable bound in an in-clause of a quantified expression may have an optional type declaration. If the type of a value bound to the variable does not match the declared type according to the rules for SequenceType matching, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

The order in which test expressions are evaluated for the various binding tuples is implementation-dependent. If the quantifier is some, an implementation may return true as soon as it finds one binding tuple for which the test expression has an effective boolean value of true, and it may raise a dynamic error as soon as it finds one binding tuple for which the test expression raises an error. Similarly, if the quantifier is every, an implementation may return false as soon as it finds one binding tuple for which the test expression has an effective boolean value of false, and it may raise a dynamic error as soon as it finds one binding tuple for which the test expression raises an error. As a result of these rules, the value of a quantified expression is not deterministic in the presence of errors, as illustrated in the examples below.

Here are some examples of quantified expressions:

  • This expression is true if every part element has a discounted attribute (regardless of the values of these attributes):

    every $part in /parts/part satisfies $part/@discounted
  • This expression is true if at least one employee element satisfies the given comparison expression:

    some $emp in /emps/employee satisfies 
         ($emp/bonus > 0.25 * $emp/salary)
  • In the following examples, each quantified expression evaluates its test expression over nine tuples of variable bindings, formed from the Cartesian product of the sequences (1, 2, 3) and (2, 3, 4). The expression beginning with some evaluates to true, and the expression beginning with every evaluates to false.

    some $x in (1, 2, 3), $y in (2, 3, 4) 
    satisfies $x + $y = 4
    every $x in (1, 2, 3), $y in (2, 3, 4) 
    satisfies $x + $y = 4
  • This quantified expression may either return true or raise a type error, since its test expression returns true for one variable binding and raises a type error for another:

    some $x in (1, 2, "cat") satisfies $x * 2 = 4
  • This quantified expression may either return false or raise a type error, since its test expression returns false for one variable binding and raises a type error for another:

    every $x in (1, 2, "cat") satisfies $x * 2 = 4
  • This quantified expression contains a type declaration that is not satisfied by every item in the test expression. If the Static Typing Feature is implemented, this expression raises a type error during the static analysis phase. Otherwise, the expression may either return true or raise a type error during the dynamic evaluation phase.

    some $x as xs:integer in (1, 2, "cat") satisfies $x * 2 = 4

3.14 Try/Catch Expressions

The try/catch expression provides error handling for dynamic errors and type errors raised during dynamic evaluation, including errors raised by the XQuery implementation and errors explicitly raised in a query using the fn:error() function.

[77]   TryCatchExpr   ::=    TryClause CatchClause+
[78]   TryClause   ::=   "try" "{" TryTargetExpr "}"
[79]   TryTargetExpr   ::=    Expr
[80]   CatchClause   ::=   "catch" CatchErrorList CatchVars? "{" Expr "}"
[81]   CatchErrorList   ::=    NameTest ("|" NameTest)*
[82]   CatchVars   ::=   "(" CatchErrorCode ("," CatchErrorDesc ("," CatchErrorVal)?)? ")"
[83]   CatchErrorCode   ::=   "$" VarName
[84]   CatchErrorDesc   ::=   "$" VarName
[85]   CatchErrorVal   ::=   "$" VarName

A try/catch expression catches dynamic errors and type errors raised during dynamic evaluation for expressions that are lexically contained within the try clause. If the target expression does not raise a dynamic error or a type error, the result of the try/catch expression is the result of the target expression.

If the target expression raises a dynamic error or a type error, the result of the try/catch expression is obtained by evaluating the first catch clause that "matches" the error value, as described below. A catch clause with one or more NameTests matches any error whose error code matches one of these NameTests. For instance, if the error code is err:FOER0000, then it matches a catch clause whose ErrorList is err:FOER0000 | err:FOER0001. Wildcards may be used in NameTests; thus, the error code err:FOER0000 also matches a catch clause whose ErrorList is err:* or *:FOER0000 or *.

If an error is matched, the optional variables in the catch clause are bound, in order, to the error's code, description, and value. These variables are then in scope in the catch clause. The types of these variables match the types of the corresponding parameters in the error() function: ErrorCode has type xs:QName, ErrorDescr has type xs:string?, and ErrorVal has type item()*. If no catch clause matches an error, the try/catch expression raises that error. If an error is raised in a catch clause, the try/catch expression raises that error.

If an error found in a try clause can be detected statically, an implementation is free to raise a static error. Static errors are not caught by the try/catch expression.

If a function call occurs within a try clause, errors raised by evaluating the corresponding function are caught by the try/catch expression. If a variable reference is used in a try clause, errors raised by binding a value to the variable are not caught unless the binding expression occurs within the try clause.

Note:

The presence of a try/catch expression does not prevent an implementation from using a lazy evaluation strategy, nor does it prevent an optimizer performing expression rewrites. However, if the evaluation of an expression inside a try/catch is rewritten or deferred in this way, it must take its try/catch context with it. Similarly, expressions that were written outside the try/catch expression may be evaluated inside the try/catch, but only if they retain their original try/catch behavior. The presence of a try/catch does not change the rules that allow the processor to evaluate expressions in such a way that may avoid the detection of some errors.

Here are some examples of try/catch expressions.

  • A try/catch expression without a CatchErrorList catches any error:

    try {
        $x cast as xs:integer
    }
    catch * {
        0
    }
  • The CatchErrorList in this try/catch expression specifies that only err:FORG0001 is caught:

    try {
        $x cast as xs:integer
    }
    catch err:FORG0001 {
        0
    }
  • The CatchErrorList in this try/catch expression specifies that errors err:FORG0001 and err:XPTY0004 are caught:

    try {
        $x cast as xs:integer
    }
    catch err:FORG0001 | err:XPTY0004 {
        0
    }

    Note:

    In some implementations, err:XPTY0004 is detected during static evaluation; it can only be caught if it is raised during dynamic evaluation.

  • This try/catch expression shows how to bind variables to the error code, error description, and error value. Since the CatchErrorList is a wildcard, it catches any error:

    try {
        fn:error(fn:QName('http://www.w3.org/2005/xqt-errors', 'err:FOER0000'))
    }
    catch * ($errcode, $errdesc, $errval) {
        $errcode, $errdesc
    }
  • Errors raised by using the result of a try/catch expression are not caught, since they are outside the scope of the try expression.

    declare function local:thrice($x as xs:integer) as xs:integer
    {
        3*$x
    };
    
    local:thrice(try { "oops" } catch * { 3 } )
    

    In this example, the try block succeeds, returning the string "oops", which is not a valid argument to the function.

3.15 Expressions on SequenceTypes

In addition to their use in function parameters and results, sequence types are used in instance of, typeswitch, cast, castable, and treat expressions.

3.15.1 Instance Of

[94]   InstanceofExpr   ::=    TreatExpr ( "instance" "of" SequenceType )?

The boolean operator instance of returns true if the value of its first operand matches the SequenceType in its second operand, according to the rules for SequenceType matching; otherwise it returns false. For example:

  • 5 instance of xs:integer

    This example returns true because the given value is an instance of the given type.

  • 5 instance of xs:decimal

    This example returns true because the given value is an integer literal, and xs:integer is derived by restriction from xs:decimal.

  • <a>{5}</a> instance of xs:integer

    This example returns false because the given value is an element rather than an integer.

  • (5, 6) instance of xs:integer+

    This example returns true because the given sequence contains two integers, and is a valid instance of the specified type.

  • . instance of element()

    This example returns true if the context item is an element node or false if the context item is defined but is not an element node. If the context item is undefined, a dynamic error is raised [err:XPDY0002].

3.15.2 Typeswitch

[73]   TypeswitchExpr   ::=   "typeswitch" "(" Expr ")" CaseClause+ "default" ("$" VarName)? "return" ExprSingle
[74]   CaseClause   ::=   "case" ("$" VarName "as")? SequenceTypeUnion "return" ExprSingle
[75]   SequenceTypeUnion   ::=    SequenceType ("|" SequenceType)*

The typeswitch expression chooses one of several expressions to evaluate based on the dynamic type of an input value.

In a typeswitch expression, the typeswitch keyword is followed by an expression enclosed in parentheses, called the operand expression. This is the expression whose type is being tested. The remainder of the typeswitch expression consists of one or more case clauses and a default clause.

Each case clause specifies one or more SequenceTypes followed by a return expression. [Definition: The effective case in a typeswitch expression is the first case clause in which the value of the operand expression matches a SequenceType in the SequenceTypeUnion of the case clause, using the rules of SequenceType matching. ] The value of the typeswitch expression is the value of the return expression in the effective case. If the value of the operand expression does not match any SequenceType named in a case clause, the value of the typeswitch expression is the value of the return expression in the default clause.

In a case or default clause, if the value to be returned depends on the value of the operand expression, the clause must specify a variable name. Within the return expression of the case or default clause, this variable name is bound to the value of the operand expression. Inside a case clause, the static type of the variable is the union of the SequenceTypes named in the SequenceTypeUnion. Inside a default clause, the static type of the variable is the same as the static type of the operand expression. If the value to be returned by a case or default clause does not depend on the value of the operand expression, the clause need not specify a variable.

The scope of a variable binding in a case or default clause comprises that clause. It is not an error for more than one case or default clause in the same typeswitch expression to bind variables with the same name.

A special rule applies to propagation of dynamic errors by typeswitch expressions. A typeswitch expression ignores (does not raise) any dynamic errors encountered in case clauses other than the effective case. Dynamic errors encountered in the default clause are raised only if there is no effective case. An implementation is permitted to raise dynamic errors in the operand expressions of case clauses that occur before the effective case, but not required to do so.

The following example shows how a typeswitch expression might be used to process an expression in a way that depends on its dynamic type.

typeswitch($customer/billing-address)
   case $a as element(*, USAddress) return $a/state
   case $a as element(*, CanadaAddress) return $a/province
   case $a as element(*, JapanAddress) return $a/prefecture
   default return "unknown"

The following example shows a union of sequence types in a single case:

typeswitch($customer/billing-address)
   case $a as element(*, USAddress) 
            | element(*, AustraliaAddress) 
            | element(*, MexicoAddress)
     return $a/state
   case $a as element(*, CanadaAddress) 
     return $a/province
   case $a as element(*, JapanAddress)
     return $a/prefecture
   default
     return "unknown"

3.15.3 Cast

[97]   CastExpr   ::=    UnaryExpr ( "cast" "as" SingleType )?
[167]   SingleType   ::=    AtomicOrUnionType "?"?
[172]   AtomicOrUnionType   ::=    EQName

Occasionally it is necessary to convert a value to a specific datatype. For this purpose, XQuery 3.0 provides a cast expression that creates a new value of a specific type based on an existing value. A cast expression takes two operands: an input expression and a target type. The type of the input expression is called the input type. The target type must be an atomic type that is in the in-scope schema types [err:XPST0051]. In addition, the target type cannot be xs:NOTATION or xs:anyAtomicType [err:XPST0080]. The optional occurrence indicator "?" denotes that an empty sequence is permitted. If the target type has no namespace prefix, it is considered to be in the default element/type namespace. The semantics of the cast expression are as follows:

  1. Atomization is performed on the input expression.

  2. If the result of atomization is a sequence of more than one atomic value, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  3. If the result of atomization is an empty sequence:

    1. If ? is specified after the target type, the result of the cast expression is an empty sequence.

    2. If ? is not specified after the target type, a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

  4. If the result of atomization is a single atomic value, the result of the cast expression depends on the input type and the target type. In general, the cast expression attempts to create a new value of the target type based on the input value. Only certain combinations of input type and target type are supported. A summary of the rules are listed below—the normative definition of these rules is given in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0]. For the purpose of these rules, an implementation may determine that one type is derived by restriction from another type either by examining the in-scope schema definitions or by using an alternative, implementation-dependent mechanism such as a data dictionary.

    1. cast is supported for the combinations of input type and target type listed in Section Casting from primitive types to primitive typesFO30. For each of these combinations, both the input type and the target type are primitive schema types. For example, a value of type xs:string can be cast into the schema type xs:decimal. For each of these built-in combinations, the semantics of casting are specified in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

    2. cast is supported if the input type is a non-primitive atomic type that is derived by restriction from the target type. In this case, the input value is mapped into the value space of the target type, unchanged except for its type. For example, if shoesize is derived by restriction from xs:integer, a value of type shoesize can be cast into the schema type xs:integer.

    3. cast is supported if the target type is a non-primitive atomic type and the input type is xs:string or xs:untypedAtomic. The input value is first converted to a value in the lexical space of the target type by applying the whitespace normalization rules for the target type (as defined in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1]). The lexical value is then converted to the value space of the target type using the schema-defined rules for the target type. If the input value fails to satisfy some facet of the target type, a dynamic error may be raised as specified in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

    4. cast is supported if the target type is a union type and the input type is xs:string or xs:untypedAtomic. The semantics of casting to a union type are based on the rules for validation in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1].

      The effect of casting a string S to a union type U is the same as constructing an element or attribute node whose string value is S, validating it using U as the governing type, and atomizing the resulting node. The result will always be an atomic value that is an instance of an atomic type in the transitive membership of U, or a dynamic error may be raised as specified in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

      If the transitive membership of the union type includes xs:QName, xs:NOTATION, or a type derived from either of these by restriction, then the namespace bindings in the static context will be used to resolve any namespace prefix, in the same way as when the target type is xs:QName itself.

    5. cast is supported if the target type is a non-primitive atomic type that is derived by restriction from the input type. The input value must satisfy all the facets of the target type (in the case of the pattern facet, this is checked by generating a string representation of the input value, using the rules for casting to xs:string). The resulting value is the same as the input value, but with a different dynamic type.

    6. If a primitive type P1 can be cast into a primitive type P2, then any type derived by restriction from P1 can be cast into any type derived by restriction from P2, provided that the facets of the target type are satisfied. First the input value is cast to P1 using rule (b) above. Next, the value of type P1 is cast to the type P2, using rule (a) above. Finally, the value of type P2 is cast to the target type, using rule (d) above.

    7. For any combination of input type and target type that is not in the above list, a cast expression raises a type error [err:XPTY0004].

If casting from the input type to the target type is supported but nevertheless it is not possible to cast the input value into the value space of the target type, a dynamic error is raised. [err:FORG0001] This includes the case when any facet of the target type is not satisfied. For example, the expression "2003-02-31" cast as xs:date would raise a dynamic error.

3.15.4 Castable

[96]   CastableExpr   ::=    CastExpr ( "castable" "as" SingleType )?
[167]   SingleType   ::=    AtomicOrUnionType "?"?

XQuery 3.0 provides an expression that tests whether a given value is castable into a given target type. The target type must be an atomic type that is in the in-scope schema types [err:XPST0051]. In addition, the target type cannot be xs:NOTATION or xs:anyAtomicType [err:XPST0080]. The optional occurrence indicator "?" denotes that an empty sequence is permitted.

The expression E castable as T returns true if the result of evaluating E can be successfully cast into the target type T by using a cast expression; otherwise it returns false. If evaluation of E fails with a dynamic error, the castable expression as a whole fails. The castable expression can be used as a predicate to avoid errors at evaluation time. It can also be used to select an appropriate type for processing of a given value, as illustrated in the following example:

if ($x castable as hatsize) 
   then $x cast as hatsize 
   else if ($x castable as IQ) 
   then $x cast as IQ 
   else $x cast as xs:string

3.15.5 Constructor Functions

For every atomic type in the in-scope schema types (except xs:NOTATION and xs:anyAtomicType, which are not instantiable), a constructor function is implicitly defined. In each case, the name of the constructor function is the same as the name of its target type (including namespace). The signature of the constructor function for type T is as follows:

T($arg as xs:anyAtomicType?) as T?

[Definition: The constructor function for a given type is used to convert instances of other atomic types into the given type. The semantics of the constructor function call T($arg) are defined to be equivalent to the expression (($arg) cast as T?).]

The following examples illustrate the use of constructor functions:

  • This example is equivalent to ("2000-01-01" cast as xs:date?).

    xs:date("2000-01-01")
  • This example is equivalent to (($floatvalue * 0.2E-5) cast as xs:decimal?).

    xs:decimal($floatvalue * 0.2E-5)
  • This example returns an xs:dayTimeDuration value equal to 21 days. It is equivalent to ("P21D" cast as xs:dayTimeDuration?).

    xs:dayTimeDuration("P21D")
  • If usa:zipcode is a user-defined atomic type in the in-scope schema types, then the following expression is equivalent to the expression ("12345" cast as usa:zipcode?).

    usa:zipcode("12345")

Note:

An instance of an atomic type that is not in a namespace can be constructed in either of the following ways:

3.15.6 Treat

[95]   TreatExpr   ::=    CastableExpr ( "treat" "as" SequenceType )?

XQuery 3.0 provides an expression called treat that can be used to modify the static type of its operand.

Like cast, the treat expression takes two operands: an expression and a SequenceType. Unlike cast, however, treat does not change the dynamic type or value of its operand. Instead, the purpose of treat is to ensure that an expression has an expected dynamic type at evaluation time.

The semantics of expr1 treat as type1 are as follows:

  • During static analysis:

    The static type of the treat expression is type1 . This enables the expression to be used as an argument of a function that requires a parameter of type1 .

  • During expression evaluation:

    If expr1 matches type1 , using the rules for SequenceType matching, the treat expression returns the value of expr1 ; otherwise, it raises a dynamic error [err:XPDY0050]. If the value of expr1 is returned, its identity is preserved. The treat expression ensures that the value of its expression operand conforms to the expected type at run-time.

  • Example:

    $myaddress treat as element(*, USAddress)

    The static type of $myaddress may be element(*, Address), a less specific type than element(*, USAddress). However, at run-time, the value of $myaddress must match the type element(*, USAddress) using rules for SequenceType matching; otherwise a dynamic error is raised [err:XPDY0050].

3.16 Validate Expressions

[103]   ValidateExpr   ::=   "validate" (ValidationMode | ("type" TypeName))? "{" Expr "}"
[104]   ValidationMode   ::=   "lax" | "strict"

A validate expression can be used to validate a document node or an element node with respect to the in-scope schema definitions, using the schema validation process defined in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1]. If the operand of a validate expression does not evaluate to exactly one document or element node, a type error is raised [err:XQTY0030]. In this specification, the node that is the operand of a validate expression is called the operand node.

A validate expression returns a new node with its own identity and with no parent. The new node and its descendants are given type annotations that are generated by applying a validation process to the operand node. In some cases, default values may also be generated by the validation process.

A validate expression may optionally specify a validation mode. The default validation mode (applicable when no type name is provided) is strict.

A validate expression may optionally specify a TypeName. This type name must be found in the in-scope schema definitions; if it is not, a static error is raised [err:XQST0104]. If the type name is unprefixed, it is interpreted as a name in the default namespace for elements and types.

The result of a validate expression is defined by the following rules.

  1. If the operand node is a document node, its children must consist of exactly one element node and zero or more comment and processing instruction nodes, in any order; otherwise, a dynamic error [err:XQDY0061] is raised.

  2. The operand node is converted to an XML Information Set ([XML Infoset]) according to the "Infoset Mapping" rules defined in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0]. Note that this process discards any existing type annotations. Validity assessment is carried out on the root element information item of the resulting Infoset, using the in-scope schema definitions as the effective schema. The process of validation applies recursively to contained elements and attributes to the extent required by the effective schema.

  3. If a type name is provided, schema-validity assessment is carried out according to the rules defined in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] Part 1, section 3.3.4 "Element Declaration Validation Rules", "Validation Rule: Schema-Validity Assessment (Element)", clauses 1.2 and 2, using this type definition as the "processor-stipulated type definition" for validation.

  4. When no type name is provided:

    1. If validation mode is strict, then there must be a top-level element declaration in the in-scope element declarations that matches the root element information item in the Infoset, and schema-validity assessment is carried out using that declaration in accordance with [XML Schema 1.0] Part 1, section 5.2, "Assessing Schema-Validity", item 2, or [XML Schema 1.1] Part 1, section 5.2, "Assessing Schema-Validity", "element-driven validation". If there is no such element declaration, a dynamic error is raised [err:XQDY0084].

    2. If validation mode is lax, then schema-validity assessment is carried out in accordance with [XML Schema 1.0] Part 1, section 5.2, "Assessing Schema-Validity", item 3, or [XML Schema 1.1] Part 1, section 5.2, "Assessing Schema-Validity", "lax wildcard validation".

      If validation mode is lax and the root element information item has neither a top-level element declaration nor an xsi:type attribute, [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] defines the recursive checking of children and attributes as optional. During processing of an XQuery validate expression, this recursive checking is required.

    3. If the operand node is an element node, the validation rules named "Validation Root Valid (ID/IDREF)" is not applied. This means that document-level constraints relating to uniqueness and referential integrity are not enforced.

    4. There is no check that the document contains unparsed entities whose names match the values of nodes of type xs:ENTITY or xs:ENTITIES.

    Note:

    Validity assessment is affected by the presence or absence of xsi:type attributes on the elements being validated, and may generate new information items such as default attributes.

  5. The outcome of the validation expression depends on the validity property of the root element information item in the PSVI that results from the validation process.

    1. If the validity property of the root element information item is valid, or if validation mode is lax and the validity property of the root element information item is notKnown, the PSVI is converted back into an XDM instance as described in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0] Section 3.3, "Construction from a PSVI". The resulting node (a new node of the same kind as the operand node) is returned as the result of the validate expression.

    2. Otherwise, a dynamic error is raised [err:XQDY0027].

Note:

The effect of these rules is as follows, where the validated element means either the operand node or (if the operand node is a document node) its element child.:

  • If validation mode is strict, the validated element must have a top-level element declaration in the effective schema, and must conform to this declaration.

  • If validation mode is lax, the validated element must conform to its top-level element declaration if such a declaration exists in the effective schema. If validation mode is lax and there is no top-level element declaration for the element, and the element has an xsi:type attribute, then the xsi:type attribute must name a top-level type definition in the effective schema, and the element must conform to that type.

  • If a type name is specified in the validate expression, no attempt is made to locate an element declaration matching the name of the validated element; the element can have any name, and its content is validated against the named type.

Note:

During conversion of the PSVI into an XDM instance after validation, any element information items whose validity property is notKnown are converted into element nodes with type annotation xs:anyType, and any attribute information items whose validity property is notKnown are converted into attribute nodes with type annotation xs:untypedAtomic, as described in Section Element and Attribute Node Type NamesDM30.

3.17 Extension Expressions

[Definition: An extension expression is an expression whose semantics are implementation-defined.] Typically a particular extension will be recognized by some implementations and not by others. The syntax is designed so that extension expressions can be successfully parsed by all implementations, and so that fallback behavior can be defined for implementations that do not recognize a particular extension.

[105]   ExtensionExpr   ::=    Pragma+ "{" Expr? "}"
[106]   Pragma   ::=   "(#" S? EQName (S PragmaContents)? "#)"
[107]   PragmaContents   ::=   (Char* - (Char* '#)' Char*))

An extension expression consists of one or more pragmas, followed by an expression enclosed in curly braces. [Definition: A pragma is denoted by the delimiters (# and #), and consists of an identifying EQName followed by implementation-defined content.] The content of a pragma may consist of any string of characters that does not contain the ending delimiter #). If the EQName of a pragma is a lexical QName, it must resolve to a namespace URI and local name, using the statically known namespaces [err:XPST0081].

Note:

Since there is no default namespace for pragmas, a pragma's EQName must provide a URILiteral or a namespace prefix.

Each implementation recognizes an implementation-defined set of namespace URIs used to denote pragmas.

If the namespace URI of a pragma's expanded QName is not recognized by the implementation as a pragma namespace, then the pragma is ignored. If all the pragmas in an ExtensionExpr are ignored, then the value of the ExtensionExpr is the value of the expression enclosed in curly braces; if this expression is absent, then a static error is raised [err:XQST0079].

If an implementation recognizes the namespace of one or more pragmas in an ExtensionExpr, then the value of the ExtensionExpr, including its error behavior, is implementation-defined. For example, an implementation that recognizes the namespace of a pragma's expanded QName, but does not recognize the local part of the name, might choose either to raise an error or to ignore the pragma.

It is a static error [err:XQST0013] if an implementation recognizes a pragma but determines that its content is invalid.

If an implementation recognizes a pragma, it must report any static errors in the following expression even if it will not evaluate that expression (however, static type errors are raised only if the Static Typing Feature is in effect.)

Note:

The following examples illustrate three ways in which extension expressions might be used.

  • A pragma can be used to furnish a hint for how to evaluate the following expression, without actually changing the result. For example:

    declare namespace exq = "http://example.org/XQueryImplementation";
       (# exq:use-index #)
          { $bib/book/author[name='Berners-Lee'] }
    

    An implementation that recognizes the exq:use-index pragma might use an index to evaluate the expression that follows. An implementation that does not recognize this pragma would evaluate the expression in its normal way.

  • A pragma might be used to modify the semantics of the following expression in ways that would not (in the absence of the pragma) be conformant with this specification. For example, a pragma might be used to permit comparison of xs:duration values using implementation-defined semantics (this would normally be an error). Such changes to the language semantics must be scoped to the expression contained within the curly braces following the pragma.

  • A pragma might contain syntactic constructs that are evaluated in place of the following expression. In this case, the following expression itself (if it is present) provides a fallback for use by implementations that do not recognize the pragma. For example:

    declare namespace exq = "http://example.org/XQueryImplementation";
       for $x in
          (# exq:distinct //city by @country #)
          { //city[not(@country = preceding::city/@country)] }
       return f:show-city($x)
    

    Here an implementation that recognizes the pragma will return the result of evaluating the proprietary syntax exq:distinct //city by @country, while an implementation that does not recognize the pragma will instead return the result of the expression //city[not(@country = preceding::city/@country)]. If no fallback expression is required, or if none is feasible, then the expression between the curly braces may be omitted, in which case implementations that do not recognize the pragma will raise a static error.

4 Modules and Prologs

[1]   Module   ::=    VersionDecl? (LibraryModule | MainModule)
[3]   MainModule   ::=    Prolog QueryBody
[4]   LibraryModule   ::=    ModuleDecl Prolog
[6]   Prolog   ::=   ((DefaultNamespaceDecl | Setter | NamespaceDecl | Import) Separator)* ((ContextItemDecl | AnnotatedDecl | OptionDecl) Separator)*
[8]   Setter   ::=    BoundarySpaceDecl | DefaultCollationDecl | BaseURIDecl | ConstructionDecl | OrderingModeDecl | EmptyOrderDecl | CopyNamespacesDecl | DecimalFormatDecl
[20]   Import   ::=    SchemaImport | ModuleImport
[7]   Separator   ::=   ";"
[38]   QueryBody   ::=    Expr

A query can be assembled from one or more fragments called modules. [Definition: A module is a fragment of XQuery code that conforms to the Module grammar and can independently undergo the static analysis phase described in 2.2.3 Expression Processing. Each module is either a main module or a library module.]

[Definition: A main module consists of a Prolog followed by a Query Body.] A query has exactly one main module. In a main module, the Query Body can be evaluated, and its value is the result of the query.

[Definition: A module that does not contain a Query Body is called a library module. A library module consists of a module declaration followed by a Prolog.] A library module cannot be evaluated directly; instead, it provides function and variable declarations that can be imported into other modules.

The XQuery syntax does not allow a module to contain both a module declaration and a Query Body.

[Definition: A Prolog is a series of declarations and imports that define the processing environment for the module that contains the Prolog.] Each declaration or import is followed by a semicolon. A Prolog is organized into two parts.

The first part of the Prolog consists of setters, imports, namespace declarations, and default namespace declarations. [Definition: Setters are declarations that set the value of some property that affects query processing, such as construction mode, ordering mode, or default collation.] Namespace declarations and default namespace declarations affect the interpretation of lexical QNames within the query. Imports are used to import definitions from schemas and modules. [Definition: Each imported schema or module is identified by its target namespace, which is the namespace of the objects (such as elements or functions) that are defined by the schema or module.]

The second part of the Prolog consists of declarations of variables, functions, and options. These declarations appear at the end of the Prolog because they may be affected by declarations and imports in the first part of the Prolog.

[Definition: The Query Body, if present, consists of an expression that defines the result of the query.] Evaluation of expressions is described in 3 Expressions. A module can be evaluated only if it has a Query Body.

4.1 Version Declaration

[2]   VersionDecl   ::=   "xquery" (("encoding" StringLiteral) | ("version" StringLiteral ("encoding" StringLiteral)?)) Separator

[Definition: A version declaration can identify the applicable XQuery syntax and semantics for a module, as well as its encoding.] The version number "1.0" indicates a requirement that the module must be processed by an XQuery 1.0 processor; the version number "3.0" indicates a requirement that the module must be processed by an XQuery 3.0 processor. If the version declaration is not present or the version is not included in the declaration, an XQuery 3.0 processor assumes a version of "3.0". If an XQuery 3.0 processor processes a module labeled with a version of "1.0", it must either raise a static error [err:XQST0031], or attempt to process the module with an XQuery 1.0 processor. If any version number other than 3.0 or 1.0 is encountered, a static error [err:XQST0031] is raised.

[Definition: If present, a version declaration may optionally include an encoding declaration. The value of the string literal following the keyword encoding is an encoding name, and must conform to the definition of EncName specified in [XML 1.0] [err:XQST0087]. The purpose of an encoding declaration is to allow the writer of a query to provide a string that indicates how the query is encoded, such as "UTF-8", "UTF-16", or "US-ASCII".] Since the encoding of a query may change as the query moves from one environment to another, there can be no guarantee that the encoding declaration is correct.

The handling of an encoding declaration is implementation-dependent. If an implementation has a priori knowledge of the encoding of a query, it may use this knowledge and disregard the encoding declaration. The semantics of a query are not affected by the presence or absence of an encoding declaration.

If a version declaration is present, no Comment may occur before the end of the version declaration. If such a Comment is present, the result is implementation-dependent.

Note:

The effect of a Comment before the end of a version declaration is implementation-dependent because it may suppress query processing by interfering with detection of the encoding declaration.

The following examples illustrate version declarations:

xquery version "1.0";
xquery version "1.0" encoding "utf-8";

4.2 Module Declaration

[5]   ModuleDecl   ::=   "module" "namespace" NCName "=" URILiteral Separator

[Definition: A module declaration serves to identify a module as a library module. A module declaration begins with the keyword module and contains a namespace prefix and a URILiteral.] The URILiteral must be of nonzero length [err:XQST0088]. The URILiteral identifies the target namespace of the library module, which is the namespace for all variables and functions exported by the library module. The name of every variable and function declared in a library module must have a namespace URI that is the same as the target namespace of the module; otherwise a static error is raised [err:XQST0048]. In the statically known namespaces of the library module, the namespace prefix specified in the module declaration is bound to the module's target namespace.

The namespace prefix specified in a module declaration must not be xml or xmlns [err:XQST0070], and must not be the same as any namespace prefix bound in the same module by a schema import, by a namespace declaration, or by a module import with a different target namespace [err:XQST0033].

Any module may import one or more library modules by means of a module import that specifies the target namespace of the library modules to be imported. When a module imports one or more library modules, the variables and functions declared in the imported modules are added to the static context and (where applicable) to the dynamic context of the importing module.

The following is an example of a module declaration:

module namespace math = "http://example.org/math-functions";

4.3 Boundary-space Declaration

[9]   BoundarySpaceDecl   ::=   "declare" "boundary-space" ("preserve" | "strip")

[Definition: A boundary-space declaration sets the boundary-space policy in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default. Boundary-space policy controls whether boundary whitespace is preserved by element constructors during processing of the query.] If boundary-space policy is preserve, boundary whitespace is preserved. If boundary-space policy is strip, boundary whitespace is stripped (deleted). A further discussion of whitespace in constructed elements can be found in 3.8.1.4 Boundary Whitespace.

The following example illustrates a boundary-space declaration:

declare boundary-space preserve;

If a Prolog contains more than one boundary-space declaration, a static error is raised [err:XQST0068].

4.4 Default Collation Declaration

[10]   DefaultCollationDecl   ::=   "declare" "default" "collation" URILiteral

[Definition: A default collation declaration sets the value of the default collation in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default.] The default collation is the collation that is used by functions and operators that require a collation if no other collation is specified. For example, the gt operator on strings is defined by a call to the fn:compare function, which takes an optional collation parameter. Since the gt operator does not specify a collation, the fn:compare function implements gt by using the default collation.

If neither the implementation nor the Prolog specifies a default collation, the Unicode codepoint collation (http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions/collation/codepoint) is used.

The following example illustrates a default collation declaration:

declare default collation
  "http://example.org/languages/Icelandic";

If a default collation declaration specifies a collation by a relative URI, that relative URI is resolved to an absolute URI using the base URI in the static context. If a Prolog contains more than one default collation declaration, or the value specified by a default collation declaration (after resolution of a relative URI, if necessary) is not present in statically known collations, a static error is raised [err:XQST0038].

4.5 Base URI Declaration

[11]   BaseURIDecl   ::=   "declare" "base-uri" URILiteral

[Definition: A base URI declaration specifies the base URI property of the static context. The base URI property is used when resolving relative URIs within a module.] For example, the fn:doc function resolves a relative URI using the base URI of the calling module.

The following is an example of a base URI declaration:

declare base-uri "http://example.org";

If a Prolog contains more than one base URI declaration, a static error is raised [err:XQST0032].

In the terminology of [RFC3986] Section 5.1, the URILiteral of the base URI declaration is considered to be a "base URI embedded in content". If no base URI declaration is present, the base URI in the static context is established according to the principles outlined in [RFC3986] Section 5.1—that is, it defaults first to the base URI of the encapsulating entity, then to the URI used to retrieve the entity, and finally to an implementation-defined default. If the URILiteral in the base URI declaration is a relative URI, then it is made absolute by resolving it with respect to this same hierarchy. For example, if the URILiteral in the base URI declaration is ../data/, and the query is contained in a file whose URI is file:///C:/temp/queries/query.xq, then the base URI in the static context is file:///C:/temp/data/.

It is not intrinsically an error if this process fails to establish an absolute base URI; however, the base URI in the static context is then undefined [err:XPST0001]. When the base URI in the static context is undefined, any attempt to use its value to resolve a relative URI reference will result in an error [err:XPST0001]. When the base URI of a constructed node is taken from the base URI in the static context and the latter is undefined, then the base-uri property of the constructed node is empty.

4.6 Construction Declaration

[12]   ConstructionDecl   ::=   "declare" "construction" ("strip" | "preserve")

[Definition: A construction declaration sets the construction mode in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default.] The construction mode governs the behavior of element and document node constructors. If construction mode is preserve, the type of a constructed element node is xs:anyType, and all attribute and element nodes copied during node construction retain their original types. If construction mode is strip, the type of a constructed element node is xs:untyped; all element nodes copied during node construction receive the type xs:untyped, and all attribute nodes copied during node construction receive the type xs:untypedAtomic.

The following example illustrates a construction declaration:

declare construction strip;

If a Prolog specifies more than one construction declaration, a static error is raised [err:XQST0067].

4.7 Ordering Mode Declaration

[13]   OrderingModeDecl   ::=   "declare" "ordering" ("ordered" | "unordered")

[Definition: An ordering mode declaration sets the ordering mode in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default.] This ordering mode applies to all expressions in a module (including both the Prolog and the Query Body, if any), unless overridden by an ordered or unordered expression.

Ordering mode affects the behavior of path expressions that include a "/" or "//" operator or an axis step; union, intersect, and except expressions; and FLWOR expressions that have no order by clause. If ordering mode is ordered, node sequences returned by path, union, intersect, and except expressions are in document order; otherwise the order of these return sequences is implementation-dependent. The effect of ordering mode on FLWOR expressions is described in 3.9 FLWOR Expressions.

The following example illustrates an ordering mode declaration:

declare ordering unordered;

If a Prolog contains more than one ordering mode declaration, a static error is raised [err:XQST0065].

4.8 Empty Order Declaration

[14]   EmptyOrderDecl   ::=   "declare" "default" "order" "empty" ("greatest" | "least")

[Definition: An empty order declaration sets the default order for empty sequences in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default. This declaration controls the processing of empty sequences and NaN values as ordering keys in an order by clause in a FLWOR expression.] An individual order by clause may override the default order for empty sequences by specifying empty greatest or empty least.

The following example illustrates an empty order declaration:

declare default order empty least;

If a Prolog contains more than one empty order declaration, a static error is raised [err:XQST0069].

Note:

It is important to distinguish an empty order declaration from an ordering mode declaration. An empty order declaration applies only when an order by clause is present, and specifies how empty sequences are treated by the order by clause (unless overridden). An ordering mode declaration, on the other hand, applies only in the absence of an order by clause.

4.9 Copy-Namespaces Declaration

[15]   CopyNamespacesDecl   ::=   "declare" "copy-namespaces" PreserveMode "," InheritMode
[16]   PreserveMode   ::=   "preserve" | "no-preserve"
[17]   InheritMode   ::=   "inherit" | "no-inherit"

[Definition: A copy-namespaces declaration sets the value of copy-namespaces mode in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default. Copy-namespaces mode controls the namespace bindings that are assigned when an existing element node is copied by an element constructor or document constructor.] Handling of namespace bindings by element constructors is described in 3.8.1 Direct Element Constructors.

The following example illustrates a copy-namespaces declaration:

declare copy-namespaces preserve, no-inherit;

If a Prolog contains more than one copy-namespaces declaration, a static error is raised [err:XQST0055].

4.10 Decimal-Format Declaration

[18]   DecimalFormatDecl   ::=   "declare" (("decimal-format" EQName) | ("default" "decimal-format")) (DFPropertyName "=" StringLiteral)*
[19]   DFPropertyName   ::=   "decimal-separator" | "grouping-separator" | "infinity" | "minus-sign" | "NaN" | "percent" | "per-mille" | "zero-digit" | "digit" | "pattern-separator"

[Definition: A decimal-format declaration defines statically known decimal formats, which define the properties used to format numbers using the fn:format-number() function], as described in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0]. The mapping between these properties and the equivalent fn:format-number() properties is discussed in statically known decimal formats, which also specifies the defaults for each value. If a format declares no properties, default values are used for all properties.

It is a static error for a query prolog to contain two decimal formats with the same name, or to contain two default decimal formats. [err:XQST0111]. It is a static error for a decimal format declaration to define the same property more than once [err:XQST0114]. It is a static error for a decimal-format to specify a value that is not valid for a given property, as described in statically known decimal formats [err:XQST0097]. It is a static error if, for any named or unnamed decimal format, the properties representing characters used in a picture string do not each have distinct values [err:XQST0098]. The following properties represent characters used in a picture string: decimal-separator-sign, grouping-separator, percent-sign, per-mille-sign, zero-digit, digit-sign, and pattern-separator-sign .

4.11 Schema Import

[21]   SchemaImport   ::=   "import" "schema" SchemaPrefix? URILiteral ("at" URILiteral ("," URILiteral)*)?
[22]   SchemaPrefix   ::=   ("namespace" NCName "=") | ("default" "element" "namespace")

[Definition: A schema import imports the element declarations, attribute declarations, and type definitions from a schema into the in-scope schema definitions. For each user-defined atomic type in the schema, schema import also adds a corresponding constructor function. ] The schema to be imported is identified by its target namespace. The schema import may bind a namespace prefix to the target namespace of the imported schema, or may declare that target namespace to be the default element/type namespace. The schema import may also provide optional hints for locating the schema.

The namespace prefix specified in a schema import must not be xml or xmlns [err:XQST0070], and must not be the same as any namespace prefix bound in the same module by another schema import, a module import, a namespace declaration, or a module declaration [err:XQST0033].

The first URILiteral in a schema import specifies the target namespace of the schema to be imported. The URILiterals that follow the at keyword are optional location hints, and can be interpreted or disregarded in an implementation-dependent way. Multiple location hints might be used to indicate more than one possible place to look for the schema or multiple physical resources to be assembled to form the schema.

A schema import that specifies a zero-length string as target namespace is considered to import a schema that has no target namespace. Such a schema import must not bind a namespace prefix [err:XQST0057], but it may set the default element/type namespace to a zero-length string (representing "no namespace"), thus enabling the definitions in the imported namespace to be referenced. If the default element/type namespace is not set to "no namespace", there is no way to reference the definitions in an imported schema that has no target namespace.

It is a static error [err:XQST0058] if more than one schema import in the same Prolog specifies the same target namespace. It is a static error [err:XQST0059] if the implementation is not able to process a schema import by finding a valid schema with the specified target namespace. It is a static error [err:XQST0035] if multiple imported schemas, or multiple physical resources within one schema, contain definitions for the same name in the same symbol space (for example, two definitions for the same element name, even if the definitions are consistent). However, it is not an error to import the schema with target namespace http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema (predeclared prefix xs), even though the built-in types defined in this schema are implicitly included in the in-scope schema types.

It is a static error [err:XQST0012] if the set of definitions contained in all schemas imported by a Prolog do not satisfy the conditions for schema validity specified in Sections 3 and 5 of [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] Part 1--i.e., each definition must be valid, complete, and unique.

The following example imports a schema, specifying both its target namespace and its location, and binding the prefix soap to the target namespace:

import schema namespace soap="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope"
at "http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope/";

The following example imports a schema by specifying only its target namespace, and makes it the default element/type namespace:

import schema default element namespace "http://example.org/abc";

The following example imports a schema that has no target namespace, providing a location hint, and sets the default element/type namespace to "no namespace" so that the definitions in the imported schema can be referenced:

import schema default element namespace "" 
at "http://example.org/xyz.xsd";

The following example imports a schema that has no target namespace and sets the default element/type namespace to "no namespace". Since no location hint is provided, it is up to the implementation to find the schema to be imported.

import schema default element namespace "";

4.12 Module Import

[23]   ModuleImport   ::=   "import" "module" ("namespace" NCName "=")? URILiteral ("at" URILiteral ("," URILiteral)*)?

[Definition: A module import imports the public variable declarations and public function declarations from one or more library modules into the function signatures and in-scope variables of the importing module.] Each module import names a target namespace and imports an implementation-defined set of modules that share this target namespace. The module import may bind a namespace prefix to the target namespace, and it may provide optional hints for locating the modules to be imported.

The namespace prefix specified in a module import must not be xml or xmlns [err:XQST0070], and must not be the same as any namespace prefix bound in the same module by another module import, a schema import, a namespace declaration, or a module declaration with a different target namespace [err:XQST0033].

The first URILiteral in a module import must be of nonzero length [err:XQST0088], and specifies the target namespace of the modules to be imported. The URILiterals that follow the at keyword are optional location hints, and can be interpreted or disregarded in an implementation-defined way.

It is a static error [err:XQST0047] if more than one module import in a Prolog specifies the same target namespace. It is a static error [err:XQST0059] if the implementation is not able to process a module import by finding a valid module definition with the specified target namespace. It is a static error if the expanded QName of a variable declared in an imported module is equal (as defined by the eq operator) to the expanded QName of a variable declared in the importing module or in another imported module (even if the declarations are consistent) [err:XQST0049].

Each module has its own static context. A module import imports only functions and variable declarations; it does not import other objects from the imported modules, such as in-scope schema definitions or statically known namespaces. Module imports are not transitive—that is, importing a module provides access only to function and variable declarations contained directly in the imported module. For example, if module A imports module B, and module B imports module C, module A does not have access to the functions and variables declared in module C.

A module may import its own target namespace (this is interpreted as importing an implementation-defined set of other modules that share its target namespace.)

It is a static error [err:XQST0036] to import a module if the in-scope schema definitions of the importing module do not include all of the following:

  1. An in-scope schema type for each type-name that appears:

    1. in the type of a variable that is declared in the imported module and referenced in the importing module, OR

    2. in a parameter-type or result-type of a function that is declared in the imported module and referenced in the importing module.

  2. An in-scope element declaration for each element-name EN such that:

    1. schema-element(EN) appears in the declared type of a variable in the imported module, and that variable is referenced in the importing module, OR

    2. schema-element(EN) appears in a parameter-type or result-type of a function declared in the imported module, and that function is referenced in the importing module.

  3. An in-scope attribute declaration for each attribute-name AN such that:

    1. schema-attribute(AN) appears in the declared type of a variable in the imported module, and that variable is referenced in the importing module, OR

    2. schema-attribute(AN) appears in a parameter-type or result-type of a function declared in the imported module, and that function is referenced in the importing module.

To illustrate the above rules, suppose that a certain schema defines a type named triangle. Suppose that a library module imports the schema, binds its target namespace to the prefix geometry, and declares a function with the following function signature: math:area($t as geometry:triangle) as xs:double. If a query wishes to use this function, it must import both the library module and the schema on which it is based. Importing the library module alone would not provide access to the definition of the type geometry:triangle used in the signature of the area function.

The following example illustrates a module import:

import module namespace math =
  "http://example.org/math-functions";

4.12.3 Location URIs

The term "location URIs" refers to the URIs in the "at" clause of an "import module" declaration.

Products should (by default or at user option) take account of all the location URIs in an "import module" declaration, treating each location URI as a reference to a module with the specified module URI. Location URIs should be made absolute with respect to the static base URI of the module containing the "import module" declaration where they appear. The mapping from location URIs to module source code or compiled code MAY be done in any way convenient to the implementation. If possible given the product's architecture, security requirements, etc, the product should allow this to fetch the source code of the module to use the standard web mechanisms for dereferencing URIs in standard schemes such as the "http" URI scheme.

When the same absolutized location URI is used more than once, either in the same "import module" declaration or in different "import module" declarations within the same query, a single copy of the resource containing the module is loaded. When different absolutized location URIs are used, each results in a single module being loaded, unless the implementation is able to determine that the different URIs are references to the same resource. No error due to duplicate variable or functions names should arise from the same module being imported more than once, so long as the absolute location URI is the same in each case.

Implementations must report a static error if a location URI cannot be resolved after all available recovery strategies have been exhausted.

4.13 Namespace Declaration

[24]   NamespaceDecl   ::=   "declare" "namespace" NCName "=" URILiteral

[Definition: A namespace declaration declares a namespace prefix and associates it with a namespace URI, adding the (prefix, URI) pair to the set of statically known namespaces.] The namespace declaration is in scope throughout the query in which it is declared, unless it is overridden by a namespace declaration attribute in a direct element constructor.

If the URILiteral part of a namespace declaration is a zero-length string, any existing namespace binding for the given prefix is removed from the statically known namespaces. This feature provides a way to remove predeclared namespace prefixes such as local.

The following query illustrates a namespace declaration:

declare namespace foo = "http://example.org";
<foo:bar> Lentils </foo:bar>

In the query result, the newly created node is in the namespace associated with the namespace URI http://example.org.

The namespace prefix specified in a namespace declaration must not be xml or xmlns [err:XQST0070]. The namespace URI specified in a namespace declaration must not be http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace or http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/ [err:XQST0070]. The namespace prefix specified in a namespace declaration must not be the same as any namespace prefix bound in the same module by a module import, schema import, module declaration, or another namespace declaration [err:XQST0033].

It is a static error [err:XPST0081] if an expression contains a lexical QName with a namespace prefix that is not in the statically known namespaces.

XQuery has several predeclared namespace prefixes that are present in the statically known namespaces before each query is processed. These prefixes may be used without an explicit declaration. They may be overridden by namespace declarations in a Prolog or by namespace declaration attributes on constructed elements (however, the prefix xml must not be redeclared, and no other prefix may be bound to the namespace URI associated with the prefix xml [err:XQST0070]). The predeclared namespace prefixes are as follows:

  • xml = http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace

  • xs = http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema

  • xsi = http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance

  • fn = http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions

  • local = http://www.w3.org/2005/xquery-local-functions (see 4.18 Function Declaration.)

Additional predeclared namespace prefixes may be added to the statically known namespaces by an implementation.

When element or attribute names are compared, they are considered identical if the local parts and namespace URIs match on a codepoint basis. Namespace prefixes need not be identical for two names to match, as illustrated by the following example:

declare namespace xx = "http://example.org";

let $i := <foo:bar xmlns:foo = "http://example.org">
              <foo:bing> Lentils </foo:bing>
          </foo:bar>
return $i/xx:bing

Although the namespace prefixes xx and foo differ, both are bound to the namespace URI "http://example.org". Since xx:bing and foo:bing have the same local name and the same namespace URI, they match. The output of the above query is as follows.

<foo:bing xmlns:foo = "http://example.org"> Lentils </foo:bing>

4.14 Default Namespace Declaration

[25]   DefaultNamespaceDecl   ::=   "declare" "default" ("element" | "function") "namespace" URILiteral

Default namespace declarations can be used in a Prolog to facilitate the use of unprefixed QNames. The following kinds of default namespace declarations are supported:

  • A default element/type namespace declaration declares a namespace URI that is associated with unprefixed names of elements and types. This declaration is recorded as the default element/type namespace in the static context. A Prolog may contain at most one default element/type namespace declaration [err:XQST0066]. If the URILiteral in a default element/type namespace declaration is a zero-length string, the default element/type namespace is undeclared (set to absentDM30), and unprefixed names of elements and types are considered to be in no namespace. The following example illustrates the declaration of a default namespace for elements and types:

    declare default element namespace "http://example.org/names";

    A default element/type namespace declaration may be overridden by a namespace declaration attribute in a direct element constructor.

    If no default element/type namespace declaration is present, unprefixed element and type names are in no namespace (however, an implementation may define a different default as specified in C.1 Static Context Components.)

  • A default function namespace declaration declares a namespace URI that is associated with unprefixed function names in function calls and function declarations. This declaration is recorded as the default function namespace in the static context. A Prolog may contain at most one default function namespace declaration [err:XQST0066]. If the StringLiteral in a default function namespace declaration is a zero-length string, the default function namespace is undeclared (set to absentDM30). In that case, any functions that are associated with a namespace can be called only by using an explicit namespace prefix.

    If no default function namespace declaration is present, the default function namespace is the namespace of XPath/XQuery functions, http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions (however, an implementation may define a different default as specified in C.1 Static Context Components.)

    The following example illustrates the declaration of a default function namespace:

    declare default function namespace 
         "http://example.org/math-functions";

    The effect of declaring a default function namespace is that all functions in the default function namespace, including implicitly-declared constructor functions, can be invoked without specifying a namespace prefix. When a function call uses a function name with no prefix, the local name of the function must match a function (including implicitly-declared constructor functions) in the default function namespace [err:XPST0017].

    Note:

    Only constructor functions can be in no namespace.

Unprefixed attribute names and variable names are in no namespace.

4.15 Annotations

[26]   AnnotatedDecl   ::=   "declare" Annotation* (VarDecl | FunctionDecl)
[27]   Annotation   ::=   "%" EQName ("(" Literal ("," Literal)* ")")?

XQuery uses annotations to declare properties associated with functions and variables. For instance, a function may be declared %public, %private, %deterministic or %nondeterministic. The semantics associated with these properties are described in 4.18 Function Declaration.

Annotations are (QName, value) pairs. If the EQName of the annotation is a lexical QName, the prefix of the QName is resolved using the statically known namespaces; if no prefix is present, the name is in the default function namespace. The XQuery family of languages define annotations in the fn namespace. Assuming this the default element namespace is fn, the annotations %private and %fn:private both have the same annotation name.

Implementations MAY define further annotations, whose behaviour is implementation-defined. For instance, if the eg prefix is bound to a namespace associated with a particular implementation, it could define an annotation like eg:sequential. Implementations and users SHOULD avoid creating new annotations in the following reserved namespaces [err:XQST0045]:

  • http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace

  • http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema

  • http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance

  • http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions

  • http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions/math

An annotation can provide values explicitly using a parenthesized list of literals. For instance, the annotation %java:method("java.lang.Math.sin") sets the value of the java:method annotation to the string value java.lang.Math.sin.

4.16 Variable Declaration

[26]   AnnotatedDecl   ::=   "declare" Annotation* (VarDecl | FunctionDecl)
[27]   Annotation   ::=   "%" EQName ("(" Literal ("," Literal)* ")")?
[28]   VarDecl   ::=   "variable" "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? ((":=" VarValue) | ("external" (":=" VarDefaultValue)?))
[129]   VarName   ::=    EQName
[168]   TypeDeclaration   ::=   "as" SequenceType
[29]   VarValue   ::=    ExprSingle
[30]   VarDefaultValue   ::=    ExprSingle

A variable declaration adds the static type of a variable to the in-scope variables, and may also add a value for the variable to the variable values.

Note:

A variable declaration always refers to a declaration of a variable in a Prolog. The binding of a variable to a value in a query expression, such as a FLWOR expression, is known as a variable binding, and does not make the variable visible to an importing module.

During static analysis, a variable declaration causes a pair (expanded QName N, type T) to be added to the in-scope variables. The expanded QName N is the VarName. If N is equal (as defined by the eq operator) to the expanded QName of another variable in in-scope variables, a static error is raised [err:XQST0049].

All variable names declared in a library module must (when expanded) be in the target namespace of the library module [err:XQST0048]. A variable declaration may use function annotations to specify that the variable is %private or %public (which is the default). [Definition: A private variable is a variable with a %private annotation. A private variable is hidden from module import, which can not import it into the in-scope variables of another module.] [Definition: A public variable is a variable with a %public annotation. A public variable is accessible to module import, which can import it into the in-scope variables of another module. It is a static error [err:XQST0116] if a variable declaration's's annotations contain more than one annotation named %private or %public.]

Variable names that have no namespace prefix are in no namespace. Variable declarations that have no namespace prefix may appear only in a main module.

Here are some examples of variable declarations:

  • The following declaration specifies both the type and the value of a variable. This declaration causes the type xs:integer to be associated with variable $x in the static context, and the value 7 to be associated with variable $x in the dynamic context.

    declare variable $x as xs:integer := 7;
  • The following declaration specifies a value but not a type. The static type of the variable is inferred from the static type of its value. In this case, the variable $x has a static type of xs:decimal, inferred from its value which is 7.5.

    declare variable $x := 7.5;
  • The following declaration specifies a type but not a value. The keyword external indicates that the value of the variable will be provided by the external environment. At evaluation time, if the variable $x in the dynamic context does not have a value of type xs:integer, a type error is raised.

    declare variable $x as xs:integer external;
  • The following declaration specifies neither a type nor a value. It simply declares that the query depends on the existence of a variable named $x, whose type and value will be provided by the external environment. During query analysis, the type of $x is considered to be item()*. During query evaluation, the dynamic context must include a type and a value for $x, and its value must be compatible with its type.

    declare variable $x external;
  • The following declaration, which might appear in a library module, declares a variable whose name includes a namespace prefix:

    declare variable $math:pi as xs:double := 3.14159E0;
  • This is an example of an external variable declaration that provides a VarDefaultValue:

    declare variable $x as xs:integer external := 47;

The syntax for variable declarations allows annotations, but XQuery 3.0 does not define annotations that apply to variable declarations. An implementation can provide annotations it needs. For instance, an implemenation that supports volatile external variables might allow them to be declared using an annotation:

declare %eg:volatile variable $time as xs:time external;

The type of the declared variable is as follows:

  • If TypeDeclaration is present, then the SequenceType in the TypeDeclaration; otherwise

  • If the Static Typing Feature is in effect and VarValue is present, then the static type inferred from static analysis of the expression VarValue;

    Note:

    Type inference might not be computable until after the check for circular dependencies, described below, is complete.

  • Otherwise, item()*.

[Definition: If a variable declaration includes an expression (VarValue or VarDefaultValue), the expression is called an initializing expression. The static context for an initializing expression includes all functions, variables, and namespaces that are declared or imported anywhere in the Prolog, other than the variable being declared.]

[Definition: An expression E depends on a variable V if any of the following is true:

]

If the initializer of a variable V depends on V, a static error is raised [err:XQST0054].

During query evaluation, each variable declaration causes a pair (expanded QName N, value V) to be added to the Prolog variable values. The expanded QName N is the VarName. The value V is as follows:

  • If VarValue is specified, then V is the result of evaluating VarValue as described below.

  • If external is specified, then:

    • if a value is provided for the variable by the external environment, then V is that value. The means by which typed values of external variables are provided by the external environment is implementation-defined.

    • if no value is provided for the variable by the external environment, and VarDefaultValue is specified, then V is the result of evaluating VarDefaultValue as described below.

    • If no value is provided for the variable by the external environment, and VarDefaultValue is not specified, then a dynamic error is raised [err:XPDY0002].

      It is implementation-dependent whether this error is raised if the evaluation of the query does not reference the value of the variable.

    In all cases the value V must match the type T according to the rules for SequenceType matching; otherwise a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004].

    If VarValue or VarDefaultValue is evaluated, the dynamic context for the evaluation is as follows:

    • The variable values contain the values of all variables present in the static context.

      Note:

      A cyclic dependency between variables is a static error, so it is always possible to evaluate all the variables that V depends on before evaluating V.)

    • The function implementations contains the implementation of each function present in the static context

    • All other properties of the dynamic context, including the context item, position, and size, are the same as for the evaluation of the QueryBody of the main module.

4.17 Context Item Declaration

[31]   ContextItemDecl   ::=   "declare" "context" "item" ("as" ItemType)? ((":=" VarValue) | ("external" (":=" VarDefaultValue)?))

A context item declaration allows a query to specify the static type, value, or default value for the initial context item.

In a library module, a context item declaration specifies only the static type. Specifying a VarValue or VarDefaultValue for a context item declaration in a library module is a static error [err:XQST0113].

In every module that does not contain a context item declaration, the effect is as if the declaration

declare context item as item() external;

appeared in that module.

During static analysis, the context item declaration has the effect of setting the context item static type in the static context. The context item static type is set to ItemType if specified, or to item() otherwise.

If a module contains more than one context item declaration, a static error is raised [err:XQST0099].

The static context for an initializing expression includes all functions, variables, and namespaces that are declared or imported anywhere in the Prolog.

[Definition: An expression E depends on the context item if any of the following is true:

  • E is "."

  • E is "/", or any path expression beginning with "/" or "//"

  • E is position() or last()

  • E is an axis step (including an abbreviated axis step such as '..' or '@x')

  • E is a call to a built-in function that takes the context item as an implicit argument

  • E has a subexpression that depends on the context item, and E does not bind the context item for that subexpression

  • E depends on a variable whose initializer depends on the context item

  • E depends on a function whose body depends on the context item

]

If the initializer of the context item depends on the context item, a static error is raised [err:XQST0107].

During query evaluation, the context item in the dynamic context for the evaluation of the QueryBody in the main module, and for the initializing expression of every variable declaration in every module, is set as follows:

  • If VarValue is specified, then the result of evaluating VarValue as described below.

  • If external is specified, then:

    • if a value is provided for the context item by the external environment, then that value.

      The means by which an external value is provided by the external environment is implementation-defined.

    • if no value is provided for the context item by the external environment, and VarDefaultValue is specified, then the result of evaluating VarDefaultValue as described below.

    • if no value is provided for the context item by the external environment, and VarDefaultValue is not specified, then the context item is undefined, and a dynamic error is raised [err:XPDY0002] if the context item is referenced in the query.

In all cases where the context item has a value, that value must match the type T according to the rules for SequenceType matching; otherwise a type error is raised [err:XPTY0004]. If more than one module contains a context item declaration, the context item must match the type declared in each one.

If VarValue or VarDefaultValue is evaluated, the dynamic context for the evaluation is as follows:

  • The variable values contains the values of all variables present in the static context

  • The context item, position, and size are undefined

  • Function implementations includes an implementation of each function present in the static context of the expression

  • All other properties of the dynamic context are the same as for the evaluation of the QueryBody of the main module.

Here are some examples of context item declarations.

  • Declare the type of the context item:

    declare namespace env="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope";
    declare context item as element(env:Envelope) external;
  • Declare a default context item, which is a system log in a default location. If the system log is in a different location, it can be specified in the external environment:

    declare context item as element(sys:log) external := doc("/var/xlogs/sysevent.xml");
    
  • Declare the context item to always point to a particular collection:

    declare context item := collection("docs");
    

4.18 Function Declaration

In addition to the built-in functions described in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0], XQuery allows users to declare functions of their own. A function declaration specifies the name of the function, the names and datatypes of the parameters, and the datatype of the result. All datatypes are specified using the syntax described in 2.5 Types. A function declaration causes the declared function to be added to the function signatures of the module in which it appears.

[26]   AnnotatedDecl   ::=   "declare" Annotation* (VarDecl | FunctionDecl)
[27]   Annotation   ::=   "%" EQName ("(" Literal ("," Literal)* ")")?
[32]   FunctionDecl   ::=   "function" EQName "(" ParamList? ")" ("as" SequenceType)? (FunctionBody | "external")
[33]   ParamList   ::=    Param ("," Param)*
[34]   Param   ::=   "$" EQName TypeDeclaration?
[35]   FunctionBody   ::=    EnclosedExpr
[168]   TypeDeclaration   ::=   "as" SequenceType

A function declaration specifies whether a function is user-defined or external.

[Definition: User defined functions are functions that contain a function body, which provides the implementation of the function as an XQuery expression.] The static context for a function body includes all functions, variables, and namespaces that are declared or imported anywhere in the Prolog, including the function being declared.

[Definition: External functions are functions that are implemented outside the query environment.] For example, an XQuery implementation might provide a set of external functions in addition to the core function library described in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0]. External functions are identified by the keyword external. The purpose of a function declaration for an external function is to declare the datatypes of the function parameters and result, for use in type checking of the query that contains or imports the function declaration.

A function declaration may use function annotations to specify that a function is %private or %public (which is the default). [Definition: A private function is a function with a %private annotation. A private function is hidden from module import, which can not import it into the function signatures of another module. ] [Definition: A public function is a function with a %public annotation. A public function is accessible to module import, which can import it into the function signatures of another module. ] It is a static error [err:XQST0106] if a function's annotations contain more than one annotation named %private or %public.

A function declaration may use the function annotations %deterministic and %nondeterministic to specify that a function is deterministic (which is the default) or nondeterministic. [Definition: A deterministic function is a function that always evaluates to the same result if it is invoked multiple times with the same arguments during the evaluation of a query.] [Definition: A nondeterministic function is a function that is not guaranteed to always return the same result when it is invoked multiple times with the same arguments during the evaluation of a query.] It is a static error [err:XQST0106] if a function's annotations contain more than one annotation named %deterministic or %nondeterministic. An XQuery processor can use static analysis to determine whether a user-defined function is deterministic.

Note:

The XML Query Working Group is actively discussing the best semantics when the determinism of a function, as determined by static analysis, does not agree with determinism declared using the %deterministic or %nondeterministic annotations.

When rewriting expressions into equivalent expressions, as described in 2.3.4 Errors and Optimization, a conforming XQuery implementation must ensure that each run-time invocation of a nondeterministic function in the original expression results in exactly one run-time invocation of the function in the rewritten expression. For instance, suppose the random() function is declared to be nondeterministic:

declare %nondeterministic function my:random( ) as xs:integer external;

Given the above declaration, this expression:

let $r := my:random( )
return
   if ($r > 0 and $r < 10) then "Yes" else "No"

must not be rewritten as

if (my:random( ) > 0 and my:random( ) < 10) then "Yes" else "No"

Similarly, this expression:

for $i in 1 to 10
return my:random( )

must not be rewritten as

let $r := my:random( )
return
     for $i in 1 to 10
     return $r

An XQuery implementation may provide a facility whereby external functions can be implemented using a host programming language, but it is not required to do so. If such a facility is provided, the protocols by which parameters are passed to an external function, and the result of the function is returned to the invoking query, are implementation-defined. An XQuery implementation may augment the type system of [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0] with additional types that are designed to facilitate exchange of data with host programming languages, or it may provide mechanisms for the user to define such types. For example, a type might be provided that encapsulates an object returned by an external function, such as an SQL database connection. These additional types, if defined, are considered to be derived by restriction from xs:anyAtomicType.

An implementation can define annotations, in its own namespace, to support functionality beyond the scope of this specification. For instance, an implementation that supports external Java functions might use an annotation to associate a Java function with an XQuery external function:

declare %java:method("java.lang.Math.sin") function math:sin($a) external;

Every user-defined function must be in a namespace--that is, every declared function name must (when expanded) have a non-null namespace URI [err:XQST0060]. If the function name in a function declaration has no namespace prefix, it is considered to be in the default function namespace. Every function name declared in a library module must (when expanded) be in the target namespace of the library module [err:XQST0048]. It is a static error [err:XQST0045] if the function name in a function declaration (when expanded) is in any of the following namespaces:

  • http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace

  • http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema

  • http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance

  • http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions

  • http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions/math

In order to allow main modules to declare functions for local use within the module without defining a new namespace, XQuery predefines the namespace prefix local to the namespace http://www.w3.org/2005/xquery-local-functions. It is suggested (but not required) that this namespace be used for defining local functions.

If a function parameter is declared using a name but no type, its default type is item()*. If the result type is omitted from a function declaration, its default result type is item()*.

The parameters of a function declaration are considered to be variables whose scope is the function body. It is an static error [err:XQST0039] for a function declaration to have more than one parameter with the same name. The type of a function parameter can be any type that can be expressed as a sequence type.

The following example illustrates the declaration and use of a local function that accepts a sequence of employee elements, summarizes them by department, and returns a sequence of dept elements.

  • Using a function, prepare a summary of employees that are located in Denver.

    declare function local:summary($emps as element(employee)*) 
       as element(dept)*
    {
       for $d in fn:distinct-values($emps/deptno)
       let $e := $emps[deptno = $d]
       return
          <dept>
             <deptno>{$d}</deptno>
             <headcount> {fn:count($e)} </headcount>
             <payroll> {fn:sum($e/salary)} </payroll>
          </dept>
    };
    
    local:summary(fn:doc("acme_corp.xml")//employee[location = "Denver"])

Rules for converting function arguments to their declared parameter types, and for converting the result of a function to its declared result type, are described in 3.1.5 Function Calls.

A function declaration may be recursive—that is, it may reference itself. Mutually recursive functions, whose bodies reference each other, are also allowed. The following example declares a recursive function that computes the maximum depth of a node hierarchy, and calls the function to find the maximum depth of a particular document. The function local:depth calls the built-in functions empty and max, which are in the default function namespace.

  • Find the maximum depth of the document named partlist.xml.

    declare function local:depth($e as node()) as xs:integer
    {
       (: A node with no children has depth 1 :)
       (: Otherwise, add 1 to max depth of children :)
       if (fn:empty($e/*)) then 1
       else fn:max(for $c in $e/* return local:depth($c)) + 1
    };
    
    local:depth(fn:doc("partlist.xml"))
    

[Definition: An expression E depends on a function if any of the following is true:

]

4.19 Option Declaration

[Definition: An option declaration declares an option that affects the behavior of a particular implementation. Each option consists of an identifying EQName and a StringLiteral.]

[37]   OptionDecl   ::=   "declare" "option" EQName StringLiteral

Typically, a particular option will be recognized by some implementations and not by others. The syntax is designed so that option declarations can be successfully parsed by all implementations.

If the EQName of an option is a lexical QName, it must resolve to a namespace URI and local name, using the statically known namespaces [err:XPST0081].

Note:

There is no default namespace for options.

Each implementation recognizes an implementation-defined set of namespace URIs used to denote option declarations.

If the namespace part of the expanded QName is not a namespace recognized by the implementation as one used to denote option declarations, then the option declaration is ignored.

Otherwise, the effect of the option declaration, including its error behavior, is implementation-defined. For example, if the local part of the QName is not recognized, or if the StringLiteral does not conform to the rules defined by the implementation for the particular option declaration, the implementation may choose whether to report an error, ignore the option declaration, or take some other action.

Implementations may impose rules on where particular option declarations may appear relative to variable declarations and function declarations, and the interpretation of an option declaration may depend on its position.

An option declaration must not be used to change the syntax accepted by the processor, or to suppress the detection of static errors. However, it may be used without restriction to modify the semantics of the query. The scope of the option declaration is implementation-defined—for example, an option declaration might apply to the whole query, to the current module, or to the immediately following function declaration.

The following examples illustrate several possible uses for option declarations:

  • This option declaration might be used to specify how comments in source documents returned by the fn:doc() function should be handled:

    declare option exq:strip-comments "true";
    
  • This option declaration might be used to associate a namespace used in function names with a Java class:

    declare namespace math = "http://example.org/MathLibrary";
    declare option exq:java-class "math = java.lang.Math";
    

5 Conformance

This section defines the conformance criteria for an XQuery processor. In this section, the following terms are used to indicate the requirement levels defined in [RFC 2119]. [Definition: MUST means that the item is an absolute requirement of the specification.] [Definition: MUST NOT means that the item is an absolute prohibition of the specification.] [Definition: MAY means that an item is truly optional.] [Definition: SHOULD means that there may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances to ignore a particular item, but the full implications must be understood and carefully weighed before choosing a different course.]

An XQuery processor that claims to conform to this specification MUST include a claim of Minimal Conformance as defined in 5.1 Minimal Conformance. In addition to a claim of Minimal Conformance, it MAY claim conformance to one or more optional features defined in 5.2 Optional Features.

5.1 Minimal Conformance

Minimal Conformance to this specification MUST include all of the following items:

  1. Support for everything specified in this document except those features specified in 5.2 Optional Features to be optional. If an implementation does not provide a given optional feature, it MUST implement any requirements specified in 5.2 Optional Features for implementations that do not provide that feature.

  2. A definition of every item specified to be implementation-defined, unless that item is part of an optional feature that is not supported by the implementation. A list of implementation-defined items can be found in D Implementation-Defined Items.

    Note:

    Implementations are not required to define items specified to be implementation-dependent.

  3. Support for [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0], as specified in 5.3 Data Model Conformance.

  4. Support for all functions defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

5.2 Optional Features

5.2.1 Schema Import Feature

[Definition: The Schema Import Feature permits the query Prolog to contain a schema import.]

If an XQuery implementation does not support the Schema Import Feature, it MUST raise a static error [err:XQST0009] if it encounters a schema import.

Note:

If an implementation does not support the Schema Import Feature, the in-scope schema types consist only of built-in and implementation-defined schema type definitions, as described in C.1 Static Context Components.

5.2.2 Schema Validation Feature

[Definition: The Schema Validation Feature permits a query to contain a validate expression (see 3.16 Validate Expressions.)]

If an XQuery implementation does not support the Schema Validation Feature, it MUST raise a static error [err:XQST0075] if it encounters a validate expression.

5.2.3 Static Typing Feature

[Definition: The Static Typing Feature requires implementations to report all type errors during the static analysis phase.]

If an implementation supports the Static Typing Feature, then it MUST report an error during static analysis whenever the inferred static type of an expression is not subsumed by the required type for the context in which it appears.

If an implementation does not support the Static Typing Feature, then it MAY report type errors during the static analysis phase only in cases where the inferred static type and the required type have an empty intersection (that is, where evaluation of the expression is guaranteed to fail). It MAY defer some or all type checking until the dynamic evaluation phase.

5.2.4 Module Feature

[Definition: A conforming XQuery implementation that supports the Module Feature allows a query Prolog to contain a Module Import and allows library modules to be created.]

A conforming implementation that does not support the Module Feature MUST raise a static error [err:XQST0016] if it encounters a module declaration or a module import. Since a module declaration is required in a library module, the Module Feature is required in order to create a library module.

Note:

In the absence of the Module Feature, each query consists of a single main module.

5.2.5 Serialization Feature

[Definition: A conforming XQuery implementation that supports the Serialization Feature MUST provide means for serializing the result of a query, as specified in 2.2.4 Serialization.]

A conforming XQuery implementation that supports the Serialization Feature MUST conform to 2.2.4 Serialization. The means by which serialization is invoked is implementation-defined.

If an error is raised during the serialization process as specified in [XSLT and XQuery Serialization 3.0], a conforming XQuery implementation MUST report the error to the calling environment.

Note:

Not all implementations need to serialize. For instance, an implementation might provide results via an XML API instead of producing a textual representation.

5.3 Data Model Conformance

All XQuery implementations process data represented in the data model as specified in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0]. The data model specification relies on languages such as XQuery to specify conformance criteria for the data model in their respective environments, and suggests that the following issues should be considered:

  1. Support for normative construction from an infoset. A conforming implementation MAY choose to claim conformance to Section Construction from an InfosetDM30, which defines a normative way to construct an XDM instance from an XML document that is merely well-formed or is governed by a DTD.

  2. Support for normative construction from a PSVI. A conforming implementation MAY choose to claim conformance to Section Construction from a PSVIDM30, which defines a normative way to construct an XDM instance from an XML document that is governed by a W3C XML Schema.

  3. Support for XML 1.0 and XML 1.1. The [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0] supports either [XML 1.0] or [XML 1.1]. In XQuery, the choice of which XML version to support is implementation-defined.

    At the time of writing there is no published version of XML Schema that references the XML 1.1 specifications. This means that datatypes such as xs:NCName and xs:ID are constrained by the XML 1.0 rules. It is recommended that an XQuery 1.0 processor should implement the rules defined by later versions of XML Schema as they become available.

    Note:

    For suggestions on processing XML 1.1 documents, see [XML 1.1 and Schema 1.0].

  4. Ranges of data values. In XQuery, the following limits are implementation-defined:

    1. For the xs:decimal type, the maximum number of decimal digits (totalDigits facet) (must be at least 18).

    2. For the types xs:date, xs:time, xs:dateTime, xs:gYear, and xs:gYearMonth: the maximum value of the year component and the maximum number of fractional second digits (must be at least 3).

    3. For the xs:duration type: the maximum absolute values of the years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds components.

    4. For the xs:yearMonthDuration type: the maximum absolute value, expressed as an integer number of months.

    5. For the xs:dayTimeDuration type: the maximum absolute value, expressed as a decimal number of seconds.

    6. For the types xs:string, xs:hexBinary, xs:base64Binary, xs:QName, xs:anyURI, xs:NOTATION, and types derived from them: limitations (if any) imposed by the implementation on lengths of values.

    The limits listed above need not be fixed, but may depend on environmental factors such as system resources. For example, the length of a value of type xs:string may be limited by available memory.

5.4 Syntax Extensions

Any syntactic extensions to XQuery are implementation-defined. The effect of syntactic extensions, including their error behavior, is implementation-defined. Syntactic extensions may be used without restriction to modify the semantics of a XQuery expression.

A XQuery 3.0 Grammar

A.1 EBNF

The grammar of XQuery 3.0 uses the same simple Extended Backus-Naur Form (EBNF) notation as [XML 1.0] with the following minor differences.

  • All named symbols have a name that begins with an uppercase letter.

  • It adds a notation for referring to productions in external specs.

  • Comments or extra-grammatical constraints on grammar productions are between '/*' and '*/' symbols.

    • A 'xgc:' prefix is an extra-grammatical constraint, the details of which are explained in A.1.2 Extra-grammatical Constraints

    • A 'ws:' prefix explains the whitespace rules for the production, the details of which are explained in A.2.4 Whitespace Rules

    • A 'gn:' prefix means a 'Grammar Note', and is meant as a clarification for parsing rules, and is explained in A.1.3 Grammar Notes. These notes are not normative.

The terminal symbols for this grammar include the quoted strings used in the production rules below, and the terminal symbols defined in section A.2.1 Terminal Symbols.

The EBNF notation is described in more detail in A.1.1 Notation.

To increase readability, the EBNF in the main body of this document omits some of these notational features. This appendix is the normative version of the EBNF.

[1]   Module   ::=    VersionDecl? (LibraryModule | MainModule)
[2]   VersionDecl   ::=   "xquery" (("encoding" StringLiteral) | ("version" StringLiteral ("encoding" StringLiteral)?)) Separator
[3]   MainModule   ::=    Prolog QueryBody
[4]   LibraryModule   ::=    ModuleDecl Prolog
[5]   ModuleDecl   ::=   "module" "namespace" NCName "=" URILiteral Separator
[6]   Prolog   ::=   ((DefaultNamespaceDecl | Setter | NamespaceDecl | Import) Separator)* ((ContextItemDecl | AnnotatedDecl | OptionDecl) Separator)*
[7]   Separator   ::=   ";"
[8]   Setter   ::=    BoundarySpaceDecl | DefaultCollationDecl | BaseURIDecl | ConstructionDecl | OrderingModeDecl | EmptyOrderDecl | CopyNamespacesDecl | DecimalFormatDecl
[9]   BoundarySpaceDecl   ::=   "declare" "boundary-space" ("preserve" | "strip")
[10]   DefaultCollationDecl   ::=   "declare" "default" "collation" URILiteral
[11]   BaseURIDecl   ::=   "declare" "base-uri" URILiteral
[12]   ConstructionDecl   ::=   "declare" "construction" ("strip" | "preserve")
[13]   OrderingModeDecl   ::=   "declare" "ordering" ("ordered" | "unordered")
[14]   EmptyOrderDecl   ::=   "declare" "default" "order" "empty" ("greatest" | "least")
[15]   CopyNamespacesDecl   ::=   "declare" "copy-namespaces" PreserveMode "," InheritMode
[16]   PreserveMode   ::=   "preserve" | "no-preserve"
[17]   InheritMode   ::=   "inherit" | "no-inherit"
[18]   DecimalFormatDecl   ::=   "declare" (("decimal-format" EQName) | ("default" "decimal-format")) (DFPropertyName "=" StringLiteral)*
[19]   DFPropertyName   ::=   "decimal-separator" | "grouping-separator" | "infinity" | "minus-sign" | "NaN" | "percent" | "per-mille" | "zero-digit" | "digit" | "pattern-separator"
[20]   Import   ::=    SchemaImport | ModuleImport
[21]   SchemaImport   ::=   "import" "schema" SchemaPrefix? URILiteral ("at" URILiteral ("," URILiteral)*)?
[22]   SchemaPrefix   ::=   ("namespace" NCName "=") | ("default" "element" "namespace")
[23]   ModuleImport   ::=   "import" "module" ("namespace" NCName "=")? URILiteral ("at" URILiteral ("," URILiteral)*)?
[24]   NamespaceDecl   ::=   "declare" "namespace" NCName "=" URILiteral
[25]   DefaultNamespaceDecl   ::=   "declare" "default" ("element" | "function") "namespace" URILiteral
[26]   AnnotatedDecl   ::=   "declare" Annotation* (VarDecl | FunctionDecl)
[27]   Annotation   ::=   "%" EQName ("(" Literal ("," Literal)* ")")?
[28]   VarDecl   ::=   "variable" "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? ((":=" VarValue) | ("external" (":=" VarDefaultValue)?))
[29]   VarValue   ::=    ExprSingle
[30]   VarDefaultValue   ::=    ExprSingle
[31]   ContextItemDecl   ::=   "declare" "context" "item" ("as" ItemType)? ((":=" VarValue) | ("external" (":=" VarDefaultValue)?))
[32]   FunctionDecl   ::=   "function" EQName "(" ParamList? ")" ("as" SequenceType)? (FunctionBody | "external")/* xgc: reserved-function-namesXQ30 */
[33]   ParamList   ::=    Param ("," Param)*
[34]   Param   ::=   "$" EQName TypeDeclaration?
[35]   FunctionBody   ::=    EnclosedExpr
[36]   EnclosedExpr   ::=   "{" Expr "}"
[37]   OptionDecl   ::=   "declare" "option" EQName StringLiteral
[38]   QueryBody   ::=    Expr
[39]   Expr   ::=    ExprSingle ("," ExprSingle)*
[40]   ExprSingle   ::=    FLWORExpr
| QuantifiedExpr
| SwitchExpr
| TypeswitchExpr
| IfExpr
| TryCatchExpr
| OrExpr
[41]   FLWORExpr   ::=    InitialClause IntermediateClause* ReturnClause
[42]   InitialClause   ::=    ForClause | LetClause | WindowClause
[43]   IntermediateClause   ::=    InitialClause | WhereClause | GroupByClause | OrderByClause | CountClause
[44]   ForClause   ::=   "for" ForBinding ("," ForBinding)*
[45]   ForBinding   ::=   "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? AllowingEmpty? PositionalVar? "in" ExprSingle
[46]   AllowingEmpty   ::=   "allowing" "empty"
[47]   PositionalVar   ::=   "at" "$" VarName
[48]   LetClause   ::=   "let" LetBinding ("," LetBinding)*
[49]   LetBinding   ::=   "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? ":=" ExprSingle
[50]   WindowClause   ::=   "for" (TumblingWindowClause | SlidingWindowClause)
[51]   TumblingWindowClause   ::=   "tumbling" "window" "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? "in" ExprSingle WindowStartCondition WindowEndCondition?
[52]   SlidingWindowClause   ::=   "sliding" "window" "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? "in" ExprSingle WindowStartCondition WindowEndCondition
[53]   WindowStartCondition   ::=   "start" WindowVars "when" ExprSingle
[54]   WindowEndCondition   ::=   "only"? "end" WindowVars "when" ExprSingle
[55]   WindowVars   ::=   ("$" CurrentItem)? PositionalVar? ("previous" "$" PreviousItem)? ("next" "$" NextItem)?
[56]   CurrentItem   ::=    EQName
[57]   PreviousItem   ::=    EQName
[58]   NextItem   ::=    EQName
[59]   CountClause   ::=   "count" "$" VarName
[60]   WhereClause   ::=   "where" ExprSingle
[61]   GroupByClause   ::=   "group" "by" GroupingSpecList
[62]   GroupingSpecList   ::=    GroupingSpec ("," GroupingSpec)*
[63]   GroupingSpec   ::=   "$" VarName ("collation" URILiteral)?
[64]   OrderByClause   ::=   (("order" "by") | ("stable" "order" "by")) OrderSpecList
[65]   OrderSpecList   ::=    OrderSpec ("," OrderSpec)*
[66]   OrderSpec   ::=    ExprSingle OrderModifier
[67]   OrderModifier   ::=   ("ascending" | "descending")? ("empty" ("greatest" | "least"))? ("collation" URILiteral)?
[68]   ReturnClause   ::=   "return" ExprSingle
[69]   QuantifiedExpr   ::=   ("some" | "every") "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? "in" ExprSingle ("," "$" VarName TypeDeclaration? "in" ExprSingle)* "satisfies" ExprSingle
[70]   SwitchExpr   ::=   "switch" "(" Expr ")" SwitchCaseClause+ "default" "return" ExprSingle
[71]   SwitchCaseClause   ::=   ("case" SwitchCaseOperand)+ "return" ExprSingle
[72]   SwitchCaseOperand   ::=    ExprSingle
[73]   TypeswitchExpr   ::=   "typeswitch" "(" Expr ")" CaseClause+ "default" ("$" VarName)? "return" ExprSingle
[74]   CaseClause   ::=   "case" ("$" VarName "as")? SequenceTypeUnion "return" ExprSingle
[75]   SequenceTypeUnion   ::=    SequenceType ("|" SequenceType)*
[76]   IfExpr   ::=   "if" "(" Expr ")" "then" ExprSingle "else" ExprSingle
[77]   TryCatchExpr   ::=    TryClause CatchClause+
[78]   TryClause   ::=   "try" "{" TryTargetExpr "}"
[79]   TryTargetExpr   ::=    Expr
[80]   CatchClause   ::=   "catch" CatchErrorList CatchVars? "{" Expr "}"
[81]   CatchErrorList   ::=    NameTest ("|" NameTest)*
[82]   CatchVars   ::=   "(" CatchErrorCode ("," CatchErrorDesc ("," CatchErrorVal)?)? ")"
[83]   CatchErrorCode   ::=   "$" VarName
[84]   CatchErrorDesc   ::=   "$" VarName
[85]   CatchErrorVal   ::=   "$" VarName
[86]   OrExpr   ::=    AndExpr ( "or" AndExpr )*
[87]   AndExpr   ::=    ComparisonExpr ( "and" ComparisonExpr )*
[88]   ComparisonExpr   ::=    RangeExpr ( (ValueComp
| GeneralComp
| NodeComp) RangeExpr )?
[89]   RangeExpr   ::=    AdditiveExpr ( "to" AdditiveExpr )?
[90]   AdditiveExpr   ::=    MultiplicativeExpr ( ("+" | "-") MultiplicativeExpr )*
[91]   MultiplicativeExpr   ::=    UnionExpr ( ("*" | "div" | "idiv" | "mod") UnionExpr )*
[92]   UnionExpr   ::=    IntersectExceptExpr ( ("union" | "|") IntersectExceptExpr )*
[93]   IntersectExceptExpr   ::=    InstanceofExpr ( ("intersect" | "except") InstanceofExpr )*
[94]   InstanceofExpr   ::=    TreatExpr ( "instance" "of" SequenceType )?
[95]   TreatExpr   ::=    CastableExpr ( "treat" "as" SequenceType )?
[96]   CastableExpr   ::=    CastExpr ( "castable" "as" SingleType )?
[97]   CastExpr   ::=    UnaryExpr ( "cast" "as" SingleType )?
[98]   UnaryExpr   ::=   ("-" | "+")* ValueExpr
[99]   ValueExpr   ::=    ValidateExpr | PathExpr | ExtensionExpr
[100]   GeneralComp   ::=   "=" | "!=" | "<" | "<=" | ">" | ">="
[101]   ValueComp   ::=   "eq" | "ne" | "lt" | "le" | "gt" | "ge"
[102]   NodeComp   ::=   "is" | "<<" | ">>"
[103]   ValidateExpr   ::=   "validate" (ValidationMode | ("type" TypeName))? "{" Expr "}"
[104]   ValidationMode   ::=   "lax" | "strict"
[105]   ExtensionExpr   ::=    Pragma+ "{" Expr? "}"
[106]   Pragma   ::=   "(#" S? EQName (S PragmaContents)? "#)"/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[107]   PragmaContents   ::=   (Char* - (Char* '#)' Char*))
[108]   PathExpr   ::=   ("/" RelativePathExpr?)
| ("//" RelativePathExpr)
| RelativePathExpr
/* xgc: leading-lone-slashXQ30 */
[109]   RelativePathExpr   ::=    StepExpr (("/" | "//") StepExpr)*
[110]   StepExpr   ::=    PostfixExpr | AxisStep
[111]   AxisStep   ::=   (ReverseStep | ForwardStep) PredicateList
[112]   ForwardStep   ::=   (ForwardAxis NodeTest) | AbbrevForwardStep
[113]   ForwardAxis   ::=   ("child" "::")
| ("descendant" "::")
| ("attribute" "::")
| ("self" "::")
| ("descendant-or-self" "::")
| ("following-sibling" "::")
| ("following" "::")
[114]   AbbrevForwardStep   ::=   "@"? NodeTest
[115]   ReverseStep   ::=   (ReverseAxis NodeTest) | AbbrevReverseStep
[116]   ReverseAxis   ::=   ("parent" "::")
| ("ancestor" "::")
| ("preceding-sibling" "::")
| ("preceding" "::")
| ("ancestor-or-self" "::")
[117]   AbbrevReverseStep   ::=   ".."
[118]   NodeTest   ::=    KindTest | NameTest
[119]   NameTest   ::=    EQName | Wildcard
[120]   Wildcard   ::=   "*"
| (NCName ":" "*")
| ("*" ":" NCName)
/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[121]   PostfixExpr   ::=    PrimaryExpr (Predicate | ArgumentList)*
[122]   ArgumentList   ::=   "(" (Argument ("," Argument)*)? ")"
[123]   PredicateList   ::=    Predicate*
[124]   Predicate   ::=   "[" Expr "]"
[125]   PrimaryExpr   ::=    Literal
| VarRef
| ParenthesizedExpr
| ContextItemExpr
| FunctionCall
| OrderedExpr
| UnorderedExpr
| Constructor
| FunctionItemExpr
[126]   Literal   ::=    NumericLiteral | StringLiteral
[127]   NumericLiteral   ::=    IntegerLiteral | DecimalLiteral | DoubleLiteral
[128]   VarRef   ::=   "$" VarName
[129]   VarName   ::=    EQName
[130]   ParenthesizedExpr   ::=   "(" Expr? ")"
[131]   ContextItemExpr   ::=   "."
[132]   OrderedExpr   ::=   "ordered" "{" Expr "}"
[133]   UnorderedExpr   ::=   "unordered" "{" Expr "}"
[134]   FunctionCall   ::=    EQName ArgumentList /* xgc: reserved-function-namesXQ30 */
/* gn: parensXQ30 */
[135]   Argument   ::=    ExprSingle | ArgumentPlaceholder
[136]   ArgumentPlaceholder   ::=   "?"
[137]   Constructor   ::=    DirectConstructor
| ComputedConstructor
[138]   DirectConstructor   ::=    DirElemConstructor
| DirCommentConstructor
| DirPIConstructor
[139]   DirElemConstructor   ::=   "<" QName DirAttributeList ("/>" | (">" DirElemContent* "</" QName S? ">"))/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[140]   DirAttributeList   ::=   (S (QName S? "=" S? DirAttributeValue)?)*/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[141]   DirAttributeValue   ::=   ('"' (EscapeQuot | QuotAttrValueContent)* '"')
| ("'" (EscapeApos | AposAttrValueContent)* "'")
/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[142]   QuotAttrValueContent   ::=    QuotAttrContentChar
| CommonContent
[143]   AposAttrValueContent   ::=    AposAttrContentChar
| CommonContent
[144]   DirElemContent   ::=    DirectConstructor
| CDataSection
| CommonContent
| ElementContentChar
[145]   CommonContent   ::=    PredefinedEntityRef | CharRef | "{{" | "}}" | EnclosedExpr
[146]   DirCommentConstructor   ::=   "<!--" DirCommentContents "-->"/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[147]   DirCommentContents   ::=   ((Char - '-') | ('-' (Char - '-')))*/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[148]   DirPIConstructor   ::=   "<?" PITarget (S DirPIContents)? "?>"/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[149]   DirPIContents   ::=   (Char* - (Char* '?>' Char*))/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[150]   CDataSection   ::=   "<![CDATA[" CDataSectionContents "]]>"/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[151]   CDataSectionContents   ::=   (Char* - (Char* ']]>' Char*))/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[152]   ComputedConstructor   ::=    CompDocConstructor
| CompElemConstructor
| CompAttrConstructor
| CompNamespaceConstructor
| CompTextConstructor
| CompCommentConstructor
| CompPIConstructor
[153]   CompDocConstructor   ::=   "document" "{" Expr "}"
[154]   CompElemConstructor   ::=   "element" (EQName | ("{" Expr "}")) "{" ContentExpr? "}"
[155]   ContentExpr   ::=    Expr
[156]   CompAttrConstructor   ::=   "attribute" (EQName | ("{" Expr "}")) "{" Expr? "}"
[157]   CompNamespaceConstructor   ::=   "namespace" (Prefix | ("{" PrefixExpr "}")) "{" URIExpr? "}"
[158]   Prefix   ::=    NCName
[159]   PrefixExpr   ::=    Expr
[160]   URIExpr   ::=    Expr
[161]   CompTextConstructor   ::=   "text" "{" Expr "}"
[162]   CompCommentConstructor   ::=   "comment" "{" Expr "}"
[163]   CompPIConstructor   ::=   "processing-instruction" (NCName | ("{" Expr "}")) "{" Expr? "}"
[164]   FunctionItemExpr   ::=    LiteralFunctionItem | InlineFunction
[165]   LiteralFunctionItem   ::=    EQName "#" IntegerLiteral /* xgc: reserved-function-namesXQ30 */
[166]   InlineFunction   ::=   "function" "(" ParamList? ")" ("as" SequenceType)? EnclosedExpr
[167]   SingleType   ::=    AtomicOrUnionType "?"?
[168]   TypeDeclaration   ::=   "as" SequenceType
[169]   SequenceType   ::=   ("empty-sequence" "(" ")")
| (ItemType OccurrenceIndicator?)
[170]   OccurrenceIndicator   ::=   "?" | "*" | "+"/* xgc: occurrence-indicatorsXQ30 */
[171]   ItemType   ::=    KindTest | ("item" "(" ")") | FunctionTest | AtomicOrUnionType | ParenthesizedItemType
[172]   AtomicOrUnionType   ::=    EQName
[173]   KindTest   ::=    DocumentTest
| ElementTest
| AttributeTest
| SchemaElementTest
| SchemaAttributeTest
| PITest
| CommentTest
| TextTest
| NamespaceNodeTest
| AnyKindTest
[174]   AnyKindTest   ::=   "node" "(" ")"
[175]   DocumentTest   ::=   "document-node" "(" (ElementTest | SchemaElementTest)? ")"
[176]   TextTest   ::=   "text" "(" ")"
[177]   CommentTest   ::=   "comment" "(" ")"
[178]   NamespaceNodeTest   ::=   "namespace-node" "(" ")"
[179]   PITest   ::=   "processing-instruction" "(" (NCName | StringLiteral)? ")"
[180]   AttributeTest   ::=   "attribute" "(" (AttribNameOrWildcard ("," TypeName)?)? ")"
[181]   AttribNameOrWildcard   ::=    AttributeName | "*"
[182]   SchemaAttributeTest   ::=   "schema-attribute" "(" AttributeDeclaration ")"
[183]   AttributeDeclaration   ::=    AttributeName
[184]   ElementTest   ::=   "element" "(" (ElementNameOrWildcard ("," TypeName "?"?)?)? ")"
[185]   ElementNameOrWildcard   ::=    ElementName | "*"
[186]   SchemaElementTest   ::=   "schema-element" "(" ElementDeclaration ")"
[187]   ElementDeclaration   ::=    ElementName
[188]   AttributeName   ::=    EQName
[189]   ElementName   ::=    EQName
[190]   TypeName   ::=    EQName
[191]   FunctionTest   ::=    Annotation* (AnyFunctionTest
| TypedFunctionTest)
[192]   AnyFunctionTest   ::=   "function" "(" "*" ")"
[193]   TypedFunctionTest   ::=   "function" "(" (SequenceType ("," SequenceType)*)? ")" "as" SequenceType
[194]   ParenthesizedItemType   ::=   "(" ItemType ")"
[195]   URILiteral   ::=    StringLiteral
[196]   EQName   ::=    QName | (URILiteral ":" NCName)/* ws: explicitXQ30 */

A.1.1 Notation

The following definitions will be helpful in defining precisely this exposition.

[Definition: Each rule in the grammar defines one symbol, using the following format:

symbol ::= expression

]

[Definition: A terminal is a symbol or string or pattern that can appear in the right-hand side of a rule, but never appears on the left hand side in the main grammar, although it may appear on the left-hand side of a rule in the grammar for terminals.] The following constructs are used to match strings of one or more characters in a terminal:

[a-zA-Z]

matches any Char with a value in the range(s) indicated (inclusive).

[abc]

matches any Char with a value among the characters enumerated. Enumerations and ranges can be mixed in one set of brackets.

[^abc]

matches any Char with a value not among the characters given. Enumerations and ranges of forbidden values can be mixed in one set of brackets.

"string"

matches the sequence of characters that appear inside the double quotes.

'string'

matches the sequence of characters that appear inside the single quotes.

[http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-example/#NT-Example]

matches any string matched by the production defined in the external specification as per the provided reference.

Patterns (including the above constructs) can be combined with grammatical operators to form more complex patterns, matching more complex sets of character strings. In the examples that follow, A and B represent (sub-)patterns.

(A)

A is treated as a unit and may be combined as described in this list.

A?

matches A or nothing; optional A.

A B

matches A followed by B. This operator has higher precedence than alternation; thus A B | C D is identical to (A B) | (C D).

A | B

matches A or B but not both.

A - B

matches any string that matches A but does not match B.

A+

matches one or more occurrences of A. Concatenation has higher precedence than alternation; thus A+ | B+ is identical to (A+) | (B+).

A*

matches zero or more occurrences of A. Concatenation has higher precedence than alternation; thus A* | B* is identical to (A*) | (B*)

A.1.2 Extra-grammatical Constraints

This section contains constraints on the EBNF productions, which are required to parse syntactically valid sentences. The notes below are referenced from the right side of the production, with the notation: /* xgc: <id> */.

Constraint: leading-lone-slash

A single slash may appear either as a complete path expression or as the first part of a path expression in which it is followed by a RelativePathExpr. In some cases, the next token after the slash is insufficient to allow a parser to distinguish these two possibilities: the * token and keywords like union could be either an operator or a NameTest , and the < token could be either an operator or the start of a DirectConstructor . For example, without lookahead the first part of the expression / * 5 is easily taken to be a complete expression, / *, which has a very different interpretation (the child nodes of /).

Therefore to reduce the need for lookahead, if the token immediately following a slash can form the start of a RelativePathExpr, then the slash must be the beginning of a PathExpr, not the entirety of it.

A single slash may be used as the left-hand argument of an operator by parenthesizing it: (/) * 5. The expression 5 * /, on the other hand, is syntactically valid without parentheses.

Constraint: xml-version

An implementation's choice to support the [XML 1.0] and [XML Names], or [XML 1.1] and [XML Names 1.1] lexical specification determines the external document from which to obtain the definition for this production. The EBNF only has references to the 1.0 versions. In some cases, the XML 1.0 and XML 1.1 definitions may be exactly the same. Also please note that these external productions follow the whitespace rules of their respective specifications, and not the rules of this specification, in particular A.2.4.1 Default Whitespace Handling. Thus prefix : localname is not a syntactically valid lexical QName for purposes of this specification, just as it is not permitted in a XML document. Also, comments are not permissible on either side of the colon. Also extra-grammatical constraints such as well-formedness constraints must be taken into account.

Constraint: reserved-function-names

Unprefixed function names spelled the same way as language keywords could make the language harder to recognize. For instance, if(foo) could be taken either as a FunctionCall or as the beginning of an IfExpr. Therefore, an unprefixed function name must not be any of the names in A.3 Reserved Function Names.

A function named "if" can be called by binding its namespace to a prefix and using the prefixed form: "library:if(foo)" instead of "if(foo)".

Constraint: occurrence-indicators

As written, the grammar in A XQuery 3.0 Grammar is ambiguous for some forms using the '+' and '*' Kleene operators. The ambiguity is resolved as follows: these operators are tightly bound to the SequenceType expression, and have higher precedence than other uses of these symbols. Any occurrence of '+' and '*', as well as '?', following a sequence type is assumed to be an occurrence indicator, which binds to the last ItemType in the SequenceType.

Thus, 4 treat as item() + - 5 must be interpreted as (4 treat as item()+) - 5, taking the '+' as an OccurrenceIndicator and the '-' as a subtraction operator. To force the interpretation of "+" as an addition operator (and the corresponding interpretation of the "-" as a unary minus), parentheses may be used: the form (4 treat as item()) + -5 surrounds the SequenceType expression with parentheses and leads to the desired interpretation.

function () as xs:string * is interpreted as function () as (xs:string *), not as (function () as xs:string) *. Parentheses can be used as shown to force the latter interpretation.

This rule has as a consequence that certain forms which would otherwise be syntactically valid and unambiguous are not recognized: in "4 treat as item() + 5", the "+" is taken as an OccurrenceIndicator, and not as an operator, which means this is not a syntactically valid expression.

A.1.3 Grammar Notes

This section contains general notes on the EBNF productions, which may be helpful in understanding how to interpret and implement the EBNF. These notes are not normative. The notes below are referenced from the right side of the production, with the notation: /* gn: <id> */.

Note:

grammar-note: parens

Look-ahead is required to distinguish FunctionCall from a EQName or keyword followed by a Pragma or Comment. For example: address (: this may be empty :) may be mistaken for a call to a function named "address" unless this lookahead is employed. Another example is for (: whom the bell :) $tolls in 3 return $tolls, where the keyword "for" must not be mistaken for a function name.

grammar-note: comments

Comments are allowed everywhere that ignorable whitespace is allowed, and the Comment symbol does not explicitly appear on the right-hand side of the grammar (except in its own production). See A.2.4.1 Default Whitespace Handling. Note that comments are not allowed in direct constructor content, though they are allowed in nested EnclosedExprs.

A comment can contain nested comments, as long as all "(:" and ":)" patterns are balanced, no matter where they occur within the outer comment.

Note:

Lexical analysis may typically handle nested comments by incrementing a counter for each "(:" pattern, and decrementing the counter for each ":)" pattern. The comment does not terminate until the counter is back to zero.

Some illustrative examples:

  • (: commenting out a (: comment :) may be confusing, but often helpful :) is a syntactically valid Comment, since balanced nesting of comments is allowed.

  • "this is just a string :)" is a syntactically valid expression. However, (: "this is just a string :)" :) will cause a syntax error. Likewise, "this is another string (:" is a syntactically valid expression, but (: "this is another string (:" :) will cause a syntax error. It is a limitation of nested comments that literal content can cause unbalanced nesting of comments.

  • for (: set up loop :) $i in $x return $i is syntactically valid, ignoring the comment.

  • 5 instance (: strange place for a comment :) of xs:integer is also syntactically valid.

  • <eg (: an example:)>{$i//title}</eg> is not syntactically valid.

  • <eg> (: an example:) </eg> is syntactically valid, but the characters that look like a comment are in fact literal element content.

A.2 Lexical structure

The terminal symbols assumed by the grammar above are described in this section.

Quoted strings appearing in production rules are terminal symbols.

Other terminal symbols are defined in A.2.1 Terminal Symbols.

It is implementation-defined whether the lexical rules of [XML 1.0] and [XML Names] are followed, or alternatively, the lexical rules of [XML 1.1] and [XML Names 1.1] are followed. Implementations that support the full [XML 1.1] character set SHOULD, for purposes of interoperability, provide a mode that follows only the [XML 1.0] and [XML Names] lexical rules.

When tokenizing, the longest possible match that is valid in the current context is used.

All keywords are case sensitive. Keywords are not reserved—that is, any lexical QName may duplicate a keyword except as noted in A.3 Reserved Function Names.

A.2.1 Terminal Symbols

[197]   IntegerLiteral   ::=    Digits
[198]   DecimalLiteral   ::=   ("." Digits) | (Digits "." [0-9]*)/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[199]   DoubleLiteral   ::=   (("." Digits) | (Digits ("." [0-9]*)?)) [eE] [+-]? Digits /* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[200]   StringLiteral   ::=   ('"' (PredefinedEntityRef | CharRef | EscapeQuot | [^"&])* '"') | ("'" (PredefinedEntityRef | CharRef | EscapeApos | [^'&])* "'")/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[201]   PredefinedEntityRef   ::=   "&" ("lt" | "gt" | "amp" | "quot" | "apos") ";"/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
[202]   EscapeQuot   ::=   '""'
[203]   EscapeApos   ::=   "''"
[204]   ElementContentChar   ::=    Char - [{}<&]
[205]   QuotAttrContentChar   ::=    Char - ["{}<&]
[206]   AposAttrContentChar   ::=    Char - ['{}<&]
[207]   Comment   ::=   "(:" (CommentContents | Comment)* ":)"/* ws: explicitXQ30 */
/* gn: commentsXQ30 */
[208]   PITarget   ::=    [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml#NT-PITarget]XML /* xgc: xml-versionXQ30 */
[209]   CharRef   ::=    [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml#NT-CharRef]XML /* xgc: xml-versionXQ30 */
[210]   QName   ::=    [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/#NT-QName]Names /* xgc: xml-versionXQ30 */
[211]   NCName   ::=    [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/#NT-NCName]Names /* xgc: xml-versionXQ30 */
[212]   S   ::=    [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml#NT-S]XML /* xgc: xml-versionXQ30 */
[213]   Char   ::=    [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml#NT-Char]XML /* xgc: xml-versionXQ30 */

The following symbols are used only in the definition of terminal symbols; they are not terminal symbols in the grammar of A.1 EBNF.

[214]   Digits   ::=   [0-9]+
[215]   CommentContents   ::=   (Char+ - (Char* ('(:' | ':)') Char*))

A.2.2 Terminal Delimitation

XQuery 3.0 expressions consist of terminal symbols and symbol separators.

Terminal symbols that are not used exclusively in /* ws: explicit */ productions are of two kinds: delimiting and non-delimiting.

[Definition: The delimiting terminal symbols are: S, "!=", StringLiteral, "#", "#)", "$", "%", "(", "(#", ")", "*", "+", (comma), "-", "-->", (dot), "..", "/", "//", "/>", (colon), "::", ":=", (semi-colon), "<", "<!--", "<![CDATA[", "</", "<<", "<=", "<?", "=", ">", ">=", ">>", "?", "?>", "@", "[", "]", "]]>", "{", "|", "}" ]

[Definition: The non-delimiting terminal symbols are: IntegerLiteral, NCName, DecimalLiteral, DoubleLiteral, QName, "NaN", "allowing", "ancestor", "ancestor-or-self", "and", "as", "ascending", "at", "attribute", "base-uri", "boundary-space", "by", "case", "cast", "castable", "catch", "child", "collation", "comment", "construction", "context", "copy-namespaces", "count", "decimal-format", "decimal-separator", "declare", "default", "descendant", "descendant-or-self", "descending", "digit", "div", "document", "document-node", "element", "else", "empty", "empty-sequence", "encoding", "end", "eq", "every", "except", "external", "following", "following-sibling", "for", "function", "ge", "greatest", "group", "grouping-separator", "gt", "idiv", "if", "import", "in", "infinity", "inherit", "instance", "intersect", "is", "item", "lax", "le", "least", "let", "lt", "minus-sign", "mod", "module", "namespace", "namespace-node", "ne", "next", "no-inherit", "no-preserve", "node", "of", "only", "option", "or", "order", "ordered", "ordering", "parent", "pattern-separator", "per-mille", "percent", "preceding", "preceding-sibling", "preserve", "previous", "processing-instruction", "return", "satisfies", "schema", "schema-attribute", "schema-element", "self", "sliding", "some", "stable", "start", "strict", "strip", "switch", "text", "then", "to", "treat", "try", "tumbling", "type", "typeswitch", "union", "unordered", "validate", "variable", "version", "when", "where", "window", "xquery", "zero-digit" ]

[Definition: Whitespace and Comments function as symbol separators. For the most part, they are not mentioned in the grammar, and may occur between any two terminal symbols mentioned in the grammar, except where that is forbidden by the /* ws: explicit */ annotation in the EBNF, or by the /* xgc: xml-version */ annotation.]

It is customary to separate consecutive terminal symbols by whitespace and Comments, but this is required only when otherwise two non-delimiting symbols would be adjacent to each other. There are two exceptions to this, that of "." and "-", which do require a symbol separator if they follow a QName or NCName. Also, "." requires a separator if it precedes or follows a numeric literal.

A.2.3 End-of-Line Handling

The XQuery 3.0 processor must behave as if it normalized all line breaks on input, before parsing. The normalization should be done according to the choice to support either [XML 1.0] or [XML 1.1] lexical processing.

A.2.3.1 XML 1.0 End-of-Line Handling

For [XML 1.0] processing, all of the following must be translated to a single #xA character:

  1. the two-character sequence #xD #xA

  2. any #xD character that is not immediately followed by #xA.

A.2.3.2 XML 1.1 End-of-Line Handling

For [XML 1.1] processing, all of the following must be translated to a single #xA character:

  1. the two-character sequence #xD #xA

  2. the two-character sequence #xD #x85

  3. the single character #x85

  4. the single character #x2028

  5. any #xD character that is not immediately followed by #xA or #x85.

The characters #x85 and #x2028 cannot be reliably recognized and translated until the VersionDecl declaration (if present) has been read.

A.2.4 Whitespace Rules

A.2.4.1 Default Whitespace Handling

[Definition: A whitespace character is any of the characters defined by [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#NT-S].]

[Definition: Ignorable whitespace consists of any whitespace characters that may occur between terminals, unless these characters occur in the context of a production marked with a ws:explicit annotation, in which case they can occur only where explicitly specified (see A.2.4.2 Explicit Whitespace Handling).] Ignorable whitespace characters are not significant to the semantics of an expression. Whitespace is allowed before the first terminal and after the last terminal of a module. Whitespace is allowed between any two terminals. Comments may also act as "whitespace" to prevent two adjacent terminals from being recognized as one. Some illustrative examples are as follows:

  • foo- foo results in a syntax error. "foo-" would be recognized as a QName.

  • foo -foo is syntactically equivalent to foo - foo, two QNames separated by a subtraction operator.

  • foo(: This is a comment :)- foo is syntactically equivalent to foo - foo. This is because the comment prevents the two adjacent terminals from being recognized as one.

  • foo-foo is syntactically equivalent to single QName. This is because "-" is a valid character in a QName. When used as an operator after the characters of a name, the "-" must be separated from the name, e.g. by using whitespace or parentheses.

  • 10div 3 results in a syntax error.

  • 10 div3 also results in a syntax error.

  • 10div3 also results in a syntax error.

A.4 Precedence Order (Non-Normative)

The grammar in A.1 EBNF normatively defines built-in precedence among the operators of XQuery. These operators are summarized here to make clear the order of their precedence from lowest to highest. The associativity column indicates the order in which operators of equal precedence in an expression are applied.

#OperatorAssociativity
1, (comma)either
2 FLWOR, some, every, switch, typeswitch, try, if NA
3 or either
4 and either
5 eq, ne, lt, le, gt, ge, =, !=, <, <=, >, >=, is, <<, >> NA
6 to NA
7 +, - (binary) left-to-right
8 *, div, idiv, mod left-to-right
9 union, | either
10 intersect, except left-to-right
11 instance of NA
12 treat as NA
13 castable as NA
14 cast as NA
15 -, + (unary) right-to-left
16 /, // left-to-right
17 [ ] left-to-right

In the "Associativity" column, "either" indicates that all the operators at that level have the associative property (i.e., (A op B) op C is equivalent to A op (B op C)), so their associativity is inconsequential. "NA" (not applicable) indicates that the EBNF does not allow an expression that directly contains multiple operators from that precedence level, so the question of their associativity does not arise.

Note:

Parentheses can be used to override the operator precedence in the usual way. Square brackets in an expression such as A[B] serve two roles: they act as an operator causing B to be evaluated once for each item in the value of A, and they act as parentheses enclosing the expression B.

Curly braces in an expression such as validate{E} or ordered{E} perform a similar bracketing role to the parentheses in a function call, but with the difference in most cases that E is an Expr rather than ExprSingle, meaning that it can use the comma operator.

B Type Promotion and Operator Mapping

B.1 Type Promotion

[Definition: Under certain circumstances, an atomic value can be promoted from one type to another. Type promotion is used in evaluating function calls (see 3.1.5 Function Calls), order by clauses (see 3.9.8 Order By Clause), and operators that accept numeric or string operands (see B.2 Operator Mapping).] The following type promotions are permitted:

  1. Numeric type promotion:

    1. A value of type xs:float (or any type derived by restriction from xs:float) can be promoted to the type xs:double. The result is the xs:double value that is the same as the original value.

    2. A value of type xs:decimal (or any type derived by restriction from xs:decimal) can be promoted to either of the types xs:float or xs:double. The result of this promotion is created by casting the original value to the required type. This kind of promotion may cause loss of precision.

  2. URI type promotion: A value of type xs:anyURI (or any type derived by restriction from xs:anyURI) can be promoted to the type xs:string. The result of this promotion is created by casting the original value to the type xs:string.

    Note:

    Since xs:anyURI values can be promoted to xs:string, functions and operators that compare strings using the default collation also compare xs:anyURI values using the default collation. This ensures that orderings that include strings, xs:anyURI values, or any combination of the two types are consistent and well-defined.

Note that type promotion is different from subtype substitution. For example:

  • A function that expects a parameter $p of type xs:float can be invoked with a value of type xs:decimal. This is an example of type promotion. The value is actually converted to the expected type. Within the body of the function, $p instance of xs:decimal returns false.

  • A function that expects a parameter $p of type xs:decimal can be invoked with a value of type xs:integer. This is an example of subtype substitution. The value retains its original type. Within the body of the function, $p instance of xs:integer returns true.

B.2 Operator Mapping

The operator mapping tables in this section list the combinations of types for which the various operators of XQuery 3.0 are defined. [Definition: For each operator and valid combination of operand types, the operator mapping tables specify a result type and an operator function that implements the semantics of the operator for the given types.] The definitions of the operator functions are given in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0]. The result of an operator may be the raising of an error by its operator function, as defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0]. In some cases, the operator function does not implement the full semantics of a given operator. For the definition of each operator (including its behavior for empty sequences or sequences of length greater than one), see the descriptive material in the main part of this document.

The and and or operators are defined directly in the main body of this document, and do not occur in the operator mapping tables.

If an operator in the operator mapping tables expects an operand of type ET, that operator can be applied to an operand of type AT if type AT can be converted to type ET by a combination of type promotion and subtype substitution. For example, a table entry indicates that the gt operator may be applied to two xs:date operands, returning xs:boolean. Therefore, the gt operator may also be applied to two (possibly different) subtypes of xs:date, also returning xs:boolean.

[Definition: When referring to a type, the term numeric denotes the types xs:integer, xs:decimal, xs:float, and xs:double.] An operator whose operands and result are designated as numeric might be thought of as representing four operators, one for each of the numeric types. For example, the numeric + operator might be thought of as representing the following four operators:

OperatorFirst operand typeSecond operand typeResult type
+ xs:integer xs:integer xs:integer
+ xs:decimal xs:decimal xs:decimal
+ xs:float xs:float xs:float
+ xs:double xs:double xs:double

A numeric operator may be validly applied to an operand of type AT if type AT can be converted to any of the four numeric types by a combination of type promotion and subtype substitution. If the result type of an operator is listed as numeric, it means "the first type in the ordered list (xs:integer, xs:decimal, xs:float, xs:double) into which all operands can be converted by subtype substitution and type promotion." As an example, suppose that the type hatsize is derived from xs:integer and the type shoesize is derived from xs:float. Then if the + operator is invoked with operands of type hatsize and shoesize, it returns a result of type xs:float. Similarly, if + is invoked with two operands of type hatsize it returns a result of type xs:integer.

[Definition: In the operator mapping tables, the term Gregorian refers to the types xs:gYearMonth, xs:gYear, xs:gMonthDay, xs:gDay, and xs:gMonth.] For binary operators that accept two Gregorian-type operands, both operands must have the same type (for example, if one operand is of type xs:gDay, the other operand must be of type xs:gDay.)

Binary Operators
OperatorType(A)Type(B)FunctionResult type
A + Bnumericnumericop:numeric-add(A, B)numeric
A + Bxs:datexs:yearMonthDurationop:add-yearMonthDuration-to-date(A, B)xs:date
A + Bxs:yearMonthDurationxs:dateop:add-yearMonthDuration-to-date(B, A)xs:date
A + Bxs:datexs:dayTimeDurationop:add-dayTimeDuration-to-date(A, B)xs:date
A + Bxs:dayTimeDurationxs:dateop:add-dayTimeDuration-to-date(B, A)xs:date
A + Bxs:timexs:dayTimeDurationop:add-dayTimeDuration-to-time(A, B)xs:time
A + Bxs:dayTimeDurationxs:timeop:add-dayTimeDuration-to-time(B, A)xs:time
A + Bxs:dateTimexs:yearMonthDurationop:add-yearMonthDuration-to-dateTime(A, B)xs:dateTime
A + Bxs:yearMonthDurationxs:dateTimeop:add-yearMonthDuration-to-dateTime(B, A)xs:dateTime
A + Bxs:dateTimexs:dayTimeDurationop:add-dayTimeDuration-to-dateTime(A, B)xs:dateTime
A + Bxs:dayTimeDurationxs:dateTimeop:add-dayTimeDuration-to-dateTime(B, A)xs:dateTime
A + Bxs:yearMonthDurationxs:yearMonthDurationop:add-yearMonthDurations(A, B)xs:yearMonthDuration
A + Bxs:dayTimeDurationxs:dayTimeDurationop:add-dayTimeDurations(A, B)xs:dayTimeDuration
A - Bnumericnumericop:numeric-subtract(A, B)numeric
A - Bxs:datexs:dateop:subtract-dates(A, B)xs:dayTimeDuration
A - Bxs:datexs:yearMonthDurationop:subtract-yearMonthDuration-from-date(A, B)xs:date
A - Bxs:datexs:dayTimeDurationop:subtract-dayTimeDuration-from-date(A, B)xs:date
A - Bxs:timexs:timeop:subtract-times(A, B)xs:dayTimeDuration
A - Bxs:timexs:dayTimeDurationop:subtract-dayTimeDuration-from-time(A, B)xs:time
A - Bxs:dateTimexs:dateTimeop:subtract-dateTimes(A, B)xs:dayTimeDuration
A - Bxs:dateTimexs:yearMonthDurationop:subtract-yearMonthDuration-from-dateTime(A, B)xs:dateTime
A - Bxs:dateTimexs:dayTimeDurationop:subtract-dayTimeDuration-from-dateTime(A, B)xs:dateTime
A - Bxs:yearMonthDurationxs:yearMonthDurationop:subtract-yearMonthDurations(A, B)xs:yearMonthDuration
A - Bxs:dayTimeDurationxs:dayTimeDurationop:subtract-dayTimeDurations(A, B)xs:dayTimeDuration
A * Bnumericnumericop:numeric-multiply(A, B)numeric
A * Bxs:yearMonthDurationnumericop:multiply-yearMonthDuration(A, B)xs:yearMonthDuration
A * Bnumericxs:yearMonthDurationop:multiply-yearMonthDuration(B, A)xs:yearMonthDuration
A * Bxs:dayTimeDurationnumericop:multiply-dayTimeDuration(A, B)xs:dayTimeDuration
A * Bnumericxs:dayTimeDurationop:multiply-dayTimeDuration(B, A)xs:dayTimeDuration
A idiv Bnumericnumericop:numeric-integer-divide(A, B)xs:integer
A div Bnumericnumericop:numeric-divide(A, B)numeric; but xs:decimal if both operands are xs:integer
A div Bxs:yearMonthDurationnumericop:divide-yearMonthDuration(A, B)xs:yearMonthDuration
A div Bxs:dayTimeDurationnumericop:divide-dayTimeDuration(A, B)xs:dayTimeDuration
A div Bxs:yearMonthDurationxs:yearMonthDurationop:divide-yearMonthDuration-by-yearMonthDuration (A, B)xs:decimal
A div Bxs:dayTimeDurationxs:dayTimeDurationop:divide-dayTimeDuration-by-dayTimeDuration (A, B)xs:decimal
A mod Bnumericnumericop:numeric-mod(A, B)numeric
A eq Bnumericnumericop:numeric-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:booleanxs:booleanop:boolean-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:stringxs:stringop:numeric-equal(fn:compare(A, B), 0)xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:datexs:dateop:date-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:timexs:timeop:time-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:dateTimexs:dateTimeop:dateTime-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:durationxs:durationop:duration-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A eq BGregorianGregorianop:gYear-equal(A, B) etc.xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:hexBinaryxs:hexBinaryop:hexBinary-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:base64Binaryxs:base64Binaryop:base64Binary-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:anyURIxs:anyURIop:numeric-equal(fn:compare(A, B), 0)xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:QNamexs:QNameop:QName-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A eq Bxs:NOTATIONxs:NOTATIONop:NOTATION-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A ne Bnumericnumericfn:not(op:numeric-equal(A, B))xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:booleanxs:booleanfn:not(op:boolean-equal(A, B))xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:stringxs:stringfn:not(op:numeric-equal(fn:compare(A, B), 0))xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:datexs:datefn:not(op:date-equal(A, B))xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:timexs:timefn:not(op:time-equal(A, B))xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:dateTimexs:dateTimefn:not(op:dateTime-equal(A, B))xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:durationxs:durationfn:not(op:duration-equal(A, B))xs:boolean
A ne BGregorianGregorianfn:not(op:gYear-equal(A, B)) etc.xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:hexBinaryxs:hexBinaryfn:not(op:hexBinary-equal(A, B))xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:base64Binaryxs:base64Binaryfn:not(op:base64Binary-equal(A, B))xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:anyURIxs:anyURIfn:not(op:numeric-equal(fn:compare(A, B), 0))xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:QNamexs:QNamefn:not(op:QName-equal(A, B))xs:boolean
A ne Bxs:NOTATIONxs:NOTATIONfn:not(op:NOTATION-equal(A, B))xs:boolean
A gt Bnumericnumericop:numeric-greater-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A gt Bxs:booleanxs:booleanop:boolean-greater-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A gt Bxs:stringxs:stringop:numeric-greater-than(fn:compare(A, B), 0)xs:boolean
A gt Bxs:datexs:dateop:date-greater-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A gt Bxs:timexs:timeop:time-greater-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A gt Bxs:dateTimexs:dateTimeop:dateTime-greater-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A gt Bxs:yearMonthDurationxs:yearMonthDurationop:yearMonthDuration-greater-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A gt Bxs:dayTimeDurationxs:dayTimeDurationop:dayTimeDuration-greater-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A gt Bxs:anyURIxs:anyURIop:numeric-greater-than(fn:compare(A, B), 0)xs:boolean
A lt Bnumericnumericop:numeric-less-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A lt Bxs:booleanxs:booleanop:boolean-less-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A lt Bxs:stringxs:stringop:numeric-less-than(fn:compare(A, B), 0)xs:boolean
A lt Bxs:datexs:dateop:date-less-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A lt Bxs:timexs:timeop:time-less-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A lt Bxs:dateTimexs:dateTimeop:dateTime-less-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A lt Bxs:yearMonthDurationxs:yearMonthDurationop:yearMonthDuration-less-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A lt Bxs:dayTimeDurationxs:dayTimeDurationop:dayTimeDuration-less-than(A, B)xs:boolean
A lt Bxs:anyURIxs:anyURIop:numeric-less-than(fn:compare(A, B), 0)xs:boolean
A ge Bnumericnumericop:numeric-greater-than(A, B) or op:numeric-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A ge Bxs:booleanxs:booleanfn:not(op:boolean-less-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A ge Bxs:stringxs:stringop:numeric-greater-than(fn:compare(A, B), -1)xs:boolean
A ge Bxs:datexs:datefn:not(op:date-less-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A ge Bxs:timexs:timefn:not(op:time-less-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A ge Bxs:dateTimexs:dateTimefn:not(op:dateTime-less-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A ge Bxs:yearMonthDurationxs:yearMonthDurationfn:not(op:yearMonthDuration-less-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A ge Bxs:dayTimeDurationxs:dayTimeDurationfn:not(op:dayTimeDuration-less-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A ge Bxs:anyURIxs:anyURIop:numeric-greater-than(fn:compare(A, B), -1)xs:boolean
A le Bnumericnumericop:numeric-less-than(A, B) or op:numeric-equal(A, B)xs:boolean
A le Bxs:booleanxs:booleanfn:not(op:boolean-greater-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A le Bxs:stringxs:stringop:numeric-less-than(fn:compare(A, B), 1)xs:boolean
A le Bxs:datexs:datefn:not(op:date-greater-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A le Bxs:timexs:timefn:not(op:time-greater-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A le Bxs:dateTimexs:dateTimefn:not(op:dateTime-greater-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A le Bxs:yearMonthDurationxs:yearMonthDurationfn:not(op:yearMonthDuration-greater-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A le Bxs:dayTimeDurationxs:dayTimeDurationfn:not(op:dayTimeDuration-greater-than(A, B))xs:boolean
A le Bxs:anyURIxs:anyURIop:numeric-less-than(fn:compare(A, B), 1)xs:boolean
A is Bnode()node()op:is-same-node(A, B)xs:boolean
A << Bnode()node()op:node-before(A, B)xs:boolean
A >> Bnode()node()op:node-after(A, B)xs:boolean
A union Bnode()*node()*op:union(A, B)node()*
A | Bnode()*node()*op:union(A, B)node()*
A intersect Bnode()*node()*op:intersect(A, B)node()*
A except Bnode()*node()*op:except(A, B)node()*
A to Bxs:integerxs:integerop:to(A, B)xs:integer*
A , Bitem()*item()*op:concatenate(A, B)item()*
Unary Operators
OperatorOperand typeFunctionResult type
+ Anumericop:numeric-unary-plus(A)numeric
- Anumericop:numeric-unary-minus(A)numeric

C Context Components

The tables in this section describe how values are assigned to the various components of the static context and dynamic context, and to the parameters that control the serialization process.

[Definition: The scope of a component is the context in which the component is associated with a value.] The following scopes are defined:

C.1 Static Context Components

The following table describes the components of the static context. The following aspects of each component are described:

Static Context Components
ComponentDefault initial valueCan be overwritten or augmented by implementation?Can be overwritten or augmented by a query?ScopeConsistency rules
XPath 1.0 Compatibility Mode false nonoglobalMust be false.
Statically known namespaces fn, xml, xs, xsi, local overwriteable and augmentable (except for xml)overwriteable and augmentable by prolog or element constructorlexicalOnly one namespace can be assigned to a given prefix per lexical scope.
Default element/type namespaceno namespaceoverwriteableoverwriteable by prolog or element constructorlexicalOnly one default namespace per lexical scope.
Default function namespace fn overwriteable (not recommended)overwriteable by prologmoduleNone.
In-scope schema typesbuilt-in types in xs augmentableaugmentable by schema import in prologmoduleOnly one definition per global or local type.
In-scope element declarationsnoneaugmentableaugmentable by schema import in prologmoduleOnly one definition per global or local element name.
In-scope attribute declarationsnoneaugmentableaugmentable by schema import in prologmoduleOnly one definition per global or local attribute name.
In-scope variablesnoneaugmentableoverwriteable and augmentable by prolog and by variable-binding expressionslexicalOnly one definition per variable per lexical scope.
Context item static typenoneoverwriteableoverwriteable via a context item declaration, and by expresssions that set the context itemlexicalNone.
Function signaturesfunctions in fn namespace, and constructors for built-in atomic typesaugmentableaugmentable by module import and by function declaration in prolog; augmentable by schema import (which adds constructor functions for user-defined types)moduleEach function must have a unique expanded QName and number of arguments.
Statically known collationsonly the default collationaugmentablenomoduleEach URI uniquely identifies a collation.
Default collationUnicode codepoint collationoverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmoduleNone.
Construction mode preserve overwriteableoverwriteable by prologmoduleValue must be preserve or strip.
Ordering mode ordered overwriteableoverwriteable by prolog or expressionlexicalValue must be ordered or unordered.
Default order for empty sequencesimplementation-definedoverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmoduleValue must be greatest or least.
Boundary-space policy strip overwriteableoverwriteable by prologmoduleValue must be preserve or strip.
Copy-namespaces mode inherit, preserve overwriteableoverwriteable by prologmoduleValue consists of inherit or no-inherit, and preserve or no-preserve.
Base URISee rules in 4.5 Base URI Declaration overwriteableoverwriteable by prologmoduleValue must be a valid lexical representation of the type xs:anyURI.
Statically known documentsnoneaugmentablenomoduleNone.
Statically known collectionsnoneaugmentablenomodule None.
Statically known default collection type node()* overwriteablenomoduleNone.
Serialization Parameters
byte-order-markimplementation-definedoverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
cdata-section-elementsemptyoverwriteable and augmentableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
doctype-publicnoneoverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
doctype-systemnoneoverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
encodingimplementation-defined choice between "utf-8" and "utf-16"overwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
escape-uri-attributes(not applicable when method = xml)overwriteable and augmentableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
include-content-type(not applicable when method = xml)overwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
indentnooverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
media-typeimplementation-definedoverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
methodxmloverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
normalization-formimplementation-definedoverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
omit-xml-declarationimplementation-definedoverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
standaloneimplementation-definedoverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
suppress-indentationemptyoverwriteable and augmentableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
undeclare-prefixesnooverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
use-character-mapsemptyoverwriteable and augmentableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30
versionimplementation-definedoverwriteableoverwriteable by prologmodule Section Serialization ParametersSER30

C.2 Dynamic Context Components

The following table describes the components of the dynamic context. The following aspects of each component are described:

Dynamic Context Components
ComponentDefault initial valueCan be overwritten or augmented by implementation?Can be overwritten or augmented by a query?ScopeConsistency rules
Context itemnoneoverwriteableoverwritten during evaluation of path expressions and predicates - initial value may be overwritten with a context item declaration.dynamicNone
Context positionnoneoverwriteable overwritten during evaluation of path expressions and predicatesdynamicIf context item is defined, context position must be >0 and <= context size; else context position is undefined.
Context sizenoneoverwriteableoverwritten during evaluation of path expressions and predicatesdynamicIf context item is defined, context size must be >0; else context size is undefined.
Variable valuesnoneaugmentableoverwriteable and augmentable by prolog and by variable-binding expressionsdynamicNames and values must be consistent with in-scope variables.
Function implementationsfunctions in fn namespace, and constructors for built-in atomic typesaugmentableaugmentable by module import and by function declaration in prolog; augmentable by schema import (which adds constructor functions for user-defined types)globalMust be consistent with function signatures
Current dateTimenonemust be initialized by implementationnoglobalMust include a timezone. Remains constant during evaluation of a query.
Implicit timezonenonemust be initialized by implementationnoglobalRemains constant during evaluation of a query.
Available documentsnonemust be initialized by implementationnoglobalNone
Available collectionsnonemust be initialized by implementationnoglobalNone
Default collectionnoneoverwriteablenoglobalNone

D Implementation-Defined Items

The following items in this specification are implementation-defined:

  1. The version of Unicode that is used to construct expressions.

  2. The statically-known collations.

  3. The implicit timezone.

  4. The circumstances in which warnings are raised, and the ways in which warnings are handled.

  5. The method by which errors are reported to the external processing environment.

  6. Whether the implementation is based on the rules of [XML 1.0] and [XML Names] or the rules of [XML 1.1] and [XML Names 1.1]. One of these sets of rules must be applied consistently by all aspects of the implementation. If the implementation is based on the rules of [XML 1.0], the edition used must be at least Third Edition; the edition used is implementation-defined, but we recommend that implementations use the latest version.

  7. Any components of the static context or dynamic context that are overwritten or augmented by the implementation.

  8. The default handling of empty sequences returned by an ordering key (orderspec) in an order by clause (empty least or empty greatest).

  9. The names and semantics of any extension expressions (pragmas) recognized by the implementation.

  10. The names and semantics of any option declarations recognized by the implementation.

  11. Protocols (if any) by which parameters can be passed to an external function, and the result of the function can returned to the invoking query.

  12. The process by which the specific modules to be imported by a module import are identified, if the Module Feature is supported (includes processing of location hints, if any.)

  13. The means by which serialization is invoked, if the Serialization Feature is supported.

  14. The default values for the byte-order-mark, encoding, media-type, normalization-form, omit-xml-declaration, standalone, and version parameters, if the Serialization Feature is supported.

  15. The result of an unsuccessful call to an external function (for example, if the function implementation cannot be found or does not return a value of the declared type).

  16. Limits on ranges of values for various data types, as enumerated in 5.3 Data Model Conformance.

  17. Syntactic extensions to XQuery, including both their syntax and semantics, as discussed in 5.4 Syntax Extensions.

  18. Whether the type system is based on [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1]. An implementation that has based its type system on XML Schema 1.0 is not required to support the use of the xs:dateTimeStamp constructor or the use of xs:dateTimeStamp as TypeName in any expression.

E References

E.1 Normative References

RFC 2119
RFC3986
RFC3987
ISO/IEC 10646
Unicode
The Unicode Consortium. The Unicode Standard Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 2003, as updated from time to time by the publication of new versions. See http://www.unicode.org/standard/versions/ for the latest version and additional information on versions of the standard and of the Unicode Character Database. The version of Unicode to be used is implementation-defined, but implementations are recommended to use the latest Unicode version.
XML 1.0
World Wide Web Consortium. Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0. W3C Recommendation. See http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/. The edition of XML 1.0 must be no earlier than the Third Edition; the edition used is implementation-defined, but we recommend that implementations use the latest version.
XML 1.1
XML Base
XML Names
XML Names 1.1
XML ID
XML Schema 1.0
XML Schema 1.1
XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0
XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0, Norman Walsh, John Snelson, Editors. World Wide Web Consortium, 14 December 2010. This version is http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/WD-xpath-datamodel-30-20101214/. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath-datamodel-30/.
XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0
XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0, Michael Kay, Editor. World Wide Web Consortium, 14 December 2010. This version is http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/WD-xpath-functions-30-20101214/. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath-functions-30/.
XSLT and XQuery Serialization 3.0
XSLT and XQuery Serialization 3.0, Henry Zongaro, Editor. World Wide Web Consortium, 14 December 2010. This version is http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/WD-xslt-xquery-serialization-30-20101214/. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt-xquery-serialization-30/.

E.2 Non-normative References

XQuery 3.0 Requirements
XQuery 3.0 Requirements, Daniel Engovatov, Jonathan Robie, Editors. World Wide Web Consortium, 16 September 2010. This version is http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/WD-xquery-30-requirements-20100916/. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xquery-30-requirements/.
XML Path Language (XPath) 3.0
XML Path Language (XPath) 3.0, Jonathan Robie, Don Chamberlin, Michael Dyck, John Snelson, Editors. World Wide Web Consortium, 14 December 2010. This version is http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/WD-xpath-30-20101214/. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath-30/.
XQuery 1.0 and XPath 2.0 Formal Semantics
XQuery 1.0 and XPath 2.0 Formal Semantics (Second Edition), Jérôme Siméon, Denise Draper, Peter Frankhauser, et. al., Editors. World Wide Web Consortium, 23 January 2007. This version is http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/REC-xquery-semantics-20070123/. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xquery-semantics/.
XQueryX 3.0
XQueryX 3.0, Jim Melton, Editor. World Wide Web Consortium, 14 December 2010. This version is http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/WD-xqueryx-30-20101214/. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xqueryx-30/.
XSL Transformations (XSLT) Version 3.0
XSL Transformations (XSLT) Version 3.0 (expected), Michael Kay, Editor. World Wide Web Consortium, 14 December 2010. This version is http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/WD-xslt-30-20101214/. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt-30/.
Document Object Model
XML Infoset
XML Path Language (XPath) Version 1.0
XML Path Language (XPath) Version 1.0, Steven DeRose and James Clark, Editors. World Wide Web Consortium, 16 Nov 1999. This version is http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-xpath-19991116/. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath/.
XPointer
XML Query Use Cases
XML 1.1 and Schema 1.0
Uniform Resource Locators (URL)
ODMG
Quilt
XML-QL
SQL
XQL

F Error Conditions

err:XPST0001

It is a static error if analysis of an expression relies on some component of the static context that has not been assigned a value.

err:XPDY0002

It is a dynamic error if evaluation of an expression relies on some part of the dynamic context that has not been assigned a value.

err:XPST0003

It is a static error if an expression is not a valid instance of the grammar defined in A.1 EBNF.

err:XPTY0004

It is a type error if, during the static analysis phase, an expression is found to have a static type that is not appropriate for the context in which the expression occurs, or during the dynamic evaluation phase, the dynamic type of a value does not match a required type as specified by the matching rules in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching.

err:XPST0005

During the analysis phase, it is a static error if the static type assigned to an expression other than the expression () or data(()) is empty-sequence().

err:XPTY0006

(Not currently used.)

err:XPTY0007

(Not currently used.)

err:XPST0008

It is a static error if an expression refers to an element name, attribute name, schema type name, namespace prefix, or variable name that is not defined in the static context, except for an ElementName in an ElementTest or an AttributeName in an AttributeTest.

err:XQST0009

An implementation that does not support the Schema Import Feature must raise a static error if a Prolog contains a schema import.

err:XPST0010

An implementation must raise a static error if it encounters a reference to an axis that it does not support.

err:XQST0012

It is a static error if the set of definitions contained in all schemas imported by a Prolog do not satisfy the conditions for schema validity specified in Sections 3 and 5 of Part 1 of [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] --i.e., each definition must be valid, complete, and unique.

err:XQST0013

It is a static error if an implementation recognizes a pragma but determines that its content is invalid.

err:XQST0014

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0015

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0016

An implementation that does not support the Module Feature raises a static error if it encounters a module declaration or a module import.

err:XPST0017

It is a static error if the expanded QName and number of arguments in a function call do not match the name and arity of a function signature in the static context.

err:XPTY0018

It is a type error if the result of the last step in a path expression contains both nodes and non-nodes.

err:XPTY0019

It is a type error if the result of a step (other than the last step) in a path expression is not a sequence of nodes.

err:XPTY0020

It is a type error if, in an axis step, the context item is not a node.

err:XPDY0021

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0022

It is a static error if the value of a namespace declaration attribute is not a URILiteral.

err:XQTY0023

(Not currently used.)

err:XQTY0024

It is a type error if the content sequence in an element constructor contains an attribute node following a node that is not an attribute node.

err:XQDY0025

It is a dynamic error if any attribute of a constructed element does not have a name that is distinct from the names of all other attributes of the constructed element.

err:XQDY0026

It is a dynamic error if the result of the content expression of a computed processing instruction constructor contains the string "?>".

err:XQDY0027

In a validate expression, it is a dynamic error if the root element information item in the PSVI resulting from validation does not have the expected validity property: valid if validation mode is strict, or either valid or notKnown if validation mode is lax.

err:XQTY0028

(Not currently used.)

err:XQDY0029

(Not currently used.)

err:XQTY0030

It is a type error if the argument of a validate expression does not evaluate to exactly one document or element node.

err:XQST0031

It is a static error if the version number specified in a version declaration is not supported by the implementation.

err:XQST0032

A static error is raised if a Prolog contains more than one base URI declaration.

err:XQST0033

It is a static error if a module contains multiple bindings for the same namespace prefix.

err:XQST0034

It is a static error if multiple functions declared or imported by a module have the same number of arguments and their expanded QNames are equal (as defined by the eq operator).

err:XQST0035

It is a static error to import two schema components that both define the same name in the same symbol space and in the same scope.

err:XQST0036

It is a static error to import a module if the in-scope schema definitions of the importing module do not include all of the following:

  1. An in-scope schema type for each type-name that appears:

    1. in the type of a variable that is declared in the imported module and referenced in the importing module, OR

    2. in a parameter-type or result-type of a function that is declared in the imported module and referenced in the importing module.

  2. An in-scope element declaration for each element-name EN such that:

    1. schema-element(EN) appears in the declared type of a variable in the imported module, and that variable is referenced in the importing module, OR

    2. schema-element(EN) appears in a parameter-type or result-type of a function declared in the imported module, and that function is referenced in the importing module.

  3. An in-scope attribute declaration for each attribute-name AN such that:

    1. schema-attribute(AN) appears in the declared type of a variable in the imported module, and that variable is referenced in the importing module, OR

    2. schema-attribute(AN) appears in a parameter-type or result-type of a function declared in the imported module, and that function is referenced in the importing module.

err:XQST0037

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0038

It is a static error if a Prolog contains more than one default collation declaration, or the value specified by a default collation declaration is not present in statically known collations.

err:XQST0039

It is a static error for a function declaration to have more than one parameter with the same name.

err:XQST0040

It is a static error if the attributes specified by a direct element constructor do not have distinct expanded QNames.

err:XQDY0041

It is a dynamic error if the value of the name expression in a computed processing instruction constructor cannot be cast to the type xs:NCName.

err:XQST0042

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0043

(Not currently used.)

err:XQDY0044

It is a dynamic error the node-name of a node constructed by a computed attribute constructor has any of the following properties:

  • Its namespace prefix is xmlns.

  • It has no namespace prefix and its local name is xmlns.

  • Its namespace URI is http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/.

  • Its namespace prefix is xml and its namespace URI is not http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

  • Its namespace prefix is other than xml and its namespace URI is http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

err:XQST0045

It is a static error if the function name in a function declaration is in one of the following namespaces: http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace, http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema, http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance, http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions, http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions/math.

err:XQST0046

An implementation MAY raise a static error if the value of a URILiteral is of nonzero length and is not in the lexical space of xs:anyURI.

err:XQST0047

It is a static error if multiple module imports in the same Prolog specify the same target namespace.

err:XQST0048

It is a static error if a function or variable declared in a library module is not in the target namespace of the library module.

err:XQST0049

It is a static error if two or more variables declared or imported by a module have equal expanded QNames (as defined by the eq operator.)

err:XPDY0050

It is a dynamic error if the dynamic type of the operand of a treat expression does not match the sequence type specified by the treat expression. This error might also be raised by a path expression beginning with "/" or "//" if the context node is not in a tree that is rooted at a document node. This is because a leading "/" or "//" in a path expression is an abbreviation for an initial step that includes the clause treat as document-node().

err:XPST0051

It is a static error if the expanded QName for an AtomicOrUnionType in a SequenceType is not defined in the in-scope schema types as an atomic type or a union type.

err:XQDY0052

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0053

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0054

It is a static error if a variable depends on itself.

err:XQST0055

It is a static error if a Prolog contains more than one copy-namespaces declaration.

err:XQST0056

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0057

It is a static error if a schema import binds a namespace prefix but does not specify a target namespace other than a zero-length string.

err:XQST0058

It is a static error if multiple schema imports specify the same target namespace.

err:XQST0059

It is a static error if an implementation is unable to process a schema or module import by finding a schema or module with the specified target namespace.

err:XQST0060

It is a static error if the name of a function in a function declaration is not in a namespace (expanded QName has a null namespace URI).

err:XQDY0061

It is a dynamic error if the operand of a validate expression is a document node whose children do not consist of exactly one element node and zero or more comment and processing instruction nodes, in any order.

err:XQDY0062

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0063

(Not currently used.)

err:XQDY0064

It is a dynamic error if the value of the name expression in a computed processing instruction constructor is equal to "XML" (in any combination of upper and lower case).

err:XQST0065

A static error is raised if a Prolog contains more than one ordering mode declaration.

err:XQST0066

A static error is raised if a Prolog contains more than one default element/type namespace declaration, or more than one default function namespace declaration.

err:XQST0067

A static error is raised if a Prolog contains more than one construction declaration.

err:XQST0068

A static error is raised if a Prolog contains more than one boundary-space declaration.

err:XQST0069

A static error is raised if a Prolog contains more than one empty order declaration.

err:XQST0070

A static error is raised if one of the predefined prefixes xml or xmlns appears in a namespace declaration, or if any of the following conditions is statically detected in any expression or declaration:

  • The prefix xml is bound to some namespace URI other than http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

  • A prefix other than xml is bound to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

  • The prefix xmlns is bound to any namespace URI.

  • A prefix other than xmlns is bound to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/.

err:XQST0071

A static error is raised if the namespace declaration attributes of a direct element constructor do not have distinct names.

err:XQDY0072

It is a dynamic error if the result of the content expression of a computed comment constructor contains two adjacent hyphens or ends with a hyphen.

err:XQST0073
err:XQDY0074

It is a dynamic error if the value of the name expression in a computed element or attribute constructor cannot be converted to an expanded QName (for example, because it contains a namespace prefix not found in statically known namespaces.)

err:XQST0075

An implementation that does not support the Validation Feature must raise a static error if it encounters a validate expression.

err:XQST0076

It is a static error if a collation subclause in an order by clause of a FLWOR expression does not identify a collation that is present in statically known collations.

err:XQST0077

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0078

(Not currently used.)

err:XQST0079

It is a static error if an extension expression contains neither a pragma that is recognized by the implementation nor an expression enclosed in curly braces.

err:XPST0080

It is a static error if the target type of a cast or castable expression is xs:NOTATION or xs:anyAtomicType.

err:XPST0081

It is a static error if a QName used in a query contains a namespace prefix that cannot be expanded into a namespace URI by using the statically known namespaces.

err:XQST0082

(Not currently used.)

err:XPST0083

(Not currently used.)

err:XQDY0084

It is a dynamic error if the element validated by a validate statement does not have a top-level element declaration in the in-scope element declarations, if validation mode is strict.

err:XQST0085

It is a static error if the namespace URI in a namespace declaration attribute is a zero-length string, and the implementation does not support [XML Names 1.1].

err:XQTY0086

It is a type error if the typed value of a copied element or attribute node is namespace-sensitive when construction mode is preserve and copy-namespaces mode is no-preserve.

err:XQST0087

It is a static error if the encoding specified in a Version Declaration does not conform to the definition of EncName specified in [XML 1.0].

err:XQST0088

It is a static error if the literal that specifies the target namespace in a module import or a module declaration is of zero length.

err:XQST0089

It is a static error if a variable bound in a for or window clause of a FLWOR expression, and its associated positional variable, do not have distinct names (expanded QNames).

err:XQST0090

It is a static error if a character reference does not identify a valid character in the version of XML that is in use.

err:XQDY0091

An implementation MAY raise a dynamic error if an xml:id error, as defined in [XML ID], is encountered during construction of an attribute named xml:id.

err:XQDY0092

An implementation MAY raise a dynamic error if a constructed attribute named xml:space has a value other than preserve or default.

err:XQST0094

In the group by clause of a FLWOR expression, it is a static error if the name of a grouping variable is not equal (by the eq operator on expanded QNames) to the name of a variable that is bound by a for or let clause that precedes the group by clause.

err:XQDY0095

In the group by clause of a FLWOR expression, it is a dynamic error if the value bound to a grouping variable consists of a sequence of more than one item.

err:XQDY0096

It is a dynamic error the node-name of a node constructed by a computed element constructor has any of the following properties:

  • Its namespace prefix is xmlns.

  • Its namespace URI is http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/.

  • Its namespace prefix is xml and its namespace URI is not http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

  • Its namespace prefix is other than xml and its namespace URI is http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

err:XQST0097

It is a static error for a decimal-format to specify a value that is not valid for a given property, as described in statically known decimal formats

err:XQST0098

It is a static error if, for any named or unnamed decimal format, the properties representing characters used in a picture string do not each have distinct values. These properties are decimal-separator-sign, grouping-separator, percent-sign, per-mille-sign, zero-digit, digit-sign, and pattern-separator-sign.

err:XQST0099

A ContextItemDecl must not occur after an expression that relies on the initial context item, and no query may contain more than one ContextItemDecl.

err:XQST0100

(Not currently used.)

err:XQDY0101

An error [err:XQDY0101] is raised if a computed namespace constructor attempts to do any of the following:

  • Bind the prefix xml to some namespace URI other than http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

  • Bind a prefix other than xml to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace.

  • Bind the prefix xmlns to any namespace URI.

  • Bind a prefix to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/.

err:XQTY0102

In an element constructor, if two or more namespace bindings in the in-scope bindings would have the same prefix, then an error is raised if they have different URIs; if they would have the same prefix and URI, duplicate bindings are ignored.

err:XQST0103

All variables in a window clause must have distinct names.

err:XQST0104

A TypeName that is specified in a validate expression must be found in the in-scope schema definitions

err:XQTY0105

It is a type error if the content sequence in an element constructor contains a function item.

err:XQST0106

It is a static error if a function's annotations contain more than one annotation named %private or %public.

It is a static error if a function's annotations contain more than one annotation named %deterministic or %nondeterministic.

err:XQST0107

It is a static error if the initializer of the context item depends on the context item.

err:XQST0108

It is a static error if an output declaration occurs in a library module.

err:XQST0109

It is a static error if the local name of an output declaration in the http://www.w3.org/2010/xslt-xquery-serialization namespace is not one of the serialization parameter names listed in C.1 Static Context Components.

err:XQST0110

It is a static error if the same serialization parameter is used more than once in an output declaration.

err:XQST0111

It is a static error for a query prolog to contain two decimal formats with the same name, or to contain two default decimal formats. [err:XQST0111].

err:XPST0112

It is a static error to partially apply or create a function item for a function which accesses the focus [err:XPST0112].

err:XQST0113

Specifying a VarValue or VarDefaultValue for a context item declaration in a library module is a static error.

err:XQST0114

It is a static error for a decimal format declaration to define the same property more than once [err:XQST0114].

err:XQST0115

It is a static error if the document specified by the option "http://www.w3.org/2010/xslt-xquery-serialization":parameter-document raises a serialization error.

err:XQST0116

It is a static error if a variable declaration's annotations contain more than one annotation named %private or %public.

G The application/xquery Media Type

This Appendix specifies the media type for XQuery Version 1.0. XQuery is a language for querying over collections of data from XML data sources, as specified in the main body of this document. This media type is being submitted to the IESG (Internet Engineering Steering Group) for review, approval, and registration with IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.)

G.1 Introduction

This document, found at http://www.w3.org/TR/xquery/, together with its normative references, defines the language XQuery Version 1.0. This Appendix provides information about the application/xquery media type, which is intended to be used for transmitting queries written in the XQuery language.

This document was prepared by members of the W3C XML Query Working Group. Please send comments to public-qt-comments@w3.org, a public mailing list with archives at http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-qt-comments.

G.6 Security Considerations

Queries written in XQuery may cause arbitrary URIs or IRIs to be dereferenced. Therefore, the security issues of [RFC3987] Section 8 should be considered. In addition, the contents of resources identified by file: URIs can in some cases be accessed, processed and returned as results. XQuery expressions can invoke any of the functions defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0]. For example, the fn:doc() and fn:doc-available() functions allow local filesystem probes as well as access to any URI-defined resource accessible from the system evaluating the XQuery expression.

XQuery is a full declarative programming language, and supports user-defined functions, external function libraries (modules) referenced by URI, and system-specific "native" functions.

Arbitrary recursion is possible, as is arbitrarily large memory usage, and implementations may place limits on CPU and memory usage, as well as restricting access to system-defined functions.

The XML Query Working group is working on a facility to allow XQuery expressions to create and update persistent data. Untrusted queries should not be given write access to data.

Furthermore, because the XQuery language permits extensions, it is possible that application/xquery may describe content that has security implications beyond those described here.

H Glossary (Non-Normative)

Gregorian

In the operator mapping tables, the term Gregorian refers to the types xs:gYearMonth, xs:gYear, xs:gMonthDay, xs:gDay, and xs:gMonth.

NaN

NaN specifies the string used for the NaN-symbol, which is used to represent the value NaN (not-a-number); the default value is the string NaN

Prolog

A Prolog is a series of declarations and imports that define the processing environment for the module that contains the Prolog.

SequenceType matching

During evaluation of an expression, it is sometimes necessary to determine whether a value with a known dynamic type "matches" an expected sequence type. This process is known as SequenceType matching.

URI

Within this specification, the term URI refers to a Universal Resource Identifier as defined in [RFC3986] and extended in [RFC3987] with the new name IRI.

XDM instance

The term XDM instance is used, synonymously with the term value, to denote an unconstrained sequence of items in the data model.

XPath 1.0 compatibility mode

XPath 1.0 compatibility mode. This component must be set by all host languages that include XPath 3.0 as a subset, indicating whether rules for compatibility with XPath 1.0 are in effect. XQuery sets the value of this component to false.

XQuery 1.0 Processor

An XQuery 1.0 Processor processes a query according to the XQuery 1.0 specification.

XQuery 3.0 Processor

An XQuery 3.0 Processor processes a query according to the XQuery 3.0 specification.

annotation assertion

If an annotation is present in a FunctionTest, it is called an annotation assertion.

argument expression

An argument to a function call is either an argument expression or an ArgumentPlaceholder ("?").

argument value

Argument expressions are evaluated, producing argument values.

atomic value

An atomic value is a value in the value space of an atomic type, as defined in [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1].

atomization

Atomization of a sequence is defined as the result of invoking the fn:data function on the sequence, as defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

available collections

Available collections. This is a mapping of strings onto sequences of nodes. The string represents the absolute URI of a resource. The sequence of nodes represents the result of the fn:collection function when that URI is supplied as the argument.

available documents

Available documents. This is a mapping of strings onto document nodes. The string represents the absolute URI of a resource. The document node is the root of a tree that represents that resource using the data model. The document node is returned by the fn:doc function when applied to that URI.

axis step

An axis step returns a sequence of nodes that are reachable from the context node via a specified axis. Such a step has two parts: an axis, which defines the "direction of movement" for the step, and a node test, which selects nodes based on their kind, name, and/or type annotation.

base URI

Base URI. This is an absolute URI, used when necessary to resolve a relative URI.

base URI declaration

A base URI declaration specifies the base URI property of the static context. The base URI property is used when resolving relative URIs within a module.

binding sequence

In a for clause or window clause, when an expression is preceded by the keyword in, the value of that expression is called a binding sequence.

boundary whitespace

Boundary whitespace is a sequence of consecutive whitespace characters within the content of a direct element constructor, that is delimited at each end either by the start or end of the content, or by a DirectConstructor, or by an EnclosedExpr. For this purpose, characters generated by character references such as &#x20; or by CDataSections are not considered to be whitespace characters.

boundary-space declaration

A boundary-space declaration sets the boundary-space policy in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default. Boundary-space policy controls whether boundary whitespace is preserved by element constructors during processing of the query.

boundary-space policy

Boundary-space policy. This component controls the processing of boundary whitespace by direct element constructors, as described in 3.8.1.4 Boundary Whitespace.

built-in function

The built-in functions supported by XQuery 3.0 are defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

character reference

A character reference is an XML-style reference to a [Unicode] character, identified by its decimal or hexadecimal codepoint.

collation

A collation is a specification of the manner in which strings and URIs are compared and, by extension, ordered. For a more complete definition of collation, see [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

comma operator

One way to construct a sequence is by using the comma operator, which evaluates each of its operands and concatenates the resulting sequences, in order, into a single result sequence.

computed element constructor

A computed element constructor creates an element node, allowing both the name and the content of the node to be computed.

construction declaration

A construction declaration sets the construction mode in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default.

construction mode

Construction mode. The construction mode governs the behavior of element and document node constructors. If construction mode is preserve, the type of a constructed element node is xs:anyType, and all attribute and element nodes copied during node construction retain their original types. If construction mode is strip, the type of a constructed element node is xs:untyped; all element nodes copied during node construction receive the type xs:untyped, and all attribute nodes copied during node construction receive the type xs:untypedAtomic.

constructor function

The constructor function for a given type is used to convert instances of other atomic types into the given type. The semantics of the constructor function call T($arg) are defined to be equivalent to the expression (($arg) cast as T?).

content expression

The final part of a computed constructor is an expression enclosed in braces, called the content expression of the constructor, that generates the content of the node.

context item

The context item is the item currently being processed.

context item static type

Context item static type. This component defines the static type of the context item within the scope of a given expression.

context node

When the context item is a node, it can also be referred to as the context node.

context position

The context position is the position of the context item within the sequence of items currently being processed.

context size

The context size is the number of items in the sequence of items currently being processed.

copy-namespaces declaration

A copy-namespaces declaration sets the value of copy-namespaces mode in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default. Copy-namespaces mode controls the namespace bindings that are assigned when an existing element node is copied by an element constructor or document constructor.

copy-namespaces mode

Copy-namespaces mode. This component controls the namespace bindings that are assigned when an existing element node is copied by an element constructor, as described in 3.8.1 Direct Element Constructors. Its value consists of two parts: preserve or no-preserve, and inherit or no-inherit.

current dateTime

Current dateTime. This information represents an implementation-dependent point in time during the processing of a query, and includes an explicit timezone. It can be retrieved by the fn:current-dateTime function. If invoked multiple times during the execution of a query, this function always returns the same result.

data model

XQuery 3.0 operates on the abstract, logical structure of an XML document, rather than its surface syntax. This logical structure, known as the data model, is defined in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0].

data model schema

For a given node in an XDM instance, the data model schema is defined as the schema from which the type annotation of that node was derived.

decimal-format declaration

A decimal-format declaration defines statically known decimal formats, which define the properties used to format numbers using the fn:format-number() function

decimal-separator

decimal-separator specifies the character used for the decimal-separator-sign; the default value is the period character (.)

default collation

Default collation. This identifies one of the collations in statically known collations as the collation to be used by functions and operators for comparing and ordering values of type xs:string and xs:anyURI (and types derived from them) when no explicit collation is specified.

default collation declaration

A default collation declaration sets the value of the default collation in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default.

default collection

Default collection. This is the sequence of nodes that would result from calling the fn:collection function with no arguments.

default element/type namespace

Default element/type namespace. This is a namespace URI or absentDM30. The namespace URI, if present, is used for any unprefixed QName appearing in a position where an element or type name is expected.

default function namespace

Default function namespace. This is a namespace URI or absentDM30. The namespace URI, if present, is used for any unprefixed QName appearing in a position where a function name is expected.

default order for empty sequences

Default order for empty sequences. This component controls the processing of empty sequences and NaN values as ordering keys in an order by clause in a FLWOR expression, as described in 3.9.8 Order By Clause.

delimiting terminal symbol

The delimiting terminal symbols are: S, "!=", StringLiteral, "#", "#)", "$", "%", "(", "(#", ")", "*", "+", (comma), "-", "-->", (dot), "..", "/", "//", "/>", (colon), "::", ":=", (semi-colon), "<", "<!--", "<![CDATA[", "</", "<<", "<=", "<?", "=", ">", ">=", ">>", "?", "?>", "@", "[", "]", "]]>", "{", "|", "}"

depends on a function

An expression E depends on a function if any of the following is true:

depends on a variable

An expression E depends on a variable V if any of the following is true:

deterministic function

A deterministic function is a function that always evaluates to the same result if it is invoked multiple times with the same arguments during the evaluation of a query.

digit-sign

digit-sign specifies the character used for the digit-sign in the picture string; the default value is the number sign character (#)

direct element constructor

A direct element constructor is a form of element constructor in which the name of the constructed element is a constant.

document order

Informally, document order is the order in which nodes appear in the XML serialization of a document.

dynamic function invocation

An expression (other than a raw EQName) followed by an argument list in parentheses (that is, E1(E2, E3, ...)) is referred to as a dynamic function invocation. Its effect is to evaluate E1 to obtain a function item, and then call the function represented by that function item, with E2, E3, ... as arguments.

dynamic context

The dynamic context of an expression is defined as information that is available at the time the expression is evaluated.

dynamic error

A dynamic error is an error that must be detected during the dynamic evaluation phase and may be detected during the static analysis phase. Numeric overflow is an example of a dynamic error.

dynamic evaluation phase

The dynamic evaluation phase is the phase during which the value of an expression is computed.

dynamic function invocation

A dynamic function invocation consists of a PrimaryExpr that returns the function item and a parenthesized list of zero or more arguments (argument expressions or ArgumentPlaceholders).

dynamic scope

If a component has dynamic scope, then it is defined by a query expression, its scope is defined by the semantics of the expression that defines it, and run-time evaluation may influence its value.

dynamic type

A dynamic type is associated with each value as it is computed. The dynamic type of a value may be more specific than the static type of the expression that computed it (for example, the static type of an expression might be xs:integer*, denoting a sequence of zero or more integers, but at evaluation time its value may have the dynamic type xs:integer, denoting exactly one integer.)

effective boolean value

The effective boolean value of a value is defined as the result of applying the fn:boolean function to the value, as defined in [XQuery and XPath Functions and Operators 3.0].

effective case

The effective case of a switch expression is the first case clause that matches, using the rules given above, or the default clause if no such case clause exists.

effective case

The effective case in a typeswitch expression is the first case clause in which the value of the operand expression matches a SequenceType in the SequenceTypeUnion of the case clause, using the rules of SequenceType matching.

empty order declaration

An empty order declaration sets the default order for empty sequences in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default. This declaration controls the processing of empty sequences and NaN values as ordering keys in an order by clause in a FLWOR expression.

empty sequence

A sequence containing zero items is called an empty sequence.

encoding declaration

If present, a version declaration may optionally include an encoding declaration. The value of the string literal following the keyword encoding is an encoding name, and must conform to the definition of EncName specified in [XML 1.0] [err:XQST0087]. The purpose of an encoding declaration is to allow the writer of a query to provide a string that indicates how the query is encoded, such as "UTF-8", "UTF-16", or "US-ASCII".

equivalent grouping keys

Two tuples T1 and T2 have equivalent grouping keys if and only if, for each grouping variable GV, the atomized value of GV in T1 is deep-equal to the atomized value of GV in T2, as defined by applying the function fn:deep-equal using the appropriate collation.

error value

In addition to its identifying QName, a dynamic error may also carry a descriptive string and one or more additional values called error values.

expanded QName

An expanded QName consists of an optional namespace URI and a local name. An expanded QName also retains its original namespace prefix (if any), to facilitate casting the expanded QName into a string.

expression context

The expression context for a given expression consists of all the information that can affect the result of the expression.

expression depends on

An expression E depends on the context item if any of the following is true:

  • E is "."

  • E is "/", or any path expression beginning with "/" or "//"

  • E is position() or last()

  • E is an axis step (including an abbreviated axis step such as '..' or '@x')

  • E is a call to a built-in function that takes the context item as an implicit argument

  • E has a subexpression that depends on the context item, and E does not bind the context item for that subexpression

  • E depends on a variable whose initializer depends on the context item

  • E depends on a function whose body depends on the context item

extension expression

An extension expression is an expression whose semantics are implementation-defined.

external function

External functions are functions that are implemented outside the query environment.

filter expression

An expression followed by a predicate (that is, E1[E2]) is referred to as a filter expression: its effect is to return those items from the value of E1 that satisfy the predicate in E2.

focus

The first three components of the dynamic context (context item, context position, and context size) are called the focus of the expression.

function conversion rules

The function conversion rules are used to convert an argument value or a return value to its expected type; that is, to the declared type of the function parameter or return.

function implementation

Function implementations. Each function in function signatures has a function implementation that enables the function to map instances of its parameter types into an instance of its result type. For a user-defined function, the function implementation is an XQuery expression. For a built-in function or external function, the function implementation is implementation-dependent.

function item coercion

Function item coercion wraps a function itemDM30 in a new inline function with signature the same as the expected type. This effectively delays the checking of the argument and return types until the function item is invoked.

function signature

Function signatures. This component defines the set of functions that are available to be called from within an expression. Each function is uniquely identified by its expanded QName and its arity (number of parameters).

global scope

If a component has global scope, then every expression in the query has the same value for that component, and it can not be overwritten by a module or by an expression.

grouping key

The atomized value of a grouping variable is called a grouping key.

grouping variable

A group by clause consists of the keywords group by followed by one or more variables called grouping variables.

grouping-separator

grouping-separator specifies the character used for the grouping-sign, which is typically used as a thousands separator; the default value is the comma character (,)

ignorable whitespace

Ignorable whitespace consists of any whitespace characters that may occur between terminals, unless these characters occur in the context of a production marked with a ws:explicit annotation, in which case they can occur only where explicitly specified (see A.2.4.2 Explicit Whitespace Handling).

implementation dependent

Implementation-dependent indicates an aspect that may differ between implementations, is not specified by this or any W3C specification, and is not required to be specified by the implementor for any particular implementation.

implementation defined

Implementation-defined indicates an aspect that may differ between implementations, but must be specified by the implementor for each particular implementation.

implicit timezone

Implicit timezone. This is the timezone to be used when a date, time, or dateTime value that does not have a timezone is used in a comparison or arithmetic operation. The implicit timezone is an implementation-defined value of type xs:dayTimeDuration. See [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] for the range of valid values of a timezone.

in-scope attribute declarations

In-scope attribute declarations. Each attribute declaration is identified either by an expanded QName (for a top-level attribute declaration) or by an implementation-dependent attribute identifier (for a local attribute declaration). If the Schema Import Feature is supported, in-scope attribute declarations include all attribute declarations found in imported schemas.

in-scope element declarations

In-scope element declarations. Each element declaration is identified either by an expanded QName (for a top-level element declaration) or by an implementation-dependent element identifier (for a local element declaration). If the Schema Import Feature is supported, in-scope element declarations include all element declarations found in imported schemas.

in-scope namespaces

The in-scope namespaces property of an element node is a set of namespace bindings, each of which associates a namespace prefix with a URI.

in-scope schema definitions

In-scope schema definitions. This is a generic term for all the element declarations, attribute declarations, and schema type definitions that are in scope during processing of an expression.

in-scope schema type

In-scope schema types. Each schema type definition is identified either by an expanded QName (for a named type) or by an implementation-dependent type identifier (for an anonymous type). The in-scope schema types include the predefined schema types described in 2.5.1 Predefined Schema Types. If the Schema Import Feature is supported, in-scope schema types also include all type definitions found in imported schemas.

in-scope variables

In-scope variables. This is a set of (expanded QName, type) pairs. It defines the set of variables that are available for reference within an expression. The expanded QName is the name of the variable, and the type is the static type of the variable.

infinity

infinity specifies the string used for the infinity-symbol; the default value is the string Infinity

initializing expression

If a variable declaration includes an expression (VarValue or VarDefaultValue), the expression is called an initializing expression. The static context for an initializing expression includes all functions, variables, and namespaces that are declared or imported anywhere in the Prolog, other than the variable being declared.

inline function

An inline function expression creates a function itemDM30 that represents an anonymous function defined directly in the inline function expression itself.

item

An item is either an atomic value, a node, or a function itemDM30.

kind test

An alternative form of a node test called a kind test can select nodes based on their kind, name, and type annotation.

lexical QName

A lexical QName is a name that conforms to the syntax of [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/#NT-QName].

lexical scope

If a component has lexical scope, then it is defined by a query expression, and its scope is defined by the semantics of the expression that defines it.

library module

A module that does not contain a Query Body is called a library module. A library module consists of a module declaration followed by a Prolog.

literal

A literal is a direct syntactic representation of an atomic value.

literal function item

A literal function item creates a function itemDM30 that represents a named function.

main module

A main module consists of a Prolog followed by a Query Body.

may

MAY means that an item is truly optional.

minus-sign

minus-sign specifies the character used for the minus-symbol; the default value is the hyphen-minus character (-, #x2D). The value must be a single character.

module

A module is a fragment of XQuery code that conforms to the Module grammar and can independently undergo the static analysis phase described in 2.2.3 Expression Processing. Each module is either a main module or a library module.

module declaration

A module declaration serves to identify a module as a library module. A module declaration begins with the keyword module and contains a namespace prefix and a URILiteral.

module feature

A conforming XQuery implementation that supports the Module Feature allows a query Prolog to contain a Module Import and allows library modules to be created.

module import

A module import imports the public variable declarations and public function declarations from one or more library modules into the function signatures and in-scope variables of the importing module.

module scope

If a component has module scope, then every expression in a given module has the same value for that component, and it can be overwritten or augmented for a given module.

must

MUST means that the item is an absolute requirement of the specification.

must not

MUST NOT means that the item is an absolute prohibition of the specification.

name expression

When an expression is used to specify the name of a constructed node, that expression is called the name expression of the constructor.

name test

A node test that consists only of a EQName or a Wildcard is called a name test.

named function

A named function is a function defined in the static context for the query. To uniquely identify a particular named function, both its name as a QName and its arity are required.

namespace declaration

A namespace declaration declares a namespace prefix and associates it with a namespace URI, adding the (prefix, URI) pair to the set of statically known namespaces.

namespace declaration attribute

A namespace declaration attribute is used inside a direct element constructor. Its purpose is to bind a namespace prefix or to set the default element/type namespace for the constructed element node, including its attributes.

namespace-sensitive

A value is namespace-sensitive if it includes an item whose dynamic type is xs:QName or xs:NOTATION or is derived by restriction from xs:QName or xs:NOTATION.

node

A node is an instance of one of the node kinds defined in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0].

node test

A node test is a condition that must be true for each node selected by a step.

non-delimiting terminal symbol

The non-delimiting terminal symbols are: IntegerLiteral, NCName, DecimalLiteral, DoubleLiteral, QName, "NaN", "allowing", "ancestor", "ancestor-or-self", "and", "as", "ascending", "at", "attribute", "base-uri", "boundary-space", "by", "case", "cast", "castable", "catch", "child", "collation", "comment", "construction", "context", "copy-namespaces", "count", "decimal-format", "decimal-separator", "declare", "default", "descendant", "descendant-or-self", "descending", "digit", "div", "document", "document-node", "element", "else", "empty", "empty-sequence", "encoding", "end", "eq", "every", "except", "external", "following", "following-sibling", "for", "function", "ge", "greatest", "group", "grouping-separator", "gt", "idiv", "if", "import", "in", "infinity", "inherit", "instance", "intersect", "is", "item", "lax", "le", "least", "let", "lt", "minus-sign", "mod", "module", "namespace", "namespace-node", "ne", "next", "no-inherit", "no-preserve", "node", "of", "only", "option", "or", "order", "ordered", "ordering", "parent", "pattern-separator", "per-mille", "percent", "preceding", "preceding-sibling", "preserve", "previous", "processing-instruction", "return", "satisfies", "schema", "schema-attribute", "schema-element", "self", "sliding", "some", "stable", "start", "strict", "strip", "switch", "text", "then", "to", "treat", "try", "tumbling", "type", "typeswitch", "union", "unordered", "validate", "variable", "version", "when", "where", "window", "xquery", "zero-digit"

nondeterministic function

A nondeterministic function is a function that is not guaranteed to always return the same result when it is invoked multiple times with the same arguments during the evaluation of a query.

numeric

When referring to a type, the term numeric denotes the types xs:integer, xs:decimal, xs:float, and xs:double.

numeric predicate

A predicate whose predicate expression returns a numeric type is called a numeric predicate.

operator function

For each operator and valid combination of operand types, the operator mapping tables specify a result type and an operator function that implements the semantics of the operator for the given types.

option declaration

An option declaration declares an option that affects the behavior of a particular implementation. Each option consists of an identifying EQName and a StringLiteral.

ordering mode

Ordering mode. Ordering mode, which has the value ordered or unordered, affects the ordering of the result sequence returned by certain path expressions, FLWOR expressions, and union, intersect, and except expressions.

ordering mode declaration

An ordering mode declaration sets the ordering mode in the static context, overriding any implementation-defined default.

output declaration

An output declaration is an option declaration in the namespace "http://www.w3.org/2010/xslt-xquery-serialization"; it is used to declare serialization parameters.

partial function application

A function call is a partial function application if one or more arguments is an ArgumentPlaceholder.

path expression

A path expression can be used to locate nodes within trees. A path expression consists of a series of one or more steps, separated by "/" or "//", and optionally beginning with "/" or "//".

pattern-separator-sign

pattern-separator-sign specifies the character used for the pattern-separator-sign, which separates positive and negative sub-pictures in a picture string; the default value is the semi-colon character (;)

per-mille-sign

per-mille-sign specifies the character used for the per-mille-sign; the default value is the Unicode per-mille character (#x2030)

percent-sign

percent-sign specifies the character used for the percent-sign; the default value is the percent character (%)

positional variable

A positional variable is a variable that is preceded by the keyword at.

pragma

A pragma is denoted by the delimiters (# and #), and consists of an identifying EQName followed by implementation-defined content.

predefined entity reference

A predefined entity reference is a short sequence of characters, beginning with an ampersand, that represents a single character that might otherwise have syntactic significance.

primary expression

Primary expressions are the basic primitives of the language. They include literals, variable references, context item expressions, constructors, and function calls. A primary expression may also be created by enclosing any expression in parentheses, which is sometimes helpful in controlling the precedence of operators.

principal node kind

Every axis has a principal node kind. If an axis can contain elements, then the principal node kind is element; otherwise, it is the kind of nodes that the axis can contain.

private variable

A private variable is a variable with a %private annotation. A private variable is hidden from module import, which can not import it into the in-scope variables of another module.

private function

A private function is a function with a %private annotation. A private function is hidden from module import, which can not import it into the function signatures of another module.

public function

A public function is a function with a %public annotation. A public function is accessible to module import, which can import it into the function signatures of another module.

public variable

A public variable is a variable with a %public annotation. A public variable is accessible to module import, which can import it into the in-scope variables of another module. It is a static error [err:XQST0116] if a variable declaration's's annotations contain more than one annotation named %private or %public.

query

A query consists of one or more modules.

query body

The Query Body, if present, consists of an expression that defines the result of the query.

resolve

To resolve a relative URI is to expand it to an absolute URI, by reference to a base URI, as if by calling the function fn:resolve-uri().

reverse document order

The node ordering that is the reverse of document order is called reverse document order.

schema import

A schema import imports the element declarations, attribute declarations, and type definitions from a schema into the in-scope schema definitions. For each user-defined atomic type in the schema, schema import also adds a corresponding constructor function.

schema import feature

The Schema Import Feature permits the query Prolog to contain a schema import.

schema type

A schema type is a type that is (or could be) defined using the facilities of [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1] (including the built-in types of [XML Schema 1.0] or [XML Schema 1.1]).

schema validation feature

The Schema Validation Feature permits a query to contain a validate expression (see 3.16 Validate Expressions.)

scope of a component

The scope of a component is the context in which the component is associated with a value.

sequence

A sequence is an ordered collection of zero or more items.

sequence type

A sequence type is a type that can be expressed using the SequenceType syntax. Sequence types are used whenever it is necessary to refer to a type in an XQuery 3.0 expression. The term sequence type suggests that this syntax is used to describe the type of an XQuery 3.0 value, which is always a sequence.

serialization

Serialization is the process of converting an XDM instance into a sequence of octets (step DM4 in Figure 1.)

serialization feature

A conforming XQuery implementation that supports the Serialization Feature MUST provide means for serializing the result of a query, as specified in 2.2.4 Serialization.

setter

Setters are declarations that set the value of some property that affects query processing, such as construction mode, ordering mode, or default collation.

should

SHOULD means that there may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances to ignore a particular item, but the full implications must be understood and carefully weighed before choosing a different course.

singleton

A sequence containing exactly one item is called a singleton.

stable

Document order is stable, which means that the relative order of two nodes will not change during the processing of a given query, even if this order is implementation-dependent.

static typing feature

The Static Typing Feature requires implementations to report all type errors during the static analysis phase.

static analysis phase

The static analysis phase depends on the expression itself and on the static context. The static analysis phase does not depend on input data (other than schemas).

static context

The static context of an expression is the information that is available during static analysis of the expression, prior to its evaluation.

static error

A static error is an error that must be detected during the static analysis phase. A syntax error is an example of a static error.

static type

The static type of an expression is the best inference that the processor is able to make statically about the type of the result of the expression.

statically known decimal formats

Statically known decimal formats. This is the set of known decimal formats. Each format is used for serializing decimal numbers using fn:format-number().

statically known collections

Statically known collections. This is a mapping from strings onto types. The string represents the absolute URI of a resource that is potentially available using the fn:collection function. The type is the type of the sequence of nodes that would result from calling the fn:collection function with this URI as its argument.

statically known documents

Statically known documents. This is a mapping from strings onto types. The string represents the absolute URI of a resource that is potentially available using the fn:doc function. The type is the static type of a call to fn:doc with the given URI as its literal argument.

statically known collations

Statically known collations. This is an implementation-defined set of (URI, collation) pairs. It defines the names of the collations that are available for use in processing queries and expressions.

statically known default collection type

Statically known default collection type. This is the type of the sequence of nodes that would result from calling the fn:collection function with no arguments.

statically known namespaces

Statically known namespaces. This is a set of (prefix, URI) pairs that define all the namespaces that are known during static processing of a given expression.

step

A step is a part of a path expression that generates a sequence of items and then filters the sequence by zero or more predicates. The value of the step consists of those items that satisfy the predicates, working from left to right. A step may be either an axis step or a postfix expression.

string value

The string value of a node is a string and can be extracted by applying the fn:string function to the node.

substitution group

Substitution groups are defined in [XML Schema 1.0] and [XML Schema 1.1] Part 1. Informally, the substitution group headed by a given element (called the head element) consists of the set of elements that can be substituted for the head element without affecting the outcome of schema validation.

subtype

A sequence type A is a subtype of a sequence type B if and only if, for every value V, if V matches A according to the rules of SequenceType matching, then V also matches B.

subtype substitution

The use of a value whose dynamic type is derived from an expected type is known as subtype substitution.

symbol

Each rule in the grammar defines one symbol, using the following format:

symbol separators

Whitespace and Comments function as symbol separators. For the most part, they are not mentioned in the grammar, and may occur between any two terminal symbols mentioned in the grammar, except where that is forbidden by the /* ws: explicit */ annotation in the EBNF, or by the /* xgc: xml-version */ annotation.

target namespace

Each imported schema or module is identified by its target namespace, which is the namespace of the objects (such as elements or functions) that are defined by the schema or module.

terminal

A terminal is a symbol or string or pattern that can appear in the right-hand side of a rule, but never appears on the left hand side in the main grammar, although it may appear on the left-hand side of a rule in the grammar for terminals.

tuple

A tuple is a set of zero or more named variables, each of which is bound to a value that is an XDM instance.

tuple stream

A tuple stream is an ordered sequence of zero or more tuples.

type annotation

Each element node and attribute node in an XDM instance has a type annotation (referred to in [XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.0] as its type-name property.) The type annotation of a node is a schema type that describes the relationship between the string value of the node and its typed value.

type declaration

A variable binding may be accompanied by a type declaration, which consists of the keyword as followed by the static type of the variable, declared using the syntax in 2.5.3 SequenceType Syntax.

type error

A type error may be raised during the static analysis phase or the dynamic evaluation phase. During the static analysis phase, a type error occurs when the static type of an expression does not match the expected type of the context in which the expression occurs. During the dynamic evaluation phase, a type error occurs when the dynamic type of a value does not match the expected type of the context in which the value occurs.

type promotion

Under certain circumstances, an atomic value can be promoted from one type to another. Type promotion is used in evaluating function calls (see 3.1.5 Function Calls), order by clauses (see 3.9.8 Order By Clause), and operators that accept numeric or string operands (see B.2 Operator Mapping).

typed value

The typed value of a node is a sequence of atomic values and can be extracted by applying the fn:data function to the node.

undefined

In certain situations a value is said to be undefined (for example, the value of the context item, or the typed value of an element node). This term indicates that the property in question has no value and that any attempt to use its value results in an error.

user-defined function

User defined functions are functions that contain a function body, which provides the implementation of the function as an XQuery expression.

value

In the data model, a value is always a sequence.

variable reference

A variable reference is an EQName preceded by a $-sign.

variable values

Variable values. This is a set of (expanded QName, value) pairs. It contains the same expanded QNames as the in-scope variables in the static context for the expression. The expanded QName is the name of the variable and the value is the dynamic value of the variable, which includes its dynamic type.

version declaration

A version declaration can identify the applicable XQuery syntax and semantics for a module, as well as its encoding.

warning

In addition to static errors, dynamic errors, and type errors, an XQuery 3.0 implementation may raise warnings, either during the static analysis phase or the dynamic evaluation phase. The circumstances in which warnings are raised, and the ways in which warnings are handled, are implementation-defined.

whitespace

A whitespace character is any of the characters defined by [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#NT-S].

window

A window is a sequence of consecutive items drawn from the binding sequence.

xs:anyAtomicType

xs:anyAtomicType is an atomic type that includes all atomic values (and no values that are not atomic). Its base type is xs:anySimpleType from which all simple types, including atomic, list, and union types, are derived. All primitive atomic types, such as xs:decimal and xs:string, have xs:anyAtomicType as their base type.

xs:dayTimeDuration

xs:dayTimeDuration is derived by restriction from xs:duration. The lexical representation of xs:dayTimeDuration is restricted to contain only day, hour, minute, and second components.

xs:untyped

xs:untyped is used as the type annotation of an element node that has not been validated, or has been validated in skip mode.

xs:untypedAtomic

xs:untypedAtomic is an atomic type that is used to denote untyped atomic data, such as text that has not been assigned a more specific type.

xs:yearMonthDuration

xs:yearMonthDuration is derived by restriction from xs:duration. The lexical representation of xs:yearMonthDuration is restricted to contain only year and month components.

zero-digit

zero-digit specifies the character used for the digit-zero-sign; the default value is the digit zero (0). This character must be a digit (category Nd in the Unicode property database), and it must have the numeric value zero. This attribute implicitly defines the Unicode character that is used to represent each of the values 0 to 9 in the final result string: Unicode is organized so that each set of decimal digits forms a contiguous block of characters in numerical sequence.

I Example Applications (Non-Normative)

This section contains examples of several important classes of queries that can be expressed using XQuery. The applications described here include joins across multiple data sources, grouping and aggregation, queries based on sequential relationships, recursive transformations, and selection of distinct combinations of values.

I.1 Joins

Joins, which combine data from multiple sources into a single result, are a very important type of query. In this section we will illustrate how several types of joins can be expressed in XQuery. We will base our examples on the following three documents:

  1. A document named parts.xml that contains many part elements; each part element in turn contains partno and description subelements.

  2. A document named suppliers.xml that contains many supplier elements; each supplier element in turn contains suppno and suppname subelements.

  3. A document named catalog.xml that contains information about the relationships between suppliers and parts. The catalog document contains many item elements, each of which in turn contains partno, suppno, and price subelements.

A conventional ("inner") join returns information from two or more related sources, as illustrated by the following example, which combines information from three documents. The example generates a "descriptive catalog" derived from the catalog document, but containing part descriptions instead of part numbers and supplier names instead of supplier numbers. The new catalog is ordered alphabetically by part description and secondarily by supplier name.

The previous query returns information only about parts that have suppliers and suppliers that have parts. An outer join is a join that preserves information from one or more of the participating sources, including elements that have no matching element in the other source. For example, a left outer join between suppliers and parts might return information about suppliers that have no matching parts.

The following query demonstrates a left outer join. It returns names of all the suppliers in alphabetic order, including those that supply no parts. In the result, each supplier element contains the descriptions of all the parts it supplies, in alphabetic order.

The previous query preserves information about suppliers that supply no parts. Another type of join, called a full outer join, might be used to preserve information about both suppliers that supply no parts and parts that have no supplier. The result of a full outer join can be structured in any of several ways. The following query generates a list of supplier elements, each containing nested part elements for the parts that it supplies (if any), followed by a list of part elements for the parts that have no supplier. This might be thought of as a "supplier-centered" full outer join. Other forms of outer join queries are also possible.

The previous query uses an element constructor to enclose its output inside a master-list element. The concatenation operator (",") is used to combine the two main parts of the query. The result is an ordered sequence of supplier elements followed by an orphan-parts element that contains descriptions of all the parts that have no supplier.

I.2 Queries on Sequence

XQuery uses the << and >> operators to compare nodes based on document order. Although these operators are quite simple, they can be used to express complex queries for XML documents in which sequence is meaningful. The first two queries in this section involve a surgical report that contains procedure, incision, instrument, action, and anesthesia elements.

The following query returns all the action elements that occur between the first and second incision elements inside the first procedure. The original document order among these nodes is preserved in the result of the query.

It is worth noting here that document order is defined in such a way that a node is considered to precede its descendants in document order. In the surgical report, an action is never part of an incision, but an instrument is. Since the >> operator is based on document order, the predicate $i >> ($proc//incision)[1] is true for any instrument element that is a descendant of the first incision element in the first procedure.

For some queries, it may be helpful to define a function that can test whether a node precedes another node without being its ancestor. The following function returns true if its first operand precedes its second operand but is not an ancestor of its second operand; otherwise it returns false:

Similarly, a local:follows function could be written:

Using the local:precedes function, we can write a query that finds instrument elements between the first two incisions, excluding from the query result any instrument that is a descendant of the first incision:

The following query reports incisions for which no prior anesthesia was recorded in the surgical report. Since an anesthesia is never part of an incision, we can use << instead of the less-efficient local:precedes function:

In some documents, particular sequences of elements may indicate a logical hierarchy. This is most commonly true of HTML. The following query returns the introduction of an XHTML document, wrapping it in a div element. In this example, we assume that an h2 element containing the text "Introduction" marks the beginning of the introduction, and the introduction continues until the next h2 or h1 element, or the end of the document, whichever comes first.

Note that the above query makes explicit the hierarchy that was implicit in the original document. In this example, we assume that the h2 element containing the text "Introduction" has no subelements.

I.3 Recursive Transformations

Occasionally it is necessary to scan over a hierarchy of elements, applying some transformation at each level of the hierarchy. In XQuery this can be accomplished by defining a recursive function. In this section we will present two examples of such recursive functions.

Suppose that we need to compute a table of contents for a given document by scanning over the document, retaining only elements named section or title, and preserving the hierarchical relationships among these elements. For each section, we retain subelements named section or title; but for each title, we retain the full content of the element. This might be accomplished by the following recursive function:

The "skeleton" of a given document, containing only its sections and titles, can then be obtained by invoking the local:sections-and-titles function on the root node of the document, as follows:

As another example of a recursive transformation, suppose that we wish to scan over a document, transforming every attribute named color to an element named color, and every element named size to an attribute named size. This can be accomplished by the following recursive function (note that the element constructor in case $e generates attributes before child elements):

The transformation can be applied to a whole document by invoking the local:swizzle function on the root node of the document, as follows:

J Change Log (Non-Normative)

This appendix lists the changes that have been made to this specification since the publication of the previous Working Draft.

J.1 Substantive Changes

The following substantive changes have been made.

  1. Applied all XQuery 2ed errata.

  2. Added group by clause to FLWOR Expressions (3.9.7 Group By Clause).

  3. Added tumbling window and sliding window in FLWOR Expressions (3.9.4 Window Clause).

  4. Added count clause in FLWOR Expressions (3.9.6 Count Clause).

  5. Added allowing empty in 3.9.2 For Clause, for functionality similar to outer joins in SQL.

  6. Added 3.14 Try/Catch Expressions for handling dynamic errors and type errors.

  7. Added literal function items (3.1.6 Literal Function Items).

  8. Added inline functions (3.1.7 Inline Functions).

  9. Added dynamic function invocation (3.2.2 Dynamic Function Invocation).

  10. Added 3.1.5.3 Function Item Coercion.

  11. Added 2.5.5 SequenceType Subtype Relationships, moving sequence type subtype judgments into the language specification rather than the formal semantics.

  12. Added private functions (4.18 Function Declaration).

  13. Added support for nondeterministic functions (4.18 Function Declaration)

  14. Added switch expressions (3.12 Switch Expression)

  15. Added computed namespace constructors (3.8.3.7 Computed Namespace Constructors).

  16. Added output declarations (2.2.4 Serialization).

  17. Added annotations (4.15 Annotations).

  18. Simplified BNF for FLWOR expressions, changed description of semantics so that each clause is understood as accepting a tuple stream as input, acting on that tuple stream, and producing a tuple stream as output.

  19. Modified validate expressions to allow validation against a type that is explicitly specified in the query using the type keyword.

  20. Added support for declaring nondeterministic external functions in 4.18 Function Declaration, using annotations.

  21. Extended variable declarations to allow default values for external variables.

  22. Added 4.17 Context Item Declaration.

  23. Modified 4.1 Version Declaration to add support for XQuery 3.0.

  24. Added 4.10 Decimal-Format Declaration to allow a query to specify formats for fn:format-number(). Added corresponding properties to the static context.

  25. Relaxed constraints on module imports in 4.12 Module Import to allow modules to reference each other without restriction and to remove restrictions on forwards references to global variables.

  26. Modified 4.16 Variable Declaration to clarify type information and remove ambiguities with respect to types.

  27. Removed obsolete Latin-1, using ISO-8859-1 instead. Resolves Bug 7797.

  28. Changed conformance section to make full-axis support mandatory. Added note saying the Working Group has not yet decided which XQuery 3.0 features are optional.

  29. Added normative rules for resolving module URIs to 4.12 Module Import.

  30. Clarified type information available to derives-from() in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching. Resolves Bug 6513, Comment #21.

  31. Modified derives-from() in 2.5.4 SequenceType Matching to support union types. Resolves Bug 7749.

  32. Added annotation assertions to function tests.

  33. Removed section on static typing extensions.

  34. Added support for literal URLs in names, using EQNames.

  35. Added support for XML Schema 1.1.

  36. Added support for union types in function arguments.

  37. Allowed serialization options to be specified as an XDM instance using output declarations. See 2.2.4 Serialization. Resolves Bug 9302. Moved serialization options to the static context, with module scope.

  38. Allowed function declarations to declare a user-declared function deterministic or nondeterministic.

  39. Allowed implementations to ignore errors in non-matching case operands. Resolves Bug 9252.

  40. Required validation to check the values of nodes of type xs:NOTATION. Resolves Bug 9816.

  41. Clarified wording on conflicts between function signatures and constructor functions [XQ0034] in function signatures.

  42. Added definition for closure of a function item. Resolves Bug 10579.

  43. Fixed an editorial error in which the wrong error was reported for duplicate decimal formats. Resolves Bug 10271.

  44. Added error for duplicate property declarations within a single decimal format declaration. Resolves Bug 10272.

  45. Specified consistency constraints for types and values of default values for external variables. Resolves Bug 10407.

  46. Added missing consistency constraints for statically known namespaces to 2.2.5 Consistency Constraints (the prefix xmlns is not bound to any namespace URI, no prefix is bound to the namespace URI http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/). Resolves Bug 10700.

  47. The prefixes math, err, and out are no longer predeclared. Resolves Bug 10681.

  48. Forbid the namespace URI "http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/" in constructed namespace nodes. Resolves Bug 10728.

  49. Corrected definition of group by: 1. We now that no two items with different grouping keys are deep equal to each other, 2. We now handle a non-transitivity edge case. Resolves Bug 10733.

  50. Corrected a bug in XQuery Second Edition involving consecutive ' or " characters in attribute content. Resolves Bug 10989.

  51. Adopted rules for abstract elements in substitution groups: abstract elements do not appear in substitution groups, block attributes must be taken into account when building the substitution groups. Resolves Bug 10207.

  52. Changed the rules for static detection of dynamic and type errors in 2.3.1 Kinds of Errors: Independently of whether the Static Typing Feature is in effect, if an implementation can determine during the static analysis phase that a QueryBody , if evaluated, would necessarily raise a dynamic error or that an expression, if evaluated, would necessarily raise a type error, the implementation may (but is not required to) report that error during the static analysis phase.

  53. Clarified that implementation-defined annotations must not be in any of the following namespaces: http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace, http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema, http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance.

  54. Prohibited implementations from defining annotations or annotations assertions in reserved namespaces, changing to MUST NOT. Added http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions and http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions/math to the list of prohibited namespaces. Resolves Bug 10865.

  55. Prohibited the xmlns namespace in EQNames. Resolves Bug 10869.

  56. Prohibited user defined functions from being declared in the math namespace. Resolves Bug 10883.

  57. Defined the behavior of "depends on" in the presence of function items. Resolves Bug 10885.

  58. Removed default values from annotations. Resolves Bug 11014.

  59. Added missing semantics for EQNames with URILiterals. Resolves Bug 10857.

  60. Added support for private variables. Resolves Bug 10875.

  61. Added support for casting to union types. Resolves Bug 7860.

J.3 Editorial Changes

The following are some of the editorial changes that have been made.

  1. Add Note to group-by section on unexpected replication of LET-bindings after grouping. Advises users to use a separate FLWOR to bind the expression, and a nested FLWOR for grouping, like this: let $x := 47 return for $e in //emps group by $d := $e/dept return f($d, $x)

  2. Changed introductory text on the relationship between XQuery and XPath to list the cases where a syntactically valid query can return different results in the two languages - see http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=7163.

  3. Introduced definitions of scope, global scope, module scope, lexical scope, and dynamic scope to C Context Components.

  4. Fixed names of op:hexBinary-equal and op:base64Binary-equal in B.2 Operator Mapping. Resolves Bug 7048.

  5. Clarified overwriteability of the context item static type, resolving Bug 8875.

  6. Added a definion for resolving a relative URI. Resolves Bug 10571.

  7. Provided a definition for matching a ParenthesizedItemType: A ParenthesizedItemType matches an item if and only if the item matches the ItemType that is in parentheses.

  8. Clarified that defaults are used for missing properties of decimal formats. If a given property is not declared, the default values specified in statically known decimal formats are used. Resolves Bug 10858.

  9. Clarified semantics of decimal formats in which all properties are defaulted. If a format declares no properties, default values are used for all properties. Resolves Bug 10273.

  10. Eliminated the vestigial term user declared function, which was not defined, and used the word user-defined function throughout. Resolves Bug 10466.

  11. Added fn:unparsed-text, fn:uri-collection and fn:get-environment-variable to the list of input sources. Resolves Bug 10503.

  12. Changed terminology for properties with no value, particularly in the case of namespace URIs, using the Data Model's new term absentDM30. Resolves Bug 10683.

  13. Clarified that in-scope variables are augmented by inline functions. Resolves Bug 10686.

  14. Corrected several editorial errors involving static context for statically known namespaces. Resolves Bug 10689.

  15. Pulled FunctionTest out into it's own SequenceType matching sub-section. Clarified which default namespace to use throughout. Resolves Bug 10705.

  16. Replaced the term "evaluation order" for describing parentheses. New description: "Parentheses may be used to override the precedence rules". Resolves Bug 10716.

  17. Added function items to the definitions of item, XDM. Resolves Bug 10679.

  18. Eliminated erroneous reference to [err:XPST0081]. Resolves Bug 10680.

  19. Added a note to the introduction, specifying that in most contexts, processors are not required to raise errors if a URI is not lexically valid according to [RFC3986] and [RFC3987]. Resolves Bug 10682.

  20. Made editorial corrections governing the prefix expression for computed namespace nodes. Resolves Bug 10727.

  21. Removed the word "legal", which is no longer used in this specification, replacing with more precise terminology.

  22. Modified definition of public/private functions to make the presence or absence of a %private annotation part of the definition. Resolves Bug 10874. Modified definition of deterministic/nondeterministic functions in the same way, and to clarify some badly worded text.

  23. Fixed an incorrect group by example. Resolves Bug 10980.

  24. Corrected an example in I.1 Joins. See http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-qt-comments/2010Nov/0036.html.