5. xml:id error processing being a "must"

| An xml:id processor must assure that the following constraints hold
| for all xml:id attributes:
| ...
| An xml:id error occurs for any xml:id attribute that does not
| satisfy the constraints.
|
| The xml:id processor performs ID assignment on all xml:id
| attributes, even those that do not satisfy the enumerated
| constraints.
| ...
| A violation of the constraints in this specification results in an
| xml:id error. Such errors are not fatal, but must be reported by the
| xml:id processor to the application invoking it.

The above implies that if "the application" does nothing with the
error, the processor has to do work (detect the errors listed in
section 4) but that work will then be ignored.

Should the spec say that xml:id errors MAY simply be ignored? In
effect, what's the point of the error checking? The following
document:

   <test xml:id="!%&(@!"/>

...is well-formed, and MUST result in a document representation where
the element has the ID "!%&(@!", despite it being technically in
xml:id error.

-- 
Ian Hickson               U+1047E                )\._.,--....,'``.    fL
http://ln.hixie.ch/       U+263A                /,   _.. \   _\  ;`._ ,.
Things that are impossible just take longer.   `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'

Received on Thursday, 18 November 2004 14:05:14 UTC