[Bug 5896] New: Description of particles and terms in 2.2.3.2 confusing

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=5896

           Summary: Description of particles and terms in 2.2.3.2 confusing
           Product: XML Schema
           Version: 1.1 only
          Platform: PC
        OS/Version: Windows XP
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P2
         Component: Structures: XSD Part 1
        AssignedTo: cmsmcq@w3.org
        ReportedBy: petexmldev@codalogic.com
         QAContact: www-xml-schema-comments@w3.org


In 2.2.3.2 I find the description of particles, terms and their relationship 
confusing.  (I also wanted to remove the word "term" that appears in "term 
in the grammar" because the section talks about "term" later, and it seems 
best to avoid having the same word mean different things in a similar 
context.)

I originally posted a comment to the comments mailing list, to which Michael
Sperberg-McQueen added some clarification
(http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-xml-schema-comments/2008JulSep/0071.html).

Based on those comments I'd therefore like to suggest the following re-wording:

A particle is a concept in the grammar used to describe element content.  A
particle consists of either an element declaration, a wildcard or a model
group.  A particle also consists of occurrence constraints. Particles
contribute to •validation• as part of complex type definition •validation•,
when they allow anywhere from zero to many element information items or
sequences thereof, depending on their contents and occurrence constraints.

A [Definition:] Term is either an element declaration, a wildcard or a model
group (i.e. any of the three kinds of component that can appear in a particle).
 A particle has (among others) a property called {term} which is a •Term•.  As
such the {term} property is either an element declaration, a wildcard or a
model group, and the content of the {term} property is often referred to as the
"•Term•" of the particle.  All •Terms• are themselves •Annotated Components•.
[Definition:]  A basic term is an Element Declaration or a Wildcard.
[Definition:]  A basic particle is a Particle whose •Term• is a •basic term•.

Thanks.


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Received on Thursday, 24 July 2008 09:45:06 UTC