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Transferred at the request of the WG from 1848: It would be useful to clarify whether a module that imports its own namespace is allowed to contain forwards references to its own global variables. You can read the spec either way on this: on the one hand it says forwards references to global variables aren't allowed; on the other hand it says you can access all the global variables declared in a namespace that you've imported. It's a little odd if it isn't allowed: if cyclic references to variables are allowed across modules, why not allow them within a module? It's also difficult to explain (and implement!) that a module has access to all the global variables in an imported namespace except those that are declared in the same module and after the variable reference. Proposal: if a module imports its own namespace, then all variables in that namespace are in scope throughout the module, including within the entire module where the variable is declared. Michael Kay
On Sept. 28, 2005, the Query Working Group decided that a forward reference in a variable initializing expression will remain an error, even in modules that import their own target namespace. This is because a module import that references a namespace is interpreted as importing an implementation-defined set of modules OTHER than the module containing the import. If you are satisfied with this resolution, please respond by closing this Bugzilla entry. Regards, Don Chamberlin
[Mike indicated during the meeting he was OK, and I am closing this issue. He was also present when we voted to request CR, and did not object. Liam ]