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Bug 28014 - Unnumbered Definitions – Unidentified Cross-References
Summary: Unnumbered Definitions – Unidentified Cross-References
Status: CLOSED DUPLICATE of bug 28012
Alias: None
Product: XPath / XQuery / XSLT
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Functions and Operators 3.1 (show other bugs)
Version: Candidate Recommendation
Hardware: PC Linux
: P2 normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Michael Kay
QA Contact: Mailing list for public feedback on specs from XSL and XML Query WGs
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2015-02-13 21:08 UTC by Patrick Durusau
Modified: 2015-03-17 00:21 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

See Also:


Attachments

Description Patrick Durusau 2015-02-13 21:08:29 UTC
This is a duplicate of 28012 but on a different component. I was unable to select multiple components for a recurring issue in each component. Sorry.


“Definitions” have anchors that allow them to be addressed by cross-references, but you should note that cross-references are text hyperlinks that have no identifier by which a reader can find the definition without using the hyperlink. That is to say when I see:

***
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. (in the paragraph following production [118] of XPath 3.1)
***

The hyperlinks in the original will take me to various parts of the document where these definitions occur, but if I have printed the document, I have no clue where to look for these definitions.

The better practice is to number all the definitions and since they are all self-contained, to put them in a single location. Additionally, all interlinear references to those definitions (or other internal cross-references) should have a visible reference that enables a reader to find the definition or cross-reference, without use of an internal hyperlink.

Example:

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A lexical QName Def-21 with a prefix can be converted into an expanded QName Def-19 by resolving its namespace prefix to a namespace URI, using the statically known namespaces. Def-99 [These are fake links to draw your attention to the text in question. The Def numbers are fictitious in this example. Actual references would have the visible definition numbers assigned to the appropriate definition.]
***
Comment 1 Andrew Coleman 2015-03-04 14:12:10 UTC
Patrick, I acknowledge your point about there being no 'generic' component, but in the interest of tidiness, I have marked this as a duplicate of the bug that contains the most discussion (28012).  Many thanks.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 28012 ***
Comment 2 Patrick Durusau 2015-03-17 00:21:26 UTC
https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=28012