ISSUE: is apsid an attribute?

[Lofton Henderson <lofton@rockynet.com>]

Source:  editors / test writers.

ISSUE:  does the apsid parameter of the BegAps element show up as an 
attribute in the DOM?

DESCRIPTION:

WebCGMNode contains a boolean method, hasAttributes(), and an attribute of 
type node-list, 'attributes'.  What qualifies as an attribute is not 
defined anywhere.  The obvious thing that comes to mind is APS Attributes 
(on APS nodes).  The text says the value of 'attributes' will be null in 
the case that the WebCGMNode has no attributes.

WebCGMAppStructure, which inherits from WebCGMNode, has an additional 
attribute, 'apsId'.  In metafiles, the apsid is a parameter on the BegAps 
element (along with the 'type' and the 'inheritance flag' parameters).

The initial code of the test Node-attr.html shows that the apsid is being 
treated in the test as if it is an 'attribute'.

So should DOM return the metafile apsid as an 'attribute' (WebCGMNode 
interface), or only as the 'apsId' on the WebCGMAppStructure interface, or 
both?

It seems to me that the way we designed the interfaces and their 
methods/attributes seems to hint at "only 'apsId'".  On the other hand, 
Benoit seems to remember some past decision for 'attribute' or "both".  If 
that is the case, note that hasAttributes() will always return true for an 
APS node (by far its most usual usage, if not the only usage), and 
'attributes' will always have a count of at least 1.  Also note that in 
XCF, apsid is a required XML attribute on all the APS elements (and the 
bindById, of course).

It is not really critical *how* we answer it.  We have some freedom in how 
we map the structured metafile instance onto an XML-like DOM tree.  But it 
is critical that we have a clear answer and document it.

ALTERNATIVES:
Alt.1:  'apsId' only
Alt.2:  'attribute' only (which would mean eliminate 'apsId')
Alt.3:  both

RECOMMENDATION:  none yet, TC should discuss.  Implementors, what have you 
done?

Regards,
-Lofton.