Re: [dita] DITA v1.2 Review | Propagating attribute values

[Eliot Kimber <ekimber@reallysi.com>]

You have it backward--we have determined that the current language of the
spec is incorrect.

The intent is that key definitions behave *exactly* like conref, meaning
that the referencing element's attributes override the referenced elements.

For example, given this set of elements:

<keydef keys="key-01"
   keyref="key-02"
   linking="targetonly"/>

<keydef keys="key-02"
   href="topic-01.xml"
   linking="sourceonly"/>

<topicref id="key-01-use-01"
  keyref="key-01"
  linking="none"/>

<topicref id="key-01-use-02"
  keyref="key-01"/>

Then for topicref "key-01-use-01" the effective value of @linking is "none",
because it specifies that value directly.

For toicref "key-01-use-02" the effective value of @linking "targetonly"
because that's the value specified on the keydef for key "key-01".

Also, whether an attribute is defaulted in a DTD or XSD or explicitly
specified in an instance is entirely immaterial--to an XML processor the
attribute is simply specified or not--how it came to be specified is
unknowable and therefore cannot affect DITA processing.

Cheers,

Eliot

On 8/25/10 3:24 AM, "Tarun Garg" <tarung@adobe.com> wrote:

> The attribute values get propagated:
> ·        For Keys ­ from key-defining element to key-referencing element.
> 
> ·        For Conref ­ from referenced element to referencing element.
> 
>  
> An attribute value can be specified through two ways:
> ·        In the DTD; as the default/fixed value.
> 
> ·        In the XML instance.
> 
>  
> So, while propagating the attribute values, I think the values specified in
> the XML instance itself shall only be considered for propagation. One of the
> reason I think so, is that the value specified in the DTD is already available
> in most cases and need not be propagated. Apart from this, the value specified
> in the XML instance, indicates the user intention to assign a specific value
> to an element & that needs to be propagated.
>  
>  
>  
> One specific case for this relates to public review comment #C011
> (http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/dita-comment/201007/msg00016.html).
>  
> For a <keydef> element the default value of @processing-role is define as
> ³resource-only² through the DTD. Now, there is a possibility that a user
> assigns value to @processing-role explicitly in the xml. These two cases are
> different and I think the propagation of the value shall happen differently
> for these two scenarios as follows.
> ·        If the value is defined through DTD ­ It shall NOT be propagated from
> key-defining to key-referencing element.
> 
> ·        If the value is explicitly specified in the XML - It shall be
> propagated from key-defining to key-referencing element.
> 
> This is so because, in general for key-defining element, the @processing-role
> is controlled through DTD because, the purpose of the element is clear and per
> the standard. Now, if a user is specifying a value in the XML explicitly, then
> I assume the user wants some different behavior and hence, the value shall be
> propagated.
>  
> Regards,
> Tarun Garg | Adobe Systems | +91-120-2444711 | tarung@adobe.com

-- 
Eliot Kimber
Senior Solutions Architect
"Bringing Strategy, Content, and Technology Together"
Main: 512.554.9368
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