[XML-SIG] Re: [4suite] ReleaseNode interface in 4XSLT

[Fred L. Drake, Jr.]

Mike Olson writes:
 > This is why I vote for either the implementation has the releaseNode
 > function, or the node itself.

  Putting such a method on the node makes the most sense, if the
method makes sense at all.  This allows different classes within an
implementation to do the right thing without the dispatching overhead,
and makes the most sense for implementations which can be subclassed.
  I am a little concerned about the method, however, because I see two
different possibilities.  One is the "I don't need you anymore; don't
bother me" option (equivalent to DECREF), and the other is "Break all
your internal links and die", equivalent to the minidom .unlink()
method.  From the discussion so far, I'm getting the sense that the
latter is what is being discussed, and this is not always
appropriate.  To build DOM trees to use with the XPath/XSLT engines,
would I need to provide an empty .releaseNode(), since the DOM trees
are persistent and have lifetimes far beyond the individual use for
them with a specific transformation?


  -Fred

-- 
Fred L. Drake, Jr.  <fdrake at acm.org>
PythonLabs at Digital Creations