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zero-digit


It strikes me that the text describing the zero-digit attribute of 
the xsl:decimal-format element in the XSLT 1.0 spec may be wrong. 
What is stated in Section 12.3 is:

zero-digit specifies the character used as the digit zero; the 
default value is the digit zero (0)

The issues with this:

1. Why can we specify 0 but not 1 through 9?

2. Changing the character used for 0 is not allowed by the 
java.text.DecimalFormat class after which format-number and 
xsl:decimal-format is modeled. ()

On the other hand, 0 is a special character used in decimal format 
patterns by java.text.DecimalFormat, just like # is. The # character 
represents a digit which IS NOT printed when it's an insignificant 
zero. The 0 represents a digit that IS printed if it's an 
insignificant zero. Otherwise 0 and # are the same. I think it is 
this use of 0 in decimal format patterns that was intended for the 
zero-digit attribute of xsl:decimal-number.

Assuming this analysis is correct, I think an erratum needs to be 
published for XSLT 1.0. This erratum should delete the current bullet 
point "zero-digit specifies the character used as the digit zero; the 
default value is the digit zero (0)" It should add the following 
bullet point to the list of "The following attributes control the 
interpretation of characters in the format pattern:

       zero-digit specifies the character used for a zero digit in the 
format pattern; the default value is the zero character (0)
-- 

+-----------------------+------------------------+-------------------+
| Elliotte Rusty Harold | elharo@metalab.unc.edu | Writer/Programmer |
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|                  The XML Bible (IDG Books, 1999)                   |
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