Errata 3.4 added the failureType attribute to dfdl:assert so that an assert could report the equivalent of a validation error and carry on ('recoverable error') instead of throwing a 'processing error'. What is being asked for here sounds like the ability to throw an error and stop the parser regardless of what points of uncertainty are in scope. That does sound like a genuinely useful thing to be able to do, and gives dfdl:assert the full range of failure actions. We'd have to create a new error type, say 'fatal error'. It would have the same effect as a 'schema definition error'.

James, would this 'fatal error' give you the capability you are looking for?

Regards

Steve Hanson
Architect, IBM Data Format Description Language (DFDL)
Co-Chair, OGF DFDL Working Group
IBM SWG, Hursley, UK
smh@uk.ibm.com
tel:+44-1962-815848

From: Tim Kimber/UK/IBM
To: "Cranford, Jonathan W." <jcranford@mitre.org>,
Cc: "dfdl-wg@ogf.org" <dfdl-wg@ogf.org>, "dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org" <dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org>, "Garriss Jr., James P." <jgarriss@mitre.org>, Steve Hanson/UK/IBM@IBMGB
Date: 08/07/2013 09:29
Subject: RE: [DFDL-WG] What are the consequences of a failed assert?

It depends on whether there was exactly one point of uncertainty active when the discriminator expression evaluated to 'true'. Points of uncertainty can be nested within one another. A POU can be resolved ( or made 'inactive' as I was trying to hint at ) by a discriminator that evaluates to 'true'. When a processing error occurs, it is caught by the nearest ( most deeply nested ) *active* POU. If there is no active POU then the parser halts and reports the error.

regards,

Tim Kimber, DFDL Team,
Hursley, UK
Internet: kimbert@uk.ibm.com
Tel. 01962-816742
Internal tel. 37246742

From: "Cranford, Jonathan W." <jcranford@mitre.org>
To: "Garriss Jr., James P." <jgarriss@mitre.org>, Steve Hanson/UK/IBM@IBMGB, Tim Kimber/UK/IBM@IBMGB,
Cc: "dfdl-wg@ogf.org" <dfdl-wg@ogf.org>, "dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org" <dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org>
Date: 05/07/2013 20:31
Subject: RE: [DFDL-WG] What are the consequences of a failed assert?

Wouldn’t the use of a discriminator suppress the backtracking behavior in the face of a processing error?

That is, if a discriminator is used to confirm that the Content-Type header branch is the correct one, wouldn’t a subsequent assert that causes a processing error force the parser to halt with an error?

-Jonathan Cranford

From: dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org [mailto:dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org] On Behalf Of Garriss Jr., James P.
Sent: Friday, July 05, 2013 12:09 PM
To: Steve Hanson; Tim Kimber
Cc: dfdl-wg@ogf.org; dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org
Subject: Re: [DFDL-WG] What are the consequences of a failed assert?

Very helpful, guys, as always. Thank you.

Question: Is it possible to force the failure of an assert to be a validation error instead of a processing error?

Here’s why: All the email headers are modeled as an unordered list. The last item on the list is a catch-all, designed to scoop up all the unexpected headers and hide them from the infoset (via hiddenGroupRef).

So if I have an Content-Type header that is obviously invalid:

Content-Type: bogus/data

The assert fails as expected. But since there is always another choice, the catch-all, the Content-Type header quietly disappears. What I really want is for there to be a validation error for “bogus/data,” so that processing stops!

Is that possible? Is that reasonable?

From: dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org [mailto:dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org] On Behalf Of Steve Hanson
Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2013 4:26 AM
To: Tim Kimber
Cc: dfdl-wg@ogf.org; dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org
Subject: Re: [DFDL-WG] What are the consequences of a failed assert?

Almost. A Recoverable Error does not cause backtracking. It was added to enable an assert to perform validation that checked the data stream rather than just the infoset. For example, checking the max physical length of a non-string value. So it has the same effect on the parse as a Validation Error. I've corrected your summary.

The definition and description of the different errors is covered in the spec by section 2. There have been some errata in this section to clarify the behaviour. Some of the wording has been around since early drafts of the spec, so any suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Regards

Steve Hanson
Architect, IBM Data Format Description Language (DFDL)
Co-Chair, OGF DFDL Working Group
IBM SWG, Hursley, UK
smh@uk.ibm.com
tel:+44-1962-815848

From: Tim Kimber/UK/IBM@IBMGB
To: dfdl-wg@ogf.org,
Date: 03/07/2013 21:51
Subject: Re: [DFDL-WG] What are the consequences of a failed assert?
Sent by: dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org

There are four types of error in DFDL:
- a Schema Definition Error : The schema itself is not valid. ( at least three kinds: xsd not valid, xsd not in the DFLD subset, DFDL annotations not following the rules )
- A Processing Error : The data cannot be parsed. Or if unparsing, the info set cannot be unparsed.
- A Recoverable Error : ( see the Errata ). This is effectively a user-defined form of Validation Error, raised while executing a DFDL assert,
- A Validation Error : The info set does not conform to the XSD

A Schema Definition Error is immediately fatal. Most of these can be detected by the processor before parsing/unparsing begins.
A Processing Error ~~or a Recoverable Error~~ will cause the parser to suppress the error and backtrack to the nearest point of uncertainty. So it will only stop the parse if there are no points of uncertainty currently active.
A Recoverable Error does not cause backtracking - the parser continues to parse after reporting the error.
A Validation Error is only reported if validation is enabled in the DFDL processor. It does not cause backtracking - the parser continues to parse after reporting the error.

That's the gist of it. Further details from other WG members may follow shortly, depending on how accurate I have managed to be.

regards,

Tim Kimber, DFDL Team,
Hursley, UK
Internet: kimbert@uk.ibm.com
Tel. 01962-816742
Internal tel. 37246742

From: "Garriss Jr., James P." <jgarriss@mitre.org>
To: "dfdl-wg@ogf.org" <dfdl-wg@ogf.org>,
Date: 03/07/2013 19:06
Subject: [DFDL-WG] What are the consequences of a failed assert?
Sent by: dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org

I have an element with an assert,

<xsd:element name="Type" dfdl:inputValueCalc="{ fn:lower-case(../MixedCaseType) }">
<xsd:annotation>
<xsd:appinfo source="http://www.ogf.org/dfdl/dfdl-1.0/">
<dfdl:assert test="{ dfdl:checkConstraints(.) }" message="The type must match one of the values on the enumerated list."/>
</xsd:appinfo>
</xsd:annotation>
<xsd:simpleType>
<xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">
<xsd:enumeration value="application"/>
<xsd:enumeration value="multipart"/>
<xsd:enumeration value="message"/>
<xsd:enumeration value="text"/>
</xsd:restriction>
</xsd:simpleType>
</xsd:element>

and the assert is failing (as it should in this case!).

Parse Error: Assertion failed. The type must match one of the values on the enumerated list.

What are the consequences of a failed assert? I have an old version of the spec—is there a place to a get a current, complete copy?—but it says “An unsuccessful dfdl:assert causes a processing error.”

1. What does “processing error” mean in English?
2. Does it mean the input is invalid?
3. Does it mean the processor should stop here and go no further?
4. Does it mean the process should simply ignore the problem and move on to the next item in the schema?

TIA
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Unless stated otherwise above:
IBM United Kingdom Limited - Registered in England and Wales with number 741598.
Registered office: PO Box 41, North Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 3AU

Unless stated otherwise above:
IBM United Kingdom Limited - Registered in England and Wales with number 741598.
Registered office: PO Box 41, North Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 3AU