There is no way to vary the pattern depending on the value of a variable unless you have a limited number of possible patterns.  In that case you could use the variable ( in the expression for a DFDL discriminator ) to discriminate a choice where each branch of the choice has a different DFDL regular expression.

However, I think you need more flexibility than that - the boundary string could be just about anything, right?. The dfdl:initiator/separator/terminator properties do take a DFDL expression, and it should be possible to model a wide range of data formats using those properties. Is there some reason why that is not possible in your case?

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:        25/06/2013 12:38
Subject:        Re: [DFDL-WG] Can I concatenate a variable?
Sent by:        dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org




> In section 12.3.5 of the specification, the 'lengthPattern' property is listed as having the type 'DFDL Regular expression'. Unlike some other properties, dfdl:lengthPattern cannot be a DFDL expression. Therefore it cannot contain a DFDL variable reference.
 
Is there no workaround for this?
 
From: dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org [mailto:dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org] On Behalf Of Tim Kimber
Sent:
Monday, June 24, 2013 4:11 PM
To:
dfdl-wg@ogf.org
Subject:
Re: [DFDL-WG] Can I concatenate a variable?

 
Hi James,

In section 12.3.5 of the specification, the 'lengthPattern' property is listed as having the type 'DFDL Regular expression'. Unlike some other properties, dfdl:lengthPattern cannot be a DFDL expression. Therefore it cannot contain a DFDL variable reference.


On the other hand, section 14.2 lists the data type of dfdl:separator as 'List of DFDL String Literals or DFDL Expression', However, your dfdl:separator is not a valid DFDL expression. The property must be either a valid DFDL expression or a list of DFDL string literals. The syntax you need is


<xsd:sequence
dfdl:separator="{fn:concat('--'),$some_boundary}" dfdl:separatorSuppressionPolicy="anyEmpty"  dfdl:terminator="--%CR;%LF;">

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:        
24/06/2013 20:38
Subject:        
[DFDL-WG] Can I concatenate a variable?
Sent by:        
dfdl-wg-bounces@ogf.org





Suppose I define a variable like this:

 
<dfdl:defineVariable
name="boundary" defaultValue="some_boundary" type="xsd:string"/>
 
Can I later concatenate it with other values?  

 
For example, can I concatenate it as part of a pattern?

 
<xsd:element
name="Preamble" type="xsd:string" dfdl:lengthKind="pattern" dfdl:lengthPattern="(.+?)(?=--{$some_boundary})"/>
 
Can I concatenate it as part of a separator?

 
<xsd:sequence
dfdl:separator="--{$some_boundary}" dfdl:separatorSuppressionPolicy="anyEmpty"  dfdl:terminator="--%CR;%LF;">
 
TIA!
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