net.sf.saxon.expr
Class TypeChecker

java.lang.Object
  extended by net.sf.saxon.expr.TypeChecker

public final class TypeChecker
extends Object

This class provides Saxon's type checking capability. It contains a static method, staticTypeCheck, which is called at compile time to perform type checking of an expression. This class is never instantiated.


Method Summary
static XPathException ebvError(Expression exp, TypeHierarchy th)
          Test whether a given expression is capable of returning a value that has an effective boolean value.
static Expression staticTypeCheck(Expression supplied, SequenceType req, boolean backwardsCompatible, RoleLocator role, ExpressionVisitor visitor)
          Check an expression against a required type, modifying it if necessary.
static Expression strictTypeCheck(Expression supplied, SequenceType req, RoleLocator role, StaticContext env)
          Check an expression against a required type, modifying it if necessary.
static XPathException testConformance(ValueRepresentation val, SequenceType requiredType, XPathContext context)
          Test whether a given value conforms to a given type
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait
 

Method Detail

staticTypeCheck

public static Expression staticTypeCheck(Expression supplied,
                                         SequenceType req,
                                         boolean backwardsCompatible,
                                         RoleLocator role,
                                         ExpressionVisitor visitor)
                                  throws XPathException
Check an expression against a required type, modifying it if necessary.

This method takes the supplied expression and checks to see whether it is known statically to conform to the specified type. There are three possible outcomes. If the static type of the expression is a subtype of the required type, the method returns the expression unchanged. If the static type of the expression is incompatible with the required type (for example, if the supplied type is integer and the required type is string) the method throws an exception (this results in a compile-time type error being reported). If the static type is a supertype of the required type, then a new expression is constructed that evaluates the original expression and checks the dynamic type of the result; this new expression is returned as the result of the method.

The rules applied are those for function calling in XPath, that is, the rules that the argument of a function call must obey in relation to the signature of the function. Some contexts require slightly different rules (for example, operands of polymorphic operators such as "+"). In such cases this method cannot be used.

Note that this method does not do recursive type-checking of the sub-expressions.

Parameters:
supplied - The expression to be type-checked
req - The required type for the context in which the expression is used
backwardsCompatible - True if XPath 1.0 backwards compatibility mode is applicable
role - Information about the role of the subexpression within the containing expression, used to provide useful error messages
visitor - An expression visitor
Returns:
The original expression if it is type-safe, or the expression wrapped in a run-time type checking expression if not.
Throws:
XPathException - if the supplied type is statically inconsistent with the required type (that is, if they have no common subtype)

strictTypeCheck

public static Expression strictTypeCheck(Expression supplied,
                                         SequenceType req,
                                         RoleLocator role,
                                         StaticContext env)
                                  throws XPathException
Check an expression against a required type, modifying it if necessary. This is a variant of the method staticTypeCheck(net.sf.saxon.expr.Expression, net.sf.saxon.value.SequenceType, boolean, net.sf.saxon.expr.RoleLocator, net.sf.saxon.expr.ExpressionVisitor) used for expressions that declare variables in XQuery. In these contexts, conversions such as numeric type promotion and atomization are not allowed.

Parameters:
supplied - The expression to be type-checked
req - The required type for the context in which the expression is used
role - Information about the role of the subexpression within the containing expression, used to provide useful error messages
env - The static context containing the types being checked. At present this is used only to locate a NamePool
Returns:
The original expression if it is type-safe, or the expression wrapped in a run-time type checking expression if not.
Throws:
XPathException - if the supplied type is statically inconsistent with the required type (that is, if they have no common subtype)

testConformance

public static XPathException testConformance(ValueRepresentation val,
                                             SequenceType requiredType,
                                             XPathContext context)
                                      throws XPathException
Test whether a given value conforms to a given type

Parameters:
val - the value
requiredType - the required type
context - XPath dynamic context
Returns:
an XPathException describing the error condition if the value doesn't conform; or null if it does.
Throws:
XPathException - if a failure occurs reading the value

ebvError

public static XPathException ebvError(Expression exp,
                                      TypeHierarchy th)
Test whether a given expression is capable of returning a value that has an effective boolean value.

Parameters:
exp - the given expression
th - the type hierarchy cache
Returns:
null if the expression is OK (optimistically), an exception object if not


Copyright (c) Saxonica Limited. All rights reserved.