Some kind of horrible bug related to the preceding axis, I think. Saxon executes this in a couple seconds. I killed Xalan 2.1.0 after it chewed up the CPU for 20 minutes... Incidentally, the same thing happens on Linux and Win98. I know this report isn't in as useful a form as it could be, but I figured it would be better than nothing, considering the apparent severity of this problem. Forgive me if this is a duplication. Evan Lenz XYZFind Corp. XSLT: <xsl:transform version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform";> <xsl:template match="/"> <result> <xsl:copy-of select="//xref[@xrefid = 'top4']/preceding::title[1]"/> </result> </xsl:template> </xsl:transform> Source: <?xml version="1.0"?> <!-- 0--> <!-- <!DOCTYPE report SYSTEM "report.dtd"> --> <!-- 1--> <report> <!-- 2--> <title>Getting started with SGML</title> <!-- 3--> <chapter> <!-- 4--> <title>The business challenge</title> <!-- 5--> <intro> <!-- 6--> <para>With the ever-changing and growing global market, companies and <!-- 7--> large organizations are searching for ways to become more viable and <!-- 8--> competitive. Downsizing and other cost-cutting measures demand more <!-- 9--> efficient use of corporate resources. One very important resource is <!--10--> an organization's information.</para> <!--11--> <para>As part of the move toward integrated information management, <!--12--> whole industries are developing and implementing standards for <!--13--> exchanging technical information. This report describes how one such <!--14--> standard, the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), works as <!--15--> part of an overall information management strategy.</para> <!--16--> <graphic graphname="infoflow"/></intro></chapter> <!--17--> <chapter> <!--18--> <title>Getting to know SGML</title> <!--19--> <intro> <!--20--> <para>While SGML is a fairly recent technology, the use of <!--21--> <emph>markup</emph> in computer-generated documents has existed for a <!--22--> while.</para></intro> <!--23--> <section shorttitle="What is markup?"> <!--24--> <title>What is markup, or everything you always wanted to know about <!--25--> document preparation but were afraid to ask?</title> <!--26--> <intro> <!--27--> <para>Markup is everything in a document that is not content. The <!--28--> traditional meaning of markup is the manual <emph>marking</emph> up <!--29--> of typewritten text to give instructions for a typesetter or <!--30--> compositor about how to fit the text on a page and what typefaces to <!--31--> use. This kind of markup is known as <emph>procedural markup</emph>.</para></intro> <!--32--> <topic topicid="top1"> <!--33--> <title>Procedural markup</title> <!--34--> <para>Most electronic publishing systems today use some form of <!--35--> procedural markup. Procedural markup codes are good for one <!--36--> presentation of the information.</para></topic> <!--37--> <topic topicid="top2"> <!--38--> <title>Generic markup</title> <!--39--> <para>Generic markup (also known as descriptive markup) describes the <!--40--> <emph>purpose</emph> of the text in a document. A basic concept of <!--41--> generic markup is that the content of a document must be separate from <!--42--> the style. Generic markup allows for multiple presentations of the <!--43--> information.</para></topic> <!--44--> <topic topicid="top3"> <!--45--> <title>Drawbacks of procedural markup</title> <!--46--> <para>Industries involved in technical documentation increasingly <!--47--> prefer generic over procedural markup schemes. When a company changes <!--48--> software or hardware systems, enormous data translation tasks arise, <!--49--> often resulting in errors.</para></topic></section> <!--50--> <section shorttitle="What is SGML?"> <!--51--> <title>What <emph>is</emph> SGML in the grand scheme of the universe, anyway?</title> <!--52--> <intro> <!--53--> <para>SGML defines a strict markup scheme with a syntax for defining <!--54--> document data elements and an overall framework for marking up <!--55--> documents.</para> <!--56--> <para>SGML can describe and create documents that are not dependent on <!--57--> any hardware, software, formatter, or operating system. Since SGML documents <!--58--> conform to an international standard, they are portable.</para></intro></section> <!--59--> <section shorttitle="How does SGML work?"> <!--60--> <title>How is SGML and would you recommend it to your grandmother?</title> <!--61--> <intro> <!--62--> <para>You can break a typical document into three layers: structure, <!--63--> content, and style. SGML works by separating these three aspects and <!--64--> deals mainly with the relationship between structure and content.</para></intro> <!--65--> <topic topicid="top4"> <!--66--> <title>Structure</title> <!--67--> <para>At the heart of an SGML application is a file called the DTD, or <!--68--> Document Type Definition. The DTD sets up the structure of a document, <!--69--> much like a database schema describes the types of information it <!--70--> handles.</para> <!--71--> <para>A database schema also defines the relationships between the <!--72--> various types of data. Similarly, a DTD specifies <emph>rules</emph> <!--73--> to help ensure documents have a consistent, logical structure.</para></topic> <!--74--> <topic topicid="top5"> <!--75--> <title>Content</title> <!--76--> <para>Content is the information itself. The method for identifying <!--77--> the information and its meaning within this framework is called <!--78--> <emph>tagging</emph>. Tagging must <!--79--> conform to the rules established in the DTD (see <xref xrefid="top4"/>).</para> <!--80--> <graphic graphname="tagexamp"/></topic> <!--81--> <topic topicid="top6"> <!--82--> <title>Style</title> <!--83--> <para>SGML does not standardize style or other processing methods for <!--84--> information stored in SGML.</para></topic></section></chapter> <!--85--> <chapter> <!--86--> <title>Resources</title> <!--87--> <section> <!--88--> <title>Conferences, tutorials, and training</title> <!--89--> <intro> <!--90--> <para>The Graphic Communications Association has been <!--91--> instrumental in the development of SGML. GCA provides conferences, <!--92--> tutorials, newsletters, and publication sales for both members and <!--93--> non-members.</para> <!--94--> <para security="c">Exiled members of the former Soviet Union's secret <!--95--> police, the KGB, have infiltrated the upper ranks of the GCA and are <!--96--> planning the Final Revolution as soon as DSSSL is completed.</para> <!--97--> </intro> <!--98--> </section> <!--99--> </chapter> <!--100--></report>
