Implementing setAttribute in the way you suggest should be fine. And, you could read the DOM spec as requiring it, although it is not completely clear. It says setAttribute "Adds a new attribute. If an attribute with that name is already present in the element, its value is changed to be that of the value parameter." See http://www.w3.org/TR/DOM-Level-2/core.html#ID-745549614
If you'd like to go ahead and make the change, mail the patch back to this list and I'll put it in. -- Andy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Dickson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > In ElementImpl::setAttribute(), a new AttrImpl object is created, > populated and then inserted into ElementImpl::attributes using > NamedNodeMapImpl::setNamedItem(). If an item with the same name already > exists in the NamedNodeMap, it is replaced by the newly created item and > deleted (pending reference counting). > > Wouldn't it be more effective to check whether an attribute of this name > exists first and, if so, repopulate it with the new data? Is there some > compelling reason why the method was not implemented this way? >
