## net.sf.saxon.pattern
Class PatternSponsor

    java.lang.Object
      net.sf.saxon.expr.Expression
          net.sf.saxon.pattern.PatternSponsor

All Implemented Interfaces:
  java.io.Serializable, javax.xml.transform.SourceLocator, LocationProvider, SaxonLocator, EvaluableItem, SequenceIterable, InstructionInfo, org.xml.sax.Locator

    public class PatternSponsor

extends Expression

The PatternSponsor class allows a Pattern to be treated like an expression. Although patterns are not evaluated at run-time in the same way as expressions, they need to be manipulated in much the same way as expressions at compile time: for example variables need to be bound, dependencies need to be analyzed, and so on. This is especially true of patterns appearing in the xsl:number and xsl:for-each-group instructions (less so for the more common match patterns in xsl:template).

This class implements the Expression interface, so that an Expression can have a PatternSponsor as a subexpression; it wraps a Pattern.

A Pattern is treated as a boolean expression that returns true if the pattern matches the context node. However, it is not currently evaluated in that way.

See Also:
  Serialized Form

Field Summary

Fields inherited from class net.sf.saxon.expr.Expression
`EVALUATE_METHOD, ITERATE_METHOD, locationId, PROCESS_METHOD, staticProperties`

Constructor Summary
`PatternSponsor(Pattern pattern)` Create a sponsor expression for a pattern

Method Summary
`void` `checkPermittedContents(SchemaType parentType, StaticContext env, boolean whole)` Check statically that the results of the expression are capable of constructing the content of a given schema type.
`protected int` `computeCardinality()` Compute the static cardinality of this expression
`Expression` `copy()` Copy an expression.
`boolean` `effectiveBooleanValue(XPathContext context)` Get the effective boolean value of the expression.
`java.lang.CharSequence` `evaluateAsString(XPathContext context)` Evaluate an expression as a String.
`Item` `evaluateItem(XPathContext context)` Evaluate an expression as a single item.
`void` `explain(ExpressionPresenter out)` Diagnostic print of expression structure.
`int` `getCardinality()` Determine the static cardinality of the expression.
`Container` `getContainer()` Get the container that immediately contains this expression.
`int` `getDependencies()` Determine which aspects of the context the expression depends on.
`int` `getImplementationMethod()` An implementation of Expression must provide at least one of the methods evaluateItem(), iterate(), or process().
`ItemType` `getItemType(TypeHierarchy th)` Determine the data type of the expression, if possible.
`Pattern` `getPattern()` Get the wrapped pattern
`SequenceIterator` `iterate(XPathContext context)` Return an Iterator to iterate over the values of a sequence.
`java.util.Iterator` `iterateSubExpressions()` Get the immediate sub-expressions of this expression.
`Expression` `optimize(ExpressionVisitor visitor, ItemType contextItemType)` Perform optimisation of an expression and its subexpressions.
`void` `process(XPathContext context)` Process the instruction, without returning any tail calls
`Expression` `promote(PromotionOffer offer)` Offer promotion for this subexpression.
`boolean` `replaceSubExpression(Expression original, Expression replacement)` Replace one subexpression by a replacement subexpression
`Expression` `simplify(ExpressionVisitor visitor)` Simplify an expression.
`Expression` `typeCheck(ExpressionVisitor visitor, ItemType contextItemType)` Perform type checking of an expression and its subexpressions.

Methods inherited from class net.sf.saxon.expr.Expression

`addToPathMap, adoptChildExpression, checkForUpdatingSubexpressions, computeDependencies, computeSpecialProperties, computeStaticProperties, display, doPromotion, dynamicError, evaluatePendingUpdates, explain, findParentOf, getColumnNumber, getColumnNumber, getConstructType, getExecutable, getHostLanguage, getIntrinsicDependencies, getLineNumber, getLineNumber, getLocationId, getLocationProvider, getObjectName, getProperties, getProperty, getPublicId, getSlotsUsed, getSpecialProperties, getSystemId, getSystemId, hasLoopingSubexpression, implementsStaticTypeCheck, isUpdatingExpression, iterateEvents, markTailFunctionCalls, resetLocalStaticProperties, setContainer, setFiltered, setFlattened, setLocationId, staticTypeCheck, suppressValidation, toString, typeError`

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
`clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait`

Constructor Detail

### PatternSponsor

    public PatternSponsor(Pattern pattern)

  Create a sponsor expression for a pattern

  Parameters:
    `pattern` - the pattern being wrapped

Method Detail

### getPattern

    public Pattern getPattern()

  Get the wrapped pattern

  Returns:
    the wrapped pattern

### getImplementationMethod

    public int getImplementationMethod()

  An implementation of Expression must provide at least one of the methods evaluateItem(), iterate(), or process(). This method indicates which of these methods is provided directly. The other methods will always be available indirectly, using an implementation that relies on one of the other methods.

  Overrides:
    `getImplementationMethod` in class `Expression`
  Returns:
    the implementation method, for example `Expression.ITERATE_METHOD` or `Expression.EVALUATE_METHOD` or `Expression.PROCESS_METHOD`

### simplify

    public Expression simplify(ExpressionVisitor visitor)
                        throws XPathException

  Simplify an expression. This performs any static optimization (by rewriting the expression as a different expression). The default implementation does nothing.

  Overrides:
    `simplify` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `visitor` - an expression visitor
  Returns:
    the simplified expression
  Throws:
    `XPathException` - if an error is discovered during expression rewriting

### optimize

    public Expression optimize(ExpressionVisitor visitor,
                               ItemType contextItemType)
                        throws XPathException

  Perform optimisation of an expression and its subexpressions.

  This method is called after all references to functions and variables have been resolved to the declaration of the function or variable, and after all type checking has been done.

  Overrides:
    `optimize` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `visitor` - an expression visitor
    `contextItemType` - the static type of "." at the point where this expression is invoked. The parameter is set to null if it is known statically that the context item will be undefined. If the type of the context item is not known statically, the argument is set to `Type.ITEM_TYPE`
  Returns:
    the original expression, rewritten if appropriate to optimize execution
  Throws:
    `XPathException` - if an error is discovered during this phase (typically a type error)

### typeCheck

    public Expression typeCheck(ExpressionVisitor visitor,
                                ItemType contextItemType)
                         throws XPathException

  Perform type checking of an expression and its subexpressions.

  This checks statically that the operands of the expression have the correct type; if necessary it generates code to do run-time type checking or type conversion. A static type error is reported only if execution cannot possibly succeed, that is, if a run-time type error is inevitable. The call may return a modified form of the expression.

  This method is called after all references to functions and variables have been resolved to the declaration of the function or variable. However, the types of such functions and variables may not be accurately known if they have not been explicitly declared.

  Overrides:
    `typeCheck` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `visitor` - an expression visitor
    `contextItemType` - the static type of "." at the point where this expression is invoked. The parameter is set to null if it is known statically that the context item will be undefined. If the type of the context item is not known statically, the argument is set to `Type.ITEM_TYPE`
  Returns:
    the original expression, rewritten to perform necessary run-time type checks, and to perform other type-related optimizations
  Throws:
    `XPathException` - if an error is discovered during this phase (typically a type error)

### computeCardinality

    protected int computeCardinality()

  Description copied from class: `Expression`
  Compute the static cardinality of this expression

  Specified by:
    `computeCardinality` in class `Expression`
  Returns:
    the computed cardinality, as one of the values `StaticProperty.ALLOWS_ZERO_OR_ONE`, `StaticProperty.EXACTLY_ONE`, `StaticProperty.ALLOWS_ONE_OR_MORE`, `StaticProperty.ALLOWS_ZERO_OR_MORE`

### copy

    public Expression copy()

  Copy an expression. This makes a deep copy.

  Specified by:
    `copy` in class `Expression`
  Returns:
    the copy of the original expression

### promote

    public Expression promote(PromotionOffer offer)
                       throws XPathException

  Offer promotion for this subexpression. The offer will be accepted if the subexpression is not dependent on the factors (e.g. the context item) identified in the PromotionOffer. By default the offer is not accepted - this is appropriate in the case of simple expressions such as constant values and variable references where promotion would give no performance advantage. This method is always called at compile time.

  Overrides:
    `promote` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `offer` - details of the offer, for example the offer to move expressions that don't depend on the context to an outer level in the containing expression
  Returns:
    if the offer is not accepted, return this expression unchanged. Otherwise return the result of rewriting the expression to promote this subexpression
  Throws:
    `XPathException` - if any error is detected

### getCardinality

    public int getCardinality()

  Determine the static cardinality of the expression. This establishes how many items there will be in the result of the expression, at compile time (i.e., without actually evaluating the result.

  This method should always return a result, though it may be the best approximation that is available at the time.

  Overrides:
    `getCardinality` in class `Expression`
  Returns:
    one of the values `StaticProperty.ALLOWS_ONE`, `StaticProperty.ALLOWS_ZERO_OR_MORE`, `StaticProperty.ALLOWS_ZERO_OR_ONE`, `StaticProperty.ALLOWS_ONE_OR_MORE`, `StaticProperty.EMPTY`.

### getItemType

    public ItemType getItemType(TypeHierarchy th)

  Determine the data type of the expression, if possible. All expression return sequences, in general; this method determines the type of the items within the sequence, assuming that (a) this is known in advance, and (b) it is the same for all items in the sequence.

  This method should always return a result, though it may be the best approximation that is available at the time.

  Specified by:
    `getItemType` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `th` - the type hierarchy cache
  Returns:
    a value such as Type.STRING, Type.BOOLEAN, Type.NUMBER, Type.NODE, or Type.ITEM (meaning not known at compile time)

### getDependencies

    public int getDependencies()

  Determine which aspects of the context the expression depends on. The result is a bitwise-or'ed value composed from constants such as `StaticProperty.DEPENDS_ON_CONTEXT_ITEM` and `StaticProperty.DEPENDS_ON_CURRENT_ITEM`. The default implementation combines the intrinsic dependencies of this expression with the dependencies of the subexpressions, computed recursively. This is overridden for expressions such as FilterExpression where a subexpression's dependencies are not necessarily inherited by the parent expression.

  Overrides:
    `getDependencies` in class `Expression`
  Returns:
    a set of bit-significant flags identifying the dependencies of the expression

### iterateSubExpressions

    public java.util.Iterator iterateSubExpressions()

  Get the immediate sub-expressions of this expression. Default implementation returns a zero-length array, appropriate for an expression that has no sub-expressions.

  Overrides:
    `iterateSubExpressions` in class `Expression`
  Returns:
    an iterator containing the sub-expressions of this expression

### replaceSubExpression

    public boolean replaceSubExpression(Expression original,
                                        Expression replacement)

  Replace one subexpression by a replacement subexpression

  Overrides:
    `replaceSubExpression` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `original` - the original subexpression
    `replacement` - the replacement subexpression
  Returns:
    true if the original subexpression is found

### getContainer

    public Container getContainer()

  Get the container that immediately contains this expression. This method returns null for an outermost expression; it also return null in the case of literal values. For an XPath expression occurring within an XSLT stylesheet, this method returns the XSLT instruction containing the XPath expression.

  Overrides:
    `getContainer` in class `Expression`
  Returns:
    the expression that contains this expression, if known; return null if there is no containing expression or if the containing expression is unknown.

### evaluateItem

    public Item evaluateItem(XPathContext context)
                      throws XPathException

  Evaluate an expression as a single item. This always returns either a single Item or null (denoting the empty sequence). No conversion is done. This method should not be used unless the static type of the expression is a subtype of "item" or "item?": that is, it should not be called if the expression may return a sequence. There is no guarantee that this condition will be detected.

  Specified by:
    `evaluateItem` in interface `EvaluableItem`
  Overrides:
    `evaluateItem` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `context` - The context in which the expression is to be evaluated
  Returns:
    the node or atomic value that results from evaluating the expression; or null to indicate that the result is an empty sequence
  Throws:
    `XPathException` - if any dynamic error occurs evaluating the expression

### iterate

    public SequenceIterator iterate(XPathContext context)
                             throws XPathException

  Return an Iterator to iterate over the values of a sequence. The value of every expression can be regarded as a sequence, so this method is supported for all expressions. This default implementation handles iteration for expressions that return singleton values: for non-singleton expressions, the subclass must provide its own implementation.

  Specified by:
    `iterate` in interface `SequenceIterable`
  Overrides:
    `iterate` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `context` - supplies the context for evaluation
  Returns:
    a SequenceIterator that can be used to iterate over the result of the expression
  Throws:
    `XPathException` - if any dynamic error occurs evaluating the expression

### effectiveBooleanValue

    public boolean effectiveBooleanValue(XPathContext context)
                                  throws XPathException

  Get the effective boolean value of the expression. This returns false if the value is the empty sequence, a zero-length string, a number equal to zero, or the boolean false. Otherwise it returns true.

  Overrides:
    `effectiveBooleanValue` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `context` - The context in which the expression is to be evaluated
  Returns:
    the effective boolean value
  Throws:
    `XPathException` - if any dynamic error occurs evaluating the expression

### evaluateAsString

    public java.lang.CharSequence evaluateAsString(XPathContext context)
                                            throws XPathException

  Evaluate an expression as a String. This function must only be called in contexts where it is known that the expression will return a single string (or where an empty sequence is to be treated as a zero-length string). Implementations should not attempt to convert the result to a string, other than converting () to "". This method is used mainly to evaluate expressions produced by compiling an attribute value template.

  Overrides:
    `evaluateAsString` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `context` - The context in which the expression is to be evaluated
  Returns:
    the value of the expression, evaluated in the current context. The expression must return a string or (); if the value of the expression is (), this method returns "".
  Throws:
    `XPathException` - if any dynamic error occurs evaluating the expression
    `java.lang.ClassCastException` - if the result type of the expression is not xs:string?

### process

    public void process(XPathContext context)
                 throws XPathException

  Process the instruction, without returning any tail calls

  Overrides:
    `process` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `context` - The dynamic context, giving access to the current node, the current variables, etc.
  Throws:
    `XPathException`

### explain

    public void explain(ExpressionPresenter out)

  Diagnostic print of expression structure. The abstract expression tree is written to the supplied output destination.

  Specified by:
    `explain` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `out` - the expression presenter used to display the structure

### checkPermittedContents

    public void checkPermittedContents(SchemaType parentType,
                                       StaticContext env,
                                       boolean whole)
                                throws XPathException

  Check statically that the results of the expression are capable of constructing the content of a given schema type.

  Overrides:
    `checkPermittedContents` in class `Expression`
  Parameters:
    `parentType` - The schema type
    `env` - the static context
    `whole` - true if this expression is expected to make the whole content of the type, false if it is expected to make up only a part
  Throws:
    `XPathException` - if the expression doesn't match the required content type

Copyright (c) Saxonica Limited. All rights reserved.