Wow, I've found an article Code generation in XSLT 2.0. The article is dated by year 2005.
Well, I was inventing a bicycle. This is a good lesson for me.
I'm going to study very carefully about SQL Code Generation, as this is exacly the same task I'm facing now.
I've updated jxom.zip.
There are minor fixes there. The most important addition is a line breaker. The purpose of the line breaker is to split long lines.
Long lines appear if there are verbose comments, or there is a very long expression, which was not categorized as multiline.
It's not perfect, however looks acceptable.
Now I'm facing a next problem: I need to do a similar job I'm doing to java, however with sql. Moreover, I need to support several dialects of sql. I'm not sure if it's possible (worth) to define single sql-xom.xsd, or should I define sql-db2-v9-xom.xsd, sql-sqlserver-2005-xom.xsd, ...
The bad news are that sql grammar is much more complex than one of java. Probably I'll start from some sql subset. In any case I do not consider generation of sql "directly", as jxom fits remarkably into its role.
Building jxom stylesheets I've learned what is a "good" and "bad" recursion from the saxon's perspective.
I'm using control tokens $t:indent and $t:unindent to control indentation in the sequence of tokens defining java output. To build output lines I need to calculate total indentation for each line. This can be done using cummulative sum, considering $t:indent as +1 and $t:unindent as -1.
This task can be formalized as "calculate cummulative integer sum".
The first approach I've tested is non recursive: "for $i in 1 to count($items) return sum(subsequence($items, 1, $i))".
It is incredibly slow.
The next try was recurrent: calculate and spew results as they are calculated.
This is "crash fast" method. Saxon, indeed, implements this as recursion and arrives to a stack limit early.
The last approach, employes saxon's ability to detect some particular flavour of tail calls. When function contains a tail call, and the output on a tail call code path consists of this tail call only, then saxon transforms such construction into a cycle. Thus I need to accumulate result and pass it down to a tail call chain and output it on the last opportunity only.
The following sample shows this technique:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="2.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:t="http://www.nesterovsky-bros.com"
exclude-result-prefixes="xs t">
<xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes"/>
<xsl:template match="/">
<xsl:variable name="values" as="xs:integer*" select="1 to 10000"/>
<result>
<sum>
<xsl:value-of select="t:cumulative-integer-sum($values)"/>
<!-- This call crashes with stack overflow. -->
<!-- <xsl:value-of select="t:bad-cumulative-integer-sum($values)"/> -->
<!-- To compare speed uncomment following lines. -->
<!--<xsl:value-of select="sum(t:cumulative-integer-sum($values))"/>-->
<!--<xsl:value-of select="sum(t:slow-cumulative-integer-sum($values))"/>-->
</sum>
</result>
</xsl:template>
<!--
Calculates cumulative sum of integer sequence.
$items - input integer sequence.
Returns an integer sequence that is a cumulative sum of original sequence.
-->
<xsl:function name="t:cumulative-integer-sum" as="xs:integer*">
<xsl:param name="items" as="xs:integer*"/>
<xsl:sequence select="t:cumulative-integer-sum-impl($items, 1, 0, ())"/>
</xsl:function>
<!--
Implementation of the t:cumulative-integer-sum.
$items - input integer sequence.
$index - current iteration index.
$sum - base sum.
$result - collected result.
Returns an integer sequence that is a cumulative sum of original sequence.
-->
<xsl:function name="t:cumulative-integer-sum-impl" as="xs:integer*">
<xsl:param name="items" as="xs:integer*"/>
<xsl:param name="index" as="xs:integer"/>
<xsl:param name="sum" as="xs:integer"/>
<xsl:param name="result" as="xs:integer*"/>
<xsl:variable name="item" as="xs:integer?" select="$items[$index]"/>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="empty($item)">
<xsl:sequence select="$result"/>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:variable name="value" as="xs:integer" select="$item + $sum"/>
<xsl:variable name="next" as="xs:integer+" select="$result, $value"/>
<xsl:sequence select="
t:cumulative-integer-sum-impl($items, $index + 1, $value, $next)"/>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:function>
<!-- "Bad" implementation of the cumulative-integer-sum. -->
<xsl:function name="t:bad-cumulative-integer-sum" as="xs:integer*">
<xsl:param name="items" as="xs:integer*"/>
<xsl:sequence select="t:bad-cumulative-integer-sum-impl($items, 1, 0)"/>
</xsl:function>
<!-- "Bad" implementation of the cumulative-integer-sum. -->
<xsl:function name="t:bad-cumulative-integer-sum-impl" as="xs:integer*">
<xsl:param name="items" as="xs:integer*"/>
<xsl:param name="index" as="xs:integer"/>
<xsl:param name="sum" as="xs:integer"/>
<xsl:variable name="item" as="xs:integer?" select="$items[$index]"/>
<xsl:if test="exists($item)">
<xsl:variable name="value" as="xs:integer" select="$item + $sum"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$value"/>
<xsl:sequence select="
t:bad-cumulative-integer-sum-impl($items, $index + 1, $value)"/>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:function>
<!-- Non recursive implementation of the cumulative-integer-sum. -->
<xsl:function name="t:slow-cumulative-integer-sum" as="xs:integer*">
<xsl:param name="items" as="xs:integer*"/>
<xsl:sequence select="
for $i in 1 to count($items) return
sum(subsequence($items, 1, $i))"/>
</xsl:function>
</xsl:stylesheet>
Comparing xslt 2.0 with its predecessor I see a great evolution of the language. There are however parts of language, which are not as good as they could be.
Look at manipulations of sequence of sequence of items. xpath 2.0/xquery 1.0 type system treats type quantifiers separately from type itself. One can declare a variable of type "xs:string", or variable of type of sequence of strings "xs:string*". Unfortunately it's not possible to declare a sequence of sequence of strings "xs:string**", as type can have only one quantifier.
I think this is wrong. People do different tricks to remedy the problem. Typically one builds nodes that contain copy of items of sequences. Clearly this is a heavy way to achieve a simple result, moreover it does not preserve item identity.
In jxom I'm using different solution to store sequence of sequences, namely storing all sequences in one, separated with terminator.
A typical sample is in the java serializer. After building method's parameters I should format them one (compact) or the other (verbose) way depending on decision, which can be made when all parameters are already built.
To see how it's working please look at following xslt:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="2.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:t="http://www.nesterovsky-bros.com"
exclude-result-prefixes="xs t">
<xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes"/>
<!-- Terminator token. -->
<xsl:variable name="t:terminator" as="xs:QName"
select="xs:QName('t:terminator')"/>
<!-- New line. -->
<xsl:variable name="t:crlf" as="xs:string" select="' '"/>
<xsl:template match="/">
<!--
We need to manipulate a sequence of sequence of tokens.
To do this we use $t:terminator to separate sequences.
-->
<xsl:variable name="short-items" as="item()*">
<xsl:sequence select="t:get-param('int', 'a')"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:terminator"/>
<xsl:sequence select="t:get-param('int', 'b')"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:terminator"/>
<xsl:sequence select="t:get-param('int', 'c')"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:terminator"/>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:variable name="long-items" as="item()*">
<xsl:sequence select="t:get-param('int', 'a')"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:terminator"/>
<xsl:sequence select="t:get-param('int', 'b')"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:terminator"/>
<xsl:sequence select="t:get-param('int', 'c')"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:terminator"/>
<xsl:sequence select="t:get-param('int', 'd')"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:terminator"/>
</xsl:variable>
<result>
<short>
<xsl:value-of select="t:format($short-items)" separator=""/>
</short>
<long>
<xsl:value-of select="t:format($long-items)" separator=""/>
</long>
</result>
</xsl:template>
<!--
Returns a sequence of tokens that defines a parameter.
$type - parameter type.
$name - parameter name.
Returns sequence of parameter tokens.
-->
<xsl:function name="t:get-param" as="item()*">
<xsl:param name="type" as="xs:string"/>
<xsl:param name="name" as="xs:string"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$type"/>
<xsl:sequence select="' '"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$name"/>
</xsl:function>
<!--
Format sequence of sequence of tokens separated with $t:terminator.
$tokens - sequence of sequence of tokens to format.
Returns formatted sequence of tokens.
-->
<xsl:function name="t:format" as="item()*">
<xsl:param name="tokens" as="item()*"/>
<xsl:variable name="terminators" as="xs:integer+"
select="0, index-of($tokens, $t:terminator)"/>
<xsl:variable name="count" as="xs:integer"
select="count($terminators) - 1"/>
<xsl:variable name="verbose" as="xs:boolean"
select="$count > 3"/>
<xsl:sequence select="
for $i in 1 to $count return
(
subsequence
(
$tokens,
$terminators[$i] + 1,
$terminators[$i + 1] - $terminators[$i] - 1
),
if ($i = $count) then ()
else
(
',',
if ($verbose) then $t:crlf else ' '
)
)"/>
</xsl:function>
</xsl:stylesheet>
I've updated jxom.zip. Now it supports qualified type name optimization.
I need to mention that this optimization is only possible when imports does not contain wildcard declarations like:
import a.b.*;
The only important thing to do is a good line breaker.
Is it possible to call function indirectly in xslt 2.0?
The answer is yes, however implementation uses dull trick of template matching to select a function handler. Template matching is a beautiful thing. Definitely it was not devised to make this trick possible.
The following example defines two functions t:sum, and t:count to call indirectly by t:test.
Function id (a.k.a. function pointer) is defined by t:sum, and t:count variables.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="2.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:t="http://www.nesterovsky-bros.com"
exclude-result-prefixes="xs t">
<xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes"/>
<xsl:template match="/">
<xsl:variable name="items" as="element()*">
<value>1</value>
<value>2</value>
<value>3</value>
<value>4</value>
<value>5</value>
</xsl:variable>
<root>
<sum>
<xsl:sequence select="t:test($items, $t:sum)"/>
</sum>
<count>
<xsl:sequence select="t:test($items, $t:count)"/>
</count>
</root>
</xsl:template>
<!-- Mode "t:function-call". Default match. -->
<xsl:template mode="t:function-call" match="@* | node()">
<xsl:sequence select="
error
(
xs:QName('invalid-call'),
concat('Unbound function call. Id: ', name())
)"/>
</xsl:template>
<!-- Id of the function t:sum. -->
<xsl:variable name="t:sum" as="item()">
<t:sum/>
</xsl:variable>
<!-- Mode "t:function-call". t:sum handler. -->
<xsl:template mode="t:function-call" match="t:sum">
<xsl:param name="items" as="element()*"/>
<xsl:sequence select="t:sum($items)"/>
</xsl:template>
<!--
Calculates a sum of elements.
$param - items to sum.
Returns sum of element values.
-->
<xsl:function name="t:sum" as="xs:integer">
<xsl:param name="items" as="element()*"/>
<xsl:sequence select="sum($items/xs:integer(.))"/>
</xsl:function>
<!-- Id of the function t:count. -->
<xsl:variable name="t:count" as="item()">
<t:count/>
</xsl:variable>
<!-- Mode "t:function-call". t:count handler. -->
<xsl:template mode="t:function-call" match="t:count">
<xsl:param name="items" as="element()*"/>
<xsl:sequence select="t:count($items)"/>
</xsl:template>
<!--
Calculates the number of elements in a sequence.
$param - items to count.
Returns count of element values.
-->
<xsl:function name="t:count" as="xs:integer">
<xsl:param name="items" as="element()*"/>
<xsl:sequence select="count($items)"/>
</xsl:function>
<!--
A function that performs indirect call.
$param - items to pass to an indirect call.
$function-id - a function id.
Returns a value calculated in the indirect function.
-->
<xsl:function name="t:test" as="xs:integer">
<xsl:param name="items" as="element()*"/>
<xsl:param name="function-id" as="item()"/>
<xsl:variable name="result" as="xs:integer">
<xsl:apply-templates mode="t:function-call" select="$function-id">
<xsl:with-param name="items" select="$items"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:sequence select="$result"/>
</xsl:function>
</xsl:stylesheet>
Hello again!
To see first part about jxom please read.
I'm back with jxom (Java xml object model). I've finally managed to create an xslt that generates java code from jxom document.
Will you ask why it took as long as a week to produce it?
There are two answers:
1. My poor talents.
2. I've virtually created two implementations.
My first approach was to directly generate java text from xml. I was a truly believer that this is the way. I've screwed things up on that way, as when you're starting to deal with indentations, formatting and reformatting of text you're generating you will see things are not that simple. Well, it was a naive approach.
I could finish it, however at some point I've realized that its complexity is not composable from complexity of its parts, but increases more and more. This is not permissible for a such simple task. Approach is bad. Point.
An alternative I've devised is simple and in fact more natural than naive approach. This is a two stage generation:
a) generate sequence of tokens - serializer;
b) generate and then print a sequence of lines - streamer.
Tokens (item()*) are either control words (xs:QName), or literals (xs:string).
I've defined following control tokens:
| Token |
Description |
| t:indent |
indents following content. |
| t:unindent |
unindents following content. |
| t:line-indent |
resets indentation for one line. |
| t:new-line |
new line token. |
| t:terminator |
separates token sequences. |
| t:code |
marks line as code (default line type). |
| t:doc |
marks line as documentation comment. |
| t:begin-doc |
marks line as begin of documentation comment. |
| t:end-doc |
marks line as end of documentation comment. |
| t:comment |
marks line as comment. |
Thus an input for the streamer looks like:
<xsl:sequence select="'public'"/>
<xsl:sequence select="' '"/>
<xsl:sequence select="'class'"/>
<xsl:sequence select="' '"/>
<xsl:sequence select="'A'"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:new-line"/>
<xsl:sequence select="'{'"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:new-line"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:indent"/>
<xsl:sequence select="'public'"/>
<xsl:sequence select="' '"/>
<xsl:sequence select="'int'"/>
<xsl:sequence select="' '"/>
<xsl:sequence select="'a'"/>
<xsl:sequence select="';'"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:unindent"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:new-line"/>
<xsl:sequence select="'}'"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$t:new-line"/>
Streamer receives a sequence of tokens and transforms it in a sequence of lines.
One beautiful thing about tokens is that streamer can easily perform line breaks in order to keep page width, and another convenient thing is that code generating tokens should not track indentation level, as it just uses t:indent, t:unindent control tokens to increase and decrease current indentation.
The way the code is built allows mimic any code style. I've followed my favorite one. In future I'll probably add options controlling code style. In my todo list there still are several features I want to implement, such as line breaker to preserve page width, and type qualification optimizer (optional feature) to reduce unnecessary type qualifications.
Current implementation can be found at jxom.zip. It contains:
| File |
Description |
| java.xsd |
jxom xml schema. |
| java-serializer-main.xslt |
transformation entry point. |
| java-serializer.xslt |
generates tokens for top level constructs. |
| java-serializer-statements.xslt |
generates tokens for statements. |
| java-serializer-expressions.xslt |
generates tokens for expressions. |
| java-streamer.xslt |
converts tokens into lines. |
| DataAdapter.xml |
sample jxom document. |
This was my first experience with xslt 2.0. I feel very pleased with what it can do. The only missed feature is indirect function call (which I do not want to model with dull template matching approach).
Note that in spite that xslt I've built is platform independed I want to point out that I was experimenting with saxon 9. Several times I've relied on efficient tail call implementation (see t:cumulative-integer-sum), which otherwise will lead to xslt stack overflow.
I shall be pleased to see your feedback on the subject.
Hello,
I was not writing for a long time. IMHO: nothing to say? - do not noise!
Nowadays I'm busy with xslt.
Should I be pleased that w3c committee has finally delivered xpath 2.0/xslt 2.0/xquery? There possibly were people who have failed to wait till this happened, and who have died. Be grateful to the fate we have survived!
I'm working now with saxon 9. It's good implementation, however too interpreter like in my opinion. I think these languages could be compiled down to machine/vm code the same way as c++/java/c# do.
To the point.
I need to generate java code in xslt. I've done this earlier; that time I dealt with relatively simple templates like beans or interfaces. Now I need to generate beans, interfaces, classes with logic. In fact I should cover almost all java 6 features.
Immediately I've started thinking in terms of java xml object model (jxom). Thus there will be an xml schema of jxom (Am I inventing bicycle? I pray you to point me to an existing schema!) - java grammar as xml. There will be xslts, which generate code according to this schema, and xslt that will serialize jxom documents derectly into java.
This two stage generation is important as there are essentially two different tasks: generate java code, and serialize it down to a text format. Moreover whenever I have jxom document I can manipulate it! And finally this will allow to our team to concentrate efforts, as one should only generate jxom document.
Yesterday, I've found java ANLT grammar, and have converted it into xml schema: java.xsd. It is important to have this xml schema defined, even if no one shall use it except in editor, as it makes jxom generation more formal.
The next step is to create xslt serializer, which is in todo list.
To feel how jxom looks I've created it manually for some simple java file:
// $Id: DataAdapter.java 1122 2007-12-31 12:43:47Z arthurn $
package com.bphx.coolgen.data;
import java.util.List;
/**
* Encapsulates encyclopedia database access.
*/
public interface DataAdapter
{
/**
* Starts data access session for a specified model.
* @param modelId - a model to open.
*/
void open(int modelId)
throws Exception;
/**
* Ends data access session.
*/
void close()
throws Exception;
/**
* Gets current model id.
* @return current model id.
*/
int getModelId();
/**
* Gets data objects for a specified object type for the current model.
* @param type - an object type to get data objects for.
* @return list of data objects.
*/
List<DataObject> getObjectsForType(short type)
throws Exception;
/**
* Gets a list of data associations for an object id.
* @param id - object id.
* @return list of data associations.
*/
List<DataAssociation> getAssociations(int id)
throws Exception;
/**
* Gets a list of data properties for an object id.
* @param id - object id.
* @return list of data properties.
*/
List<DataProperty> getProperties(int id)
throws Exception;
}
jxom:
<unit xmlns="http://www.bphx.com/java-1.5/2008-02-07" package="com.bphx.coolgen.data">
<comment>$Id: DataAdapter.java 1122 2007-12-31 12:43:47Z arthurn $</comment>
<import package="java.util.List"/>
<interface access="public" name="DataAdapter">
<comment doc="true">Encapsulates encyclopedia database access.</comment>
<method name="open">
<comment doc="true">
Starts data access session for a specified model.
<para type="param" name="modelId">a model to open.</para>
</comment>
<parameters>
<parameter name="modelId"><type name="int"/></parameter>
</parameters>
<throws><type name="Exception"/></throws>
</method>
<method name="close">
<comment doc="true">Ends data access session.</comment>
<throws><type name="Exception"/></throws>
</method>
<method name="getModelId">
<comment doc="true">
Gets current model id.
<para type="return">current model id.</para>
</comment>
<returns><type name="int"/></returns>
<throws><type name="Exception"/></throws>
</method>
<method name="getObjectsForType">
<comment doc="true">
Gets data objects for a specified object type for the current model.
<para name="param" type="type">
an object type to get data objects for.
</para>
<para type="return">list of data objects.</para>
</comment>
<returns>
<type>
<part name="List">
<typeArgument><type name="DataObject"/></typeArgument>
</part>
</type>
</returns>
<parameters>
<parameter name="type"><type name="short"/></parameter>
</parameters>
<throws><type name="Exception"/></throws>
</method>
<method name="getAssociations">
<comment doc="true">
Gets a list of data associations for an object id.
<para type="param" name="id">object id.</para>
<para type="return">list of data associations.</para>
</comment>
<returns>
<type>
<part name="List">
<typeArgument><type name="DataAssociation"/></typeArgument>
</part>
</type>
</returns>
<parameters>
<parameter name="id"><type name="int"/></parameter>
</parameters>
<throws><type name="Exception"/></throws>
</method>
<method name="getProperties">
<comment doc="true">
Gets a list of data properties for an object id.
<para type="param" name="id">object id.</para>
<para type="return">list of data properties.</para>
</comment>
<returns>
<!-- Compact form of generic type. -->
<type name="List<DataProperty>"/>
</returns>
<parameters>
<parameter name="id"><type name="int"/></parameter>
</parameters>
<throws><type name="Exception"/></throws>
</method>
</interface>
</unit>
To read about xslt for jxom please follow this link.
We have set up the chess blog that our brother Aleksandr, who is chess fun, will support.
C++ Standard Library Issues List, Issue 254I'm tracking this issue already for the several years, and have my unpretentious opinion. To make my arguments clear I'll bring the issue description here.
254. Exception types in clause 19 are constructed from std::string
Section: 19.1 [std.exceptions], 27.4.2.1.1 [ios::failure] Status: Tentatively Ready Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2000-08-01
Discussion:
Many of the standard exception types which implementations are required to throw are constructed with a const std::string& parameter. For example: 19.1.5 Class out_of_range [lib.out.of.range]
namespace std {
class out_of_range : public logic_error {
public:
explicit out_of_range(const string& what_arg);
};
}
1 The class out_of_range defines the type of objects thrown as excep-
tions to report an argument value not in its expected range.
out_of_range(const string& what_arg);
Effects:
Constructs an object of class out_of_range.
Postcondition:
strcmp(what(), what_arg.c_str()) == 0.
There are at least two problems with this:
- A program which is low on memory may end up throwing std::bad_alloc instead of out_of_range because memory runs out while constructing the exception object.
- An obvious implementation which stores a std::string data member may end up invoking terminate() during exception unwinding because the exception object allocates memory (or rather fails to) as it is being copied.
There may be no cure for (1) other than changing the interface to out_of_range, though one could reasonably argue that (1) is not a defect. Personally I don't care that much if out-of-memory is reported when I only have 20 bytes left, in the case when out_of_range would have been reported. People who use exception-specifications might care a lot, though.
There is a cure for (2), but it isn't completely obvious. I think a note for implementors should be made in the standard. Avoiding possible termination in this case shouldn't be left up to chance. The cure is to use a reference-counted "string" implementation in the exception object. I am not necessarily referring to a std::string here; any simple reference-counting scheme for a NTBS would do.
Further discussion, in email:
...I'm not so concerned about (1). After all, a library implementation can add const char* constructors as an extension, and users don't need to avail themselves of the standard exceptions, though this is a lame position to be forced into. FWIW, std::exception and std::bad_alloc don't require a temporary basic_string.
...I don't think the fixed-size buffer is a solution to the problem, strictly speaking, because you can't satisfy the postcondition
strcmp(what(), what_arg.c_str()) == 0
For all values of what_arg (i.e. very long values). That means that the only truly conforming solution requires a dynamic allocation.
Further discussion, from Redmond:
The most important progress we made at the Redmond meeting was realizing that there are two separable issues here: the const string& constructor, and the copy constructor. If a user writes something like throw std::out_of_range("foo"), the const string& constructor is invoked before anything gets thrown. The copy constructor is potentially invoked during stack unwinding.
The copy constructor is a more serious problem, becuase failure during stack unwinding invokes terminate. The copy constructor must be nothrow. Curaçao: Howard thinks this requirement may already be present.
The fundamental problem is that it's difficult to get the nothrow requirement to work well with the requirement that the exception objects store a string of unbounded size, particularly if you also try to make the const string& constructor nothrow. Options discussed include:
- Limit the size of a string that exception objects are required to throw: change the postconditions of 19.1.2 [domain.error] paragraph 3 and 19.1.6 [runtime.error] paragraph 3 to something like this: "strncmp(what(), what_arg._str(), N) == 0, where N is an implementation defined constant no smaller than 256".
- Allow the const string& constructor to throw, but not the copy constructor. It's the implementor's responsibility to get it right. (An implementor might use a simple refcount class.)
- Compromise between the two: an implementation is not allowed to throw if the string's length is less than some N, but, if it doesn't throw, the string must compare equal to the argument.
- Add a new constructor that takes a const char*
(Not all of these options are mutually exclusive.)
...
To be honest, I do not understand their (committee members') decisions. It seems they are trying to conceal themselves from the problem virtually proposing to store character buffer in the exception object. In fact the problem is more general, and is related to any exception types that store some data, and which can throw during copy construction. How to avoid problems during copy construction? Well, do not perform activity that can lead to an exception. If copying data can throw, then do not copy it! Thus we have to share data between exception objects.
This logic brought me to a safe exception type design. E.g. exception object should keep refcounted handle to a data object that is shared between type instances.
The only question is: why didn't they even consider this way?
It's now the time to explore CLR implementation of the Numbers and Split functions in the SQL Server.
I've created a simple C# assembly that defines two table valued functions Numbers_CLR and Split_CLR. Note that I had to fix autogenerated sql function declaration in order to replace nvarchar(4000) with nvarchar(max):
using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Data.SqlTypes;
using Microsoft.SqlServer.Server;
using System.Diagnostics;
public class UserDefinedFunctions
{
[SqlFunction]
public static long GetTimestamp()
{
return Stopwatch.GetTimestamp();
}
[SqlFunction]
public static long GetFrequency()
{
return Stopwatch.Frequency;
}
[SqlFunction(
Name="Numbers_CLR",
FillRowMethodName = "NumbersFillRow",
IsPrecise = true,
IsDeterministic = true,
DataAccess = DataAccessKind.None,
TableDefinition = "value int")]
public static IEnumerator NumbersInit(int count)
{
for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
{
yield return i;
}
}
public static void NumbersFillRow(Object obj, out int value)
{
value = (int)obj;
}
[SqlFunction(
Name = "Split_CLR",
FillRowMethodName = "SplitFillRow",
IsPrecise = true,
IsDeterministic = true,
DataAccess = DataAccessKind.None,
TableDefinition = "value nvarchar(max)")]
public static IEnumerator SplitInit(string value, string splitter)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value))
yield break;
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(splitter))
splitter = ",";
for(int i = 0; i < value.Length; )
{
int next = value.IndexOf(splitter, i);
if (next == -1)
{
yield return value.Substring(i);
break;
}
else
{
yield return value.Substring(i, next - i);
i = next + splitter.Length;
}
}
}
public static void SplitFillRow(Object obj, out string value)
{
value = (string)obj;
}
};
These are results of the test of differents variants of the numbers function for different numbers of lines to return (length): i description length duration msPerNumber
---- -------------- -------- ---------- -----------
0 Numbers 1 0.0964 0.0964
0 Numbers_CTE 1 0.2319 0.2319
0 Numbers_Table 1 0.1710 0.1710
0 Numbers_CLR 1 0.1729 0.1729
1 Numbers 2 0.0615 0.0307
1 Numbers_CTE 2 0.1327 0.0663
1 Numbers_Table 2 0.0816 0.0408
1 Numbers_CLR 2 0.1078 0.0539
2 Numbers 4 0.0598 0.0149
2 Numbers_CTE 4 0.1609 0.0402
2 Numbers_Table 4 0.0810 0.0203
2 Numbers_CLR 4 0.1092 0.0273
3 Numbers 8 0.0598 0.0075
3 Numbers_CTE 8 0.2308 0.0288
3 Numbers_Table 8 0.0813 0.0102
3 Numbers_CLR 8 0.1129 0.0141
4 Numbers 16 0.0598 0.0037
4 Numbers_CTE 16 0.3724 0.0233
4 Numbers_Table 16 0.0827 0.0052
4 Numbers_CLR 16 0.1198 0.0075
5 Numbers 32 0.0606 0.0019
5 Numbers_CTE 32 0.6473 0.0202
5 Numbers_Table 32 0.0852 0.0027
5 Numbers_CLR 32 0.1347 0.0042
6 Numbers 64 0.0615 0.0010
6 Numbers_CTE 64 1.1926 0.0186
6 Numbers_Table 64 0.0886 0.0014
6 Numbers_CLR 64 0.1648 0.0026
7 Numbers 128 0.0637 0.0005
7 Numbers_CTE 128 2.2886 0.0179
7 Numbers_Table 128 0.0978 0.0008
7 Numbers_CLR 128 0.2204 0.0017
8 Numbers 256 0.0679 0.0003
8 Numbers_CTE 256 4.9774 0.0194
8 Numbers_Table 256 0.1243 0.0005
8 Numbers_CLR 256 0.3486 0.0014
9 Numbers 512 0.0785 0.0002
9 Numbers_CTE 512 8.8983 0.0174
9 Numbers_Table 512 0.1523 0.0003
9 Numbers_CLR 512 0.5635 0.0011
10 Numbers 1024 0.0958 0.0001
10 Numbers_CTE 1024 17.8679 0.0174
10 Numbers_Table 1024 0.2453 0.0002
10 Numbers_CLR 1024 1.0504 0.0010
11 Numbers 2048 0.1324 0.0001
11 Numbers_CTE 2048 35.8185 0.0175
11 Numbers_Table 2048 0.3811 0.0002
11 Numbers_CLR 2048 1.9206 0.0009
12 Numbers 4096 0.1992 0.0000
12 Numbers_CTE 4096 70.9478 0.0173
12 Numbers_Table 4096 0.6772 0.0002
12 Numbers_CLR 4096 3.6921 0.0009
13 Numbers 8192 0.3361 0.0000
13 Numbers_CTE 8192 143.3364 0.0175
13 Numbers_Table 8192 1.2809 0.0002
13 Numbers_CLR 8192 7.3931 0.0009
14 Numbers 16384 0.6099 0.0000
14 Numbers_CTE 16384 286.7471 0.0175
14 Numbers_Table 16384 2.4579 0.0002
14 Numbers_CLR 16384 14.4731 0.0009
15 Numbers 32768 1.1546 0.0000
15 Numbers_CTE 32768 573.6626 0.0175
15 Numbers_Table 32768 4.7919 0.0001
15 Numbers_CLR 32768 29.0313 0.0009
16 Numbers 65536 2.3103 0.0000
16 Numbers_CTE 65536 1144.4052 0.0175
16 Numbers_Table 65536 9.5132 0.0001
16 Numbers_CLR 65536 57.7154 0.0009
17 Numbers 131072 4.4265 0.0000
17 Numbers_CTE 131072 2314.5917 0.0177
17 Numbers_Table 131072 18.9130 0.0001
17 Numbers_CLR 131072 116.4268 0.0009
18 Numbers 262144 8.7860 0.0000
18 Numbers_CTE 262144 4662.7233 0.0178
18 Numbers_Table 262144 38.3024 0.0001
18 Numbers_CLR 262144 230.1522 0.0009
19 Numbers 524288 18.4638 0.0000
19 Numbers_CTE 524288 9182.8146 0.0175
19 Numbers_Table 524288 83.4575 0.0002
19 Numbers_CLR 524288 468.0195 0.0009
These are results of the test of differents variants of the split function for different length of the string (length): i description strLength duration msPerChar
---- -------------- --------- ---------- ----------
0 Split 1 0.1442 0.1442
0 Split_CTE 1 0.2665 0.2665
0 Split_Table 1 0.2090 0.2090
0 Split_CLR 1 0.1964 0.1964
1 Split 2 0.0902 0.0451
1 Split_CTE 2 0.1788 0.0894
1 Split_Table 2 0.1087 0.0543
1 Split_CLR 2 0.1056 0.0528
2 Split 4 0.0933 0.0233
2 Split_CTE 4 0.2618 0.0654
2 Split_Table 4 0.1162 0.0291
2 Split_CLR 4 0.1143 0.0286
3 Split 8 0.1092 0.0137
3 Split_CTE 8 0.4408 0.0551
3 Split_Table 8 0.1344 0.0168
3 Split_CLR 8 0.1324 0.0166
4 Split 16 0.1422 0.0089
4 Split_CTE 16 0.7990 0.0499
4 Split_Table 16 0.1715 0.0107
4 Split_CLR 16 0.1687 0.0105
5 Split 32 0.2090 0.0065
5 Split_CTE 32 1.4924 0.0466
5 Split_Table 32 0.2458 0.0077
5 Split_CLR 32 0.4582 0.0143
6 Split 64 0.3464 0.0054
6 Split_CTE 64 2.9129 0.0455
6 Split_Table 64 0.3947 0.0062
6 Split_CLR 64 0.3880 0.0061
7 Split 128 0.6101 0.0048
7 Split_CTE 128 5.7348 0.0448
7 Split_Table 128 0.6898 0.0054
7 Split_CLR 128 0.6825 0.0053
8 Split 256 1.1504 0.0045
8 Split_CTE 256 11.5610 0.0452
8 Split_Table 256 1.3044 0.0051
8 Split_CLR 256 1.2901 0.0050
9 Split 512 2.2430 0.0044
9 Split_CTE 512 23.3854 0.0457
9 Split_Table 512 2.4992 0.0049
9 Split_CLR 512 2.4838 0.0049
10 Split 1024 4.5048 0.0044
10 Split_CTE 1024 45.7030 0.0446
10 Split_Table 1024 4.8886 0.0048
10 Split_CLR 1024 4.8601 0.0047
11 Split 2048 8.8229 0.0043
11 Split_CTE 2048 92.6160 0.0452
11 Split_Table 2048 9.7381 0.0048
11 Split_CLR 2048 9.8848 0.0048
12 Split 4096 17.6285 0.0043
12 Split_CTE 4096 184.3265 0.0450
12 Split_Table 4096 19.4092 0.0047
12 Split_CLR 4096 19.3849 0.0047
13 Split 8192 36.5924 0.0045
13 Split_CTE 8192 393.8663 0.0481
13 Split_Table 8192 39.3296 0.0048
13 Split_CLR 8192 38.9569 0.0048
14 Split 16384 70.7693 0.0043
14 Split_CTE 16384 740.2636 0.0452
14 Split_Table 16384 77.6300 0.0047
14 Split_CLR 16384 77.6878 0.0047
15 Split 32768 141.4202 0.0043
15 Split_CTE 32768 1481.5788 0.0452
15 Split_Table 32768 155.0163 0.0047
15 Split_CLR 32768 155.5904 0.0047
16 Split 65536 282.8597 0.0043
16 Split_CTE 65536 3098.3636 0.0473
16 Split_Table 65536 315.7588 0.0048
16 Split_CLR 65536 316.1782 0.0048
17 Split 131072 574.3652 0.0044
17 Split_CTE 131072 6021.9827 0.0459
17 Split_Table 131072 630.6880 0.0048
17 Split_CLR 131072 650.8676 0.0050
18 Split 262144 5526.9491 0.0211
18 Split_CTE 262144 17645.2219 0.0673
18 Split_Table 262144 5807.3244 0.0222
18 Split_CLR 262144 5759.6946 0.0220
19 Split 524288 11006.3019 0.0210
19 Split_CTE 524288 35093.2482 0.0669
19 Split_Table 524288 11585.3233 0.0221
19 Split_CLR 524288 11550.8323 0.0220
The results are:
- Recursive common table expression shows the worst timing.
- Split_CLR is on the pair with Split_Table, however Numbers_Table is better than Numbers_CLR.
- Split and Numbers based on unrolled recursion show the best timing (most of the time).
The End. 
Well, several days have passed but for a some reason I've started to feel uncomfortable about Numbers function. It's all because of poor recursive CTE implementation. I have decided to unroll the cycle. The new version hovewer isn't a beautiful but is providing much more superior performance comparing with previous implementation:
/*
Returns numbers table.
Table has a following structure: table(value int not null);
value is an integer number that contains numbers from 1 to a specified value.
*/
create function dbo.Numbers
(
/* Number of rows to return. */
@count int
)
returns table
as
return
with Number4(Value) as
(
select 0 union all select 0 union all
select 0 union all select 0 union all
select 0 union all select 0 union all
select 0 union all select 0 union all
select 0 union all select 0 union all
select 0 union all select 0 union all
select 0 union all select 0 union all
select 0 union all select 0
),
Number8(Value) as
(
select 0 from Number4 union all select 0 from Number4 union all
select 0 from Number4 union all select 0 from Number4 union all
select 0 from Number4 union all select 0 from Number4 union all
select 0 from Number4 union all select 0 from Number4 union all
select 0 from Number4 union all select 0 from Number4 union all
select 0 from Number4 union all select 0 from Number4 union all
select 0 from Number4 union all select 0 from Number4 union all
select 0 from Number4 union all select 0 from Number4
),
Number32(Value) as
(
select 0 from Number8 N1, Number8 N2, Number8 N3, Number8 N4
)
select top(@count) row_number() over(order by Value) Value from Number32;
The performance achieved is on pair with numbers table. Estimated number of rows is precise whenever we pass constant as parameter.
What is the moral? - There is a space for the enhancements in the recursive CTE.
Next day
Guess what? - Yes! there is also the CLR, which allows to create one more implementation of the numbers and split functions. In the next entry I'll show it, and performance comparison of different approaches.
This task is already discussed many times. SQL Server 2005 allows to create an inline function that splits such a string. The logic of such a function is self explanatory, which also hints that SQL syntax became better:
/*
Returns numbers table.
Table has a following structure: table(value int not null);
value is an integer number that contains numbers from 0 to a specified value.
*/
create function dbo.Numbers
(
/* Number of rows to return. */
@count int
)
returns table
as
return
with numbers(value) as
(
select 0
union all
select value * 2 + 1 from numbers where value < @count / 2
union all
select value * 2 + 2 from numbers where value < (@count - 1) / 2
)
select
row_number() over(order by U.v) value
from
numbers cross apply (select 0 v) U;
/*
Splits string using split character.
Returns a table that contains split positions and split values:
table(Pos, Value)
*/
create function dbo.Split
(
/* A string to split. */
@value nvarchar(max),
/* An optional split character.*/
@splitChar nvarchar(max) = N','
)
returns table
as
return
with Bound(Pos) as
(
select
Value
from
dbo.Numbers(len(@value))
where
(Value = 1) or
(substring(@value, Value - 1, len(@splitChar)) = @splitChar)
),
Word(Pos, Value) as
(
select
Bound.Pos,
substring
(
@value,
Bound.Pos,
case when Splitter.Pos > 0
then Splitter.Pos
else len(@value) + 1
end - Bound.Pos
)
from
Bound
cross apply
(select charindex(@splitChar, @value, Pos) Pos) Splitter
)
select Pos, Value from Word;
Test:
declare @s nvarchar(max);
set @s = N'ALFKI,BONAP,CACTU,FRANK';
select Value from System.Split(@s, default) order by Pos;
See also: Arrays and Lists in SQL Server, Numbers table in SQL Server 2005, Parade of numbers
SQL Server 2005 has got built-in partitions. As result, I have been given a task to port a database from SQL Server 2000 to 2005, and replace old style partitions with new one. It seems reasonable, but before modifying a production database, which is about 5TB in size, I've tested a small one.
Switch the data - it's an easy part. I need also to test all related stored procedures. At this point I've found shortcomings, which tightly related to a nature of the partitions.
In select statement SQL Server 2005 iterates over partitions, in contrast SQL Server 2000 rolls out partition view and embeds partition tables into an execution plan. The performance difference can be dramatic (the case I'm dealing with).
Suppose you are to get 'top N' rows of ordered set of data from several partitions. SQL Server 2000 can perform operations on partitions (to get ordered result per partition), and then merge them, and return 'top N' rows. However, if execution plan just iterates partitions and applies the same operations to each partition in sequential manner the result will be semiordered. To get 'top N' rows the sort operator is required. This is the case of SQL Server 2005.
The problem is that the SQL Server 2005 never uses merge operator to combine results!
To illustrate the problem let's define two partitioned tables:
create partition function [test](smalldatetime) as range left for values (N'2007-01-01', N'2007-02-01')
go
create partition scheme [testScheme] as partition [test] to [primary], [primary], [primary])
go
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Test2000_12](
[A] [smalldatetime] NOT NULL,
[B] [int] NOT NULL,
[C] [nvarchar](50) NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_Test2000_12] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED
(
[A] ASC,
[B] ASC
)
)
GO
CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX [IX_Test2000_12] ON [dbo].[Test2000_12]
(
[B] ASC,
[A] ASC
)
GO
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Test2000_01](
[A] [smalldatetime] NOT NULL,
[B] [int] NOT NULL,
[C] [nvarchar](50) NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_Test2000_01] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED
(
[A] ASC,
[B] ASC
)
)
GO
CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX [IX_Test2000_01] ON [dbo].[Test2000_01]
(
[B] ASC,
[A] ASC
)
GO
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Test2000_02](
[A] [smalldatetime] NOT NULL,
[B] [int] NOT NULL,
[C] [nvarchar](50) NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_Test2000_02] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED
(
[A] ASC,
[B] ASC
)
)
GO
CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX [IX_Test2000_02] ON [dbo].[Test2000_02]
(
[B] ASC,
[A] ASC
)
GO
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Test2005](
[A] [smalldatetime] NOT NULL,
[B] [int] NOT NULL,
[C] [nvarchar](50) NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_Test2005] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED
(
[A] ASC,
[B] ASC
)
) ON [testScheme]([A])
GO
CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX [IX_Test2005] ON [dbo].[Test2005]
(
[B] ASC,
[A] ASC
) ON [testScheme]([A])
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Test2000_01] WITH CHECK ADD CONSTRAINT [CK_Test2000_01] CHECK (([A]>='2007-01-01' AND [A]<'2007-02-01'))
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Test2000_01] CHECK CONSTRAINT [CK_Test2000_01]
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Test2000_02] WITH CHECK ADD CONSTRAINT [CK_Test2000_02] CHECK (([A]>='2007-02-01'))
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Test2000_02] CHECK CONSTRAINT [CK_Test2000_02]
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Test2000_12] WITH CHECK ADD CONSTRAINT [CK_Test2000_12] CHECK (([A]<'2007-01-01'))
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Test2000_12] CHECK CONSTRAINT [CK_Test2000_12]
GO
create view [dbo].[test2000] as
select * from dbo.test2000_12
union all
select * from dbo.test2000_01
union all
select * from dbo.test2000_02
go
/*
Returns numbers table.
Table has a following structure: table(value int not null);
value is an integer number that contains numbers from 0 to a specified value.
*/
create FUNCTION dbo.[Numbers]
(
/* Number of rows to return. */
@count int
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN
with numbers(value) as
(
select 0
union all
select value * 2 + 1 from numbers where value < @count / 2
union all
select value * 2 + 2 from numbers where value < (@count - 1) / 2
)
select
row_number() over(order by U.v) value
from
numbers cross apply (select 0 v) U
Pupulate tables:
insert into dbo.Test2005
select
cast(N'2006-01-01' as smalldatetime) + 0.001 * N.Value,
N.Value,
N'Value' + cast(N.Value as nvarchar(16))
from
dbo.Numbers(500000) N
go
insert into dbo.Test2000
select
cast(N'2006-01-01' as smalldatetime) + 0.001 * N.Value,
N.Value,
N'Value' + cast(N.Value as nvarchar(16))
from
dbo.Numbers(500000) N
go
Perform a test:
select top 20
A, B
from
dbo.Test2005
--where
--(A between '2006-01-10' and '2007-01-10')
order by
B
select top 20
A, B
from
dbo.Test2000
--where
--(A between '2006-01-10' and '2007-01-10')
order by
B
--option(merge union)
The difference is obvious if you will open execution plan. In the first case estimated subtree cost is: 17.4099; in the second: 0.0455385.
SQL server cannot efficiently use index on columns (B, A). The problem presented here can appear in any select that occasionally accesses two partitions, but regulary uses only one, provided it uses a secondary index. In fact this covers about 30% of all selects in my database.
Next day
I've meditated a little bit more and devised a centaur: I can define a partition view over partition table. Thus I can use either this view or table depending on what I'm trying to achieve either iterate partitions or roll them out.
create view [dbo].[Test2005_View] as
select * from dbo.Test2005 where $partition.test(A) = 1
union all
select * from dbo.Test2005 where $partition.test(A) = 2
union all
select * from dbo.Test2005 where $partition.test(A) = 3
The following select is running the same way as SQL Server 2000 partitions:
select top 20
A, B
from
dbo.Test2005_View
-- dbo.Test2005
order by
B
In one of our latest projects (GUI on .NET 2.0) we've felt all the power of .NET globalization, but an annoying thing happened too...
In our case such an annoying thing was sharing of UI culture info between main (UI) thread and all auxiliary threads (threads from ThreadPool, manually created threads etc.). It seems we've fallen into a .NET globalization pitfall.
We guessed that the same as main thread UI culture info for, at least, all asynchronous delegates' calls is used. This is a common mistake, and what's more annoying, there is no a single line in MSDN documentation about this issue. 
Let's look closer at this issue. Our application starts on computer with English regional settings ("en-En"), and during application starting we are changing UI culture info to one specified in configuration file: // set the culture from the config file
try
{
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentUICulture =
new CultureInfo(Settings.Default.CultureName);
}
catch
{
// use the default UI culture info
}
Thus, all the screens of this GUI application will be displayed according with the specified culture. There are also localized strings stored in resource files that are used as log, exception messages etc., which can be displayed from within different threads (e.g. asynchronous delegates' calls).
So, when application is running and even all screens are displayed according with the specified culture, all the exceptions from auxiliary threads still in English.  This happened since threads for asynchronous calls are pulled out from ThreadPool, and all these threads were created using default culture.
Conclusion
Take care about CurrentUICulture in different threads by yourself, and be careful - there are still pitfalls on this way...
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