Re: [xml-dev] Transforming documents with undefined entities

["G. Ken Holman" <gkholman@CraneSoftwrights.com>]

The answer is in the XML Spec section 4.1:

 https://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-xml-20081126/#sec-references
 Well-formedness constraint: Entity Declared
 ...
 Note that non-validating processors are not obligated to read
 and process entity declarations occurring in parameter entities
 or in the external subset; for such documents

I note in your example that you don't have a
standalone declaration, and so the processor is
allowed to ignore the entity reference:

<!DOCTYPE chapter SYSTEM "external.dtd">
<chapter>&badent;</chapter>

Changing your instance as follows:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<!DOCTYPE chapter SYSTEM "external.dtd">
<chapter>&badent;</chapter>

... triggers an error.

I hope this helps.

. . . . . . Ken

At 2016-04-19 08:27 +0000, Andrew Campbell wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I’m experiencing something unexpected when
> transforming documents with undefined entities
> using Saxon. I asked on the Saxon mailing list,
> and Michael Kay suggested I tried asking here too.
>
> I have two XML files, one with an internal DTD
> (badent-internal.xml), one with an external DTD
> (badent-external.xml). Both of them reference an
> undefined entity (&badent;). When I parse either
> of them with xmllint, the undefined entity is reported.
>
> $ xmllint badent-internal.xml
> badent-internal.xml:4: parser error : Entity 'badent' not defined
> <chapter>&badent;</chapter>
>                  ^
>
> When I try to transform them on the command line
> using Saxon, badent-internal.xml throws an
> error, but badent-external.xml is transformed as
> if the entity reference were not present.
>
> $ java -cp
> ~/Documents/XML/SaxonHE9-6-0-7J/saxon9he.jar
> net.sf.saxon.Transform -xsl:simple.xsl -s:badent-internal.xml
> Error on line 4 column 18 of badent-internal.xml:
>   SXXP0003: Error reported by XML parser: The
> entity "badent" was referenced, but not declared.
> org.xml.sax.SAXParseException; systemId:
> file:/Users/acam0006/Desktop/saxon.entity.test/missing.entity/badent-internal.xml;
> lineNumber: 4; columnNumber: 18; The entity
> "badent" was referenced, but not declared.
>
> $ java -cp
> ~/Documents/XML/SaxonHE9-6-0-7J/saxon9he.jar
> net.sf.saxon.Transform -xsl:simple.xsl -s:badent-external.xml
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><success/>
>
> I expected both files to throw the same error. What is going on?
>
> I have attached the relevant files to this email.
>
> Andrew

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