> Shall I conclude that there were no user requirements and 
> use-cases that required taking this decision?
>

The argument against allowing redefinition of variables was based on
preventing the novice error of doing

<xsl:variable name="x" select="0"/>
<xsl:for-each ...
  <xsl:variable name="x" select="$x + 1"/>

The argument in favour of allowing it was based on the ability to
generate XSLT/XQuery code automatically, and to allow cut-and paste of
code fragments.

So yes, there were use cases on both sides, and it boils down to a
matter of opinion as to how you weigh them.

If you think the decision is wrong, you should post a note to
public-qt-comments saying why.

One piece of evidence that might be interesting would be a survey of how
other languages - especially functional languages without assignment
statements - have decided this question.

Michael Kay
Software AG
home: Michael.H.Kay@xxxxxxxxxxxx
work: Michael.Kay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 


 XSL-List info and archive:  http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list