> I don't quite understand.  This returns a nodeset with at 
> least one @type, perhaps 2 (if there is a default type).  [1] 
> indexes the nodeset?  Does indexing start at 0?  If so, if 
> the 1th element isn't there does it just reference the nearest one?
> 

It returns a sequence - NOT a set - of nodes, with zero, one, or two
members, and selects the first member of the sequence if there is one.

Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/