Implementation Notes

Underlying libxml2 Handles

The package stores libxml2 pointers directly inside the wrapper types:

• XMLDocument keeps an xmlDocPtr.

• XMLElement keeps an xmlNodePtr.

• XMLAttribute keeps an xmlAttrPtr.

• XMLNameSpace keeps an xmlNsPtr.

• XMLPath keeps an xmlXPathObjectPtr.

These stored properties are intentionally kept as implementation details so the public API can stay small while still mapping closely to libxml2 behaviour.

Internal Iteration State

The iterator types for XMLElement, XMLAttribute, XMLNameSpace, and XMLTree keep internal cursor state that mirrors libxml2 sibling and child links. Their implementation is documented in source so that future maintenance can stay aligned with the traversal order relied on by the test suite.

Empty Sequences

emptyIterator() and emptySequence() are small helpers used throughout the package to avoid special-case collection code when libxml2 pointers are missing. They make properties such as children and attributes cheap to consume even when a node has no related values.