It works for me (I get <data id="3"> only).

Stylesheet:

<xsl:stylesheet version="2.0"
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">

  <xsl:template match="/">
    <xsl:variable name="normalized_data" as="element()+">
        <data id="1">
           <info action="delete" />
           <info action="insert" />
           <stuff />
        </data>
        <data id="2">
           <info action="insert" />
           <stuff />
        </data>
        <data id="3">
          <stuff />
        </data>
    </xsl:variable>
    <olddata>
    <xsl:sequence select="$normalized_data[not(info/@action='delete')]
except
                             $normalized_data[info/@action='insert' or
info/@action='modify']" />
    </olddata>
  </xsl:template>

</xsl:stylesheet>

Result with Saxon 9.1 (any source document):

<olddata><data id="3"><stuff/></data></olddata>

Though I wouldn't have written the code this way; I would write

$normalized_data[condition1 and not(condition2)]

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


> -----Original Message-----
> From: James Sulak [mailto:jsulak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: 04 August 2008 18:39
> To: xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [xsl] Using "except" with node sequences
>
> Hello all,
>
> I have a sequence of nodes stored in a variable, and I am
> attempting to filter it using an XPath expression that
> includes the "except" operator.  However, it's not working
> like I expect it to.
>
> For a node sequence called $normalized_data:
>
> <data id="1">
>    <info action="delete" />
>    <info action="insert" />
>    <stuff />
> </data>
> <data id="2">
>    <info action="insert" />
>    <stuff />
> </data>
> <data id="3">
>    <stuff />
> </data>
>
> I am attempting to filter it using this logic:
>
> <olddata>
>    <xsl:sequence
> select="$normalized_data[not(info/@action='delete')] except
> $normalized_data[info/@action='insert' or
> info/@action='modify']" /> </olddata>
>
> I expect the returned sequence to include all of the nodes in
> $normalized_data that match the first condition and don't
> match the second condition (node 3).  What I am actually
> getting is all of the nodes in $normalized data.  Is there
> something about the "except" operator that I'm not understanding?
>
> Thanks,
>
> -James