[ docbook-Bugs-1211477 ] HTML: docbook table with many rows causes StackOverflowError

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Bugs item #1211477, was opened at 2005-05-30 10:21
Message generated for change (Comment added) made by bobstayton
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Category: XSL
Group: output: HTMLHelp/JavaHelp/EclipseHelp
Status: Closed
Resolution: Wont Fix
Priority: 2
Private: No
Submitted By: David Green (dgreen99)
Assigned to: Nobody/Anonymous (nobody)
Summary: HTML: docbook table with many rows causes StackOverflowError

Initial Comment:
Processing a docbook with a tbody that has many (about
700) rows causes a stack overflow error when using
Xalan as the XSL processing engine.  This problem
appears to be related to recursion in table.xsl at line
616.

An appropriate fix would be to avoid recursion when
processing table rows.  (I'm not sure why this is
necessary)

A portion of the stack trace follows:

at
org.apache.xpath.axes.BasicTestIterator.nextNode(BasicTestIterator.java:139)
	at
org.apache.xpath.axes.NodeSequence.nextNode(NodeSequence.java:280)
	at
org.apache.xpath.objects.XNodeSet.compare(XNodeSet.java:607)
	at
org.apache.xpath.objects.XNodeSet.notEquals(XNodeSet.java:716)
	at
org.apache.xpath.operations.NotEquals.operate(NotEquals.java:44)
	at
org.apache.xpath.operations.Operation.execute(Operation.java:109)
	at
org.apache.xpath.axes.PredicatedNodeTest.executePredicates(PredicatedNodeTest.java:339)
	at
org.apache.xpath.axes.PredicatedNodeTest.acceptNode(PredicatedNodeTest.java:476)
	at
org.apache.xpath.axes.AxesWalker.nextNode(AxesWalker.java:369)
	at
org.apache.xpath.axes.WalkingIterator.nextNode(WalkingIterator.java:191)
	at
org.apache.xpath.axes.NodeSequence.nextNode(NodeSequence.java:280)
	at
org.apache.xpath.axes.NodeSequence.runTo(NodeSequence.java:434)
	at
org.apache.xpath.axes.NodeSequence.setRoot(NodeSequence.java:217)
	at
org.apache.xpath.axes.LocPathIterator.execute(LocPathIterator.java:211)
	at org.apache.xpath.XPath.execute(XPath.java:268)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemWithParam.getValue(ElemWithParam.java:200)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemCallTemplate.execute(ElemCallTemplate.java:225)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.transformToRTF(TransformerImpl.java:1917)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.transformToRTF(TransformerImpl.java:1839)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemWithParam.getValue(ElemWithParam.java:216)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemCallTemplate.execute(ElemCallTemplate.java:225)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.transformToRTF(TransformerImpl.java:1917)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.transformToRTF(TransformerImpl.java:1839)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemVariable.getValue(ElemVariable.java:311)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemVariable.execute(ElemVariable.java:247)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemTemplate.execute(ElemTemplate.java:393)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemCallTemplate.execute(ElemCallTemplate.java:247)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:140)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.transformSelectedNodes(ElemApplyTemplates.java:395)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.execute(ElemApplyTemplates.java:177)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:127)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.transformToRTF(TransformerImpl.java:1917)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.transformToRTF(TransformerImpl.java:1839)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemVariable.getValue(ElemVariable.java:311)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemVariable.execute(ElemVariable.java:247)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemTemplate.execute(ElemTemplate.java:393)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemCallTemplate.execute(ElemCallTemplate.java:247)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:140)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.transformToRTF(TransformerImpl.java:1917)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.transformToRTF(TransformerImpl.java:1839)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemVariable.getValue(ElemVariable.java:311)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemVariable.execute(ElemVariable.java:247)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemTemplate.execute(ElemTemplate.java:393)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemCallTemplate.execute(ElemCallTemplate.java:247)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:140)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.transformSelectedNodes(ElemApplyTemplates.java:395)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.execute(ElemApplyTemplates.java:177)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:140)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.transformSelectedNodes(ElemApplyTemplates.java:395)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.execute(ElemApplyTemplates.java:177)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemLiteralResult.execute(ElemLiteralResult.java:682)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.transformSelectedNodes(ElemApplyTemplates.java:395)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.execute(ElemApplyTemplates.java:177)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:140)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemElement.constructNode(ElemElement.java:338)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemElement.execute(ElemElement.java:287)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:140)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.transformSelectedNodes(ElemApplyTemplates.java:395)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.execute(ElemApplyTemplates.java:177)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:127)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:140)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.transformSelectedNodes(ElemApplyTemplates.java:395)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.execute(ElemApplyTemplates.java:177)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:127)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:140)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.transformSelectedNodes(ElemApplyTemplates.java:395)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.execute(ElemApplyTemplates.java:177)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:127)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:140)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.transformSelectedNodes(ElemApplyTemplates.java:395)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.execute(ElemApplyTemplates.java:177)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:127)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:140)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.transformSelectedNodes(ElemApplyTemplates.java:395)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemApplyTemplates.execute(ElemApplyTemplates.java:177)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)
	at
org.apache.xalan.templates.ElemChoose.execute(ElemChoose.java:127)
	at
org.apache.xalan.transformer.TransformerImpl.executeChildTemplates(TransformerImpl.java:2336)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

>Comment By: Robert Stayton (bobstayton)
Date: 2009-12-12 10:02

Message:
I checked in Eric Bishoff's patch to turn off row recursion if the table
contains no morerows attributes.  That will at least enable long tables
that don't use morerows to process without running into the stack depth
error.  Still no solution for long tables with morerows.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: Eric Bischoff (ebischoff)
Date: 2007-08-11 12:26

Message:
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Originator: NO

I request reopening of this bug.

It is not resolved. It apparently affects all parsers I have tested. The
problem can be a showstopper when big tables cannot be split.

I have come with a solution :
- Dynamically test if there are "morerow"s
- if not, it's not necessary to recurse, a regular loop is enough
This way the spans continue working when they exist, and tables go faster
and safer when they don't.

As I don't know how to attach the patch to this issue, I will send them in
private to bob and norm.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: Robert Stayton (bobstayton)
Date: 2005-07-11 09:00

Message:
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Norm Walsh reviewed the necessity of using recursion in row 
processing.  Here is his response:

"If it didn't recurse through all the rows, then some of the rows
wouldn't appear in the output :-) so, yes, it has to do them 
all. That
code isn't looking at the following rows to calculate spans, it
calculates the spans for this row and then processes the 
next row
(using the span information that it just calculated).

I've looked at this code a couple of times, the stack overflow 
was
reported on the Saxon list originally I think, and I don't see 
any way
to improve it.

Maybe it could be done in two passes with less memory, but 
I'm not
sure. The problem is that spans can "carry forward" an 
arbitrary
distance so you sort of have to work your way 
through "remembering"
what you've seen. For a really big table, that means you wind 
up
deeply nested." -- Norm Walsh

The conclusion is that the recursion is needed to process 
table entry spans, and cannot just be turned off.  

If your 700 row table does not use spans, you could insert a 
processing instruction into it, and write a customization of 
the row template to respond to that processing instruction to 
skip the span recursion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: Michael(tm) Smith (xmldoc)
Date: 2005-06-21 19:05

Message:
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David,

I'm not sure what to do with this issue.

If you want, we can continue to keep it open, but I
need to let you know that it is probably going to
remain a very low priority -- both because it does not
seem to be a problem in other XSLT engines (e.g., Saxon
or xsltproc), only in Xalan, and because I don't think
most users do not have a need to process tables that
have 700+ rows.

Also, any time a code change is made, there's always a
risk of inadvertently introducing new bugs. In this
case that risk may be greater than the benefit.

FWIW, here are some personal suggestions for other ways
to deal with the Xalan problem.

  - Break up your 700-row table into smaller tables.

    Instead of one 700-row table, make it two 350-row
    tables, or three 200+ row tables, or whatever.

    The thing is, if you have a table with more than
    700 rows in your document, you are going to run
    into problems with applications (not just the
    DocBook XSL stylesheets). For example, have you
    attempted yet to get a PDF from the document in
    which you have that table, and has the XSL-FO
    engine (or whatever app you used) been able to
    process it without running out of memory or hanging
    or segfaulting or whatever?

  - Don't use Xalan.

    Relative to Saxon, in my experience, Xalan is
    buggy. I personally never use Xalan except for
    testing, and even then, I sometimes run into bugs
    that I can't work around or fix.

    We have had many DocBook XSL stylesheet bugs
    reported by users of Xalan that are not
    reproducible with Saxon. But we have never once (as
    far as I know) had a bug reported by a Saxon user
    that was not reproducible with other XSLT engines.

    And long with being basically bug-free, Saxon is
    (in my experience) faster than Xalan.

    So, anyway, unless you must use Xalan for some
    reason, I would recommend switching to Saxon.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: David Green (dgreen99)
Date: 2005-06-07 11:40

Message:
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I've reviewed this one a little more closely.  It looks like
the spans variable is used recursively (for all previous
rows) to calculate the spans for the current row.  I'm not
exactly sure what spans is or how it should be used --
however my fix doesn't do this recursive calculation when
iterating over the rows (it uses blank.spans instead.)  I'm
not clear on what the impact of this change would be.  Can
someone provide more clarity on what spans is and how it works? 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: Michael(tm) Smith (xmldoc)
Date: 2005-06-01 19:27

Message:
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David:

I tested this with Saxon and I get the following error:

David,

I had to back out your patch because when I tested with
Saxon, I got the following error.

Error at xsl:with-param on line 532 of
file:/sandbox/xsl/html/table.xsl:
  Variable spans has not been declared

Strangely, I did not get that error in testing with xsltproc.

If possible, please test with Saxon as well as Xalan and
provide a patch that you can confirm will work with Saxon
too.

Moving status for this issue back to Open.

  --Mike

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: David Green (dgreen99)
Date: 2005-06-01 10:52

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Fantastic... thanks!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: Michael(tm) Smith (xmldoc)
Date: 2005-06-01 10:11

Message:
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I went ahead and committed the patch after smoke-testing
it and not seeing any obvious problems with it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: David Green (dgreen99)
Date: 2005-06-01 08:57

Message:
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Diff posted against HEAD.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: Michael(tm) Smith (xmldoc)
Date: 2005-06-01 03:52

Message:
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Please post a diff between your modified copy of
table.xsl and the original table.xsl from the DocBook
XSL stylesheets distribution that you tested with.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: David Green (dgreen99)
Date: 2005-05-30 10:42

Message:
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I've created an xsl containing templates for tbody and row.
 This resolves the problem with some trivial changes to the
original templates.  

I've tested it on my docbook that was causing the problem
and the problem has now gone away.  The table with > 700
rows now works just fine.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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