<refentry id="stepalternatives.element" revision='4.3'>
<?dbhtml filename="stepalternatives.html"?>

<refmeta>
<indexterm><primary>elements</primary>
<secondary>stepalternatives</secondary></indexterm>
<refentrytitle>stepalternatives</refentrytitle>
<refmiscinfo>Element</refmiscinfo>
</refmeta>
<refnamediv>
<refname>stepalternatives</refname>
<refpurpose>&stepalternatives.purpose;</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>

&stepalternatives.synopsis.gen;
<refsect1 condition='ref.description'><title>Description</title>

<para>Most <sgmltag>step</sgmltag>s in a <sgmltag>procedure</sgmltag>
are sequential: do the first, then the second, then the third. Sometimes
procedures provide an explicit ordering: do step 7 next.</para>

<para>The <sgmltag>stepalternatives</sgmltag> element was added to
support the semantics of alternative steps: perform exactly one of the
following steps. The reader is presumably given some criteria for deciding
which one to choose, but the significant difference is that only one of
the steps is performed.</para>

<refsect2><title>Processing expectations</title>
<para>&format.block;</para>
</refsect2>

&stepalternatives.parents.gen;
&stepalternatives.children.gen;

</refsect1>

<refsect1 condition='ref.elem.attrdesc'><title>Attributes</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry><term>performance</term>
<listitem>
<para><sgmltag class="attribute">Performance</sgmltag> specifies whether one
of the <sgmltag>step</sgmltag> alternatives must be performed or if the whole
set is optional. (In no case is more than one alternative performed.)
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect1>
</refentry>

