partitioning-lists.xqy

let $l := ('a','b','c','d','e','f','g','h')
let $c := count($l)
let $n := 4
let $m := if ($n > $c) then $c else $n
let $step := ceiling( $c div $m )
return (
  concat("l=", string-join($l, ", "), " c=", $c, " n=", $n, " step=", $step),
  for $i in (1 to $m)    
    let $s := xs:integer( 1 + ( ( $i - 1 ) * $step ) )
    let $f := xs:integer( $s + $step - 1 )
    return <partition>
             <n>{$s}, {$f}</n>
             <l>{string-join($l [$s to $f], ", ")}</l>
           </partition>