Xsl

Your 200-page Personal Trainer for XSL

To learn how to use XSL, you need practical hands-on advice from an expert who understands what it is like to just start out. By working step by step through document structures, template rules, stylesheet transformations, and formatting objects, you can master XSL fundamentals while learning how to transform structured data into any output format needed from HTML to XHTML to program source code.

This book is designed for anyone who wants to learn XSL, including those who create or support XML applications and XML-based solutions. Inside, you'll find comprehensive overviews, step-by-step procedures, frequently used tasks, documented examples, and much more. One of the goals is to keep the content so concise that the book remains compact and easy to navigate while at the same time ensuring that the book is packed with as much information as possible--making it a valuable resource.

Learning XSL doesn't have to be a frustrating experience, you can use XSL: The Personal Trainer for XSLT, XPath and XSL-FO to learn everything you need to use XSL and related technologies effectively. Look also for XML, DTDs, Schemas: The Personal Trainer.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. XSL Transformations & Formatting 14

Introducing XSLT 14

Matching Document Structures to Template Rules 18

The Template for Element and Root Nodes 20

The Template for Modes 20

The Template for d104 and Attribute Nodes 21

Understanding Other Built-In Templates 21

Structuring XSLT Stylesheets 22

Starting the XSLT Stylesheet 22

Defining the Output Format 24

Defining Template Rules and Declarations 41

Chapter 2. XPath Operators & Expressions 48

Understanding Location Paths 49

Understanding XPath Operators and Datatypes 55

Using Relative XPath Expressions with Elements 60

Referencing the Current Context Node 60

Referencing a Parent Node 61

Referencing Siblings Relative to the Current Context 62

Referencing Child Nodes 63

Using Absolute XPath Expressions with Elements 65

Locating Nodes 67

Working with Attribute Nodes 67

Working with d104 Nodes 70

Working with Comment Nodes 71

Working with Processing Instruction Nodes 72

Using Namespaces with Element and Attribute Nodes 73

Using Wildcards and Predicates in XPath Expressions 75

Selecting Any Node 75

Skipping Levels in the Hierarchy 77

Filtering To Match Nodes 79

Chapter 3. Branching & Control Functions 86

Processing with if Statements 86

Processing with choose Statements 89

Processing with for-each Statements 92

Invoking, Including, and Importing Templates 97

Including and Importing Templates 97

Calling Templates by Name 101

Invoking Templates by Mode 102

Chapter 4. Variables & Parameters in XSLT 106

Working with Parameters 106

Defining and Referencing Parameters 106

Setting Default Values for Parameters 108

Passing Parameter Values to Templates 111

Using Global Parameters 113

Working with Variables 120

Defining Variables 120

Referencing Variables 123

Using Global Variables 125

Chapter 5. Working with Strings, Booleans, & Numbers 128

Manipulating Strings 128

Converting Values to Strings 128

Managing Spaces Within Strings 130

Normalizing Space in Strings 134

Merging Values into a Single String 135

Examining and Manipulating String Contents 136

Translating Characters in Strings 145

Converting and Manipulating Boolean Values 147

Using the true() Function 151

Using the false() Function 151

Using the not() Function 151

Working with Numeric Values 151

Converting Values to Numbers 151

Formatting Values as Numbers 153

Rounding Numbers 159

Summing Values 161

And Much more