Learning XML, 2nd Edition

Templates

XSLT stylesheets are collections of templates. Each template associates a condition (e.g., an element in the source tree with a particular attribute) with a mixture of output data and instructions. These instructions refine and redirect processing, extending the simple matching mechanism to give you full control over the transformation.

A template does three things. First, it matches a class of node. The match attribute holds an XSLT pattern which, much like an XPath expression, matches nodes. When an XSLT processor is told to apply templates to a particular node, the processor runs through all the templates in the stylesheet and tests whether the node matches the template’s pattern. All the templates that match this node are candidates for processing, and the XSLT processor must select one.

Second, the template contributes a priority value to help the processor decide which among eligible templates is the best to use. The template that matches the current node with the highest import precedence, or highest priority, is the one that will be used to process it. Different factors contribute to this priority. A template with more specific information will overrule one that is more generic. For example, one template may match all elements with the XPath expression *. Another may match a specific element, while a third matches that element and further requires an attribute. Alternatively, a template can simply state its precedence to the processor using a priority attribute. ...