Webmaster in a Nutshell, Third Edition

Name

<xsl:choose>

Synopsis

The <xsl:choose> element, in conjunction with the elements <xsl:when> and <xsl:otherwise>, offers the ability to perform multiple condition tests. For example:

<xsl:template match="chapter/title">
   <xsl:choose>
      <xsl:when test="[position(  )=1]">
          Start Here:
      </xsl:when>
      <xsl:otherwise>
          Then Read:
       </xsl:otherwise>
   </xsl:choose>
   <xsl:apply-templates/>
</xsl:template>

This example matches against each of the qualifying <title> elements, but it must test each <title> element to determine how to format it. Here, formatting depends on whether the element is first. The string Start Here: is applied before the first <title> element, and the string Then Read: is placed before the others.

<xsl:choose>
   ...
</xsl:choose>