XML Hacks

Generate an XSLT Identity Stylesheet with Relaxer

Quickly generate XSLT stylesheets with Asami Tomoharu’s Relaxer.

Relaxer (http://www.relaxer.org) is a Java schema compiler for XML. Relaxer can generate Java classes [Hack #99] based on RELAX NG, DTDs, XML Schema, and RELAX Core schemas (http://www.xml.gr.jp/relax/). It can also generate schemas (see [Hack #73] , [Hack #74] , and [Hack #75] ) from one or more XML documents. There are many other things Relaxer can do, but in this hack I want to focus on its ability to generate XSLT stylesheets based on one or more XML documents. Generating a stylesheet with Relaxer can give you a start for designing your own stylesheets. It’s quite easy to use and merits some of our attention.

You can download Version 1.0 of Relaxer (relaxer-1.0.zip) from http://www.relaxer.org/download/index.html. After downloading the file, you can run the installation script by typing this line, assuming of course that you have Java on your system:

java -jar relaxer-1.0.zip

The script will ask you where you want to install Relaxer:

Install directory [default: C:\usr\local\lib\relaxer]: c:\lib
Command directory [default: C:\usr\local\bin]: c:\bin

If you are on Windows and submitted c:\lib and c:\bin, for example, the script will respond:

[Configuration]
Install directory = c:\lib
Command directory = c:\bin
   
Type "yes" to install, "no" to re-enter, "exit" to exit
>

Use whatever directories are appropriate for your system. If you type yes here, you will see this ...