XML Hacks

Create a Text File from an XML Document

Use this stylesheet to extract only the text from any XML document.

Sometimes you just want to leave the XML behind and keep only the text found in a document. The stylesheet text.xsl can do that for you. (There’s an even easier way; see “Built-in Templates” following). It can be applied to any XML document, which includes XHTML. It is shown in Example 3-15.

Example 3-15. text.xsl

<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" 
<xsl:output method="text"/>
            xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
   
<xsl:template match="/">
 <xsl:apply-templates select="*"/>
</xsl:template>
   
</xsl:stylesheet>

This stylesheet finds the root node and then selects all element children (*) for processing. To test, apply this stylesheet to the XHTML document magnacarta.html , the pact between King John and the barony in England that was first signed at Runnymede on June 15, 1215 (see http://www.cs.indiana.edu/statecraft/magna-carta.html):

xalan magnacarta.html text.xsl

A small portion of the output is shown in Example 3-16. The result is shown in IE in Figure 3-18.

Example 3-16. A portion of the Magna Carta

Magna Carta The Magna Carta JOHN, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects, Greeting. KNOW THAT BEFORE GOD, for the health of our soul and those of our ancestors and heirs, ...