XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference, 4th Edition

Chapter 6. XSLT Elements

This chapter provides an alphabetical list of reference entries, one for each of the XSLT elements. Each entry gives:

• A short description of the purpose of the element

• Changes in 2.0: A quick summary of changes to this element since XSLT 1.0

• Format: A pro forma summary of the format, defining where the element may appear in the stylesheet, what its permitted attributes are, and what its content (child elements) may be

• Effect: A definition of the formal rules defining how this element behaves

• Usage: A section giving usage advice on how to exploit this XSLT element

• Examples: Coding examples of the element, showing the context in which it might be used (where appropriate, the Usage and Examples sections are merged into one)

• See also: Cross-references to other related constructs

The Format section for each element includes a syntax skeleton designed to provide a quick reminder of the names and types of the attributes and any constraints on the context. The format of this is designed to be intuitive: it only gives a summary of the rules, because you will find these in full in the Position, Attributes, and Content sections that follow.

There are a number of specialized terms used in this chapter, and it is worth becoming familiar with them before you get in too deeply. There are fuller explanations in Chapters 2 and 3, and the descriptions in the following table are really intended just as a quick memory-jogger.

For a more comprehensive definition of terms, refer to the ...