XSLT, 2nd Edition

Name

boolean()

Converts its argument to a boolean value.

Syntax

[1.0] boolean boolean(object)
[2.0] xs:boolean boolean(item()*)

Inputs

An object. The object is converted to a boolean value. This conversion is described in the following subsection.

Output

[1.0] The boolean value corresponding to the input object. Objects are converted to boolean values as follows:

• A number is true if and only if it is not zero, negative zero, or NaN (not a number).

• A node-set is true if and only if it is not empty.

• A string is true if and only if its length is greater than zero.

• All other datatypes are converted in a way specific to those datatypes.

[2.0] For XSLT 2.0, things are more complicated. The value returned, as you’d expect, is an xs:boolean. Here’s how the argument to boolean() is converted to a boolean value:

• If the argument is a singleton of any numeric type, boolean() returns false if the value is zero or NaN (not a number); everything else returns true.

• If the argument is a singleton of type xs:string, xs:anyURI, xs:untypedAtomic, or any type derived from them, boolean() returns true if the argument has a length greater than zero.

• If the argument is a singleton of type xs:boolean (or of a type derived from xs:boolean), boolean() simply returns the argument as is.

• If the argument is a sequence whose first item is a node, boolean() returns true.

• If the argument is the empty sequence, boolean() returns false.

• If the argument is anything else (xs:date, xs:time, or a sequence of multiple atomic values, for ...