XSLT and XPATH: A Guide to XML Transformations

Chapter 2. Fundamental Concepts of XSLT Stylesheets

• Boilerplate stylesheets

• <xsl:stylesheet> and <xsl:transform> document element

• Literal result element

• Literal result stylesheet

• Stylesheets embedded in an XML document

• XML declaration

• Document type declaration

In Chapter 1 we covered several XSLT elements and basic concepts that allowed stylesheets to be immediately useable. This chapter is devoted to fully explaining the nature—or structure—of XSLT stylesheets and the core concepts underlying them. We will discuss the <xsl:stylesheet> and <xsl:transform> document elements and their structure, along with a basic overview of their child elements, including <xsl:template>. We will also present boilerplate stylesheets that can be used as the base of any ...