book

XSLT

Name: XSLT
Author: Doug Tidwell
ISBN: 9780596000530

by Doug Tidwell

August 2001

Intermediate to advanced

480 pages

11h 16m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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XSLT
Dedication
Preface
Organization of This Book
Where I’m Coming From
I Believe in Open, Platform-Neutral, Standards-Based ComputingI Assume You’re BusyI Don’t Care Which Standards-Compliant Tools You UseXSLT Is a Tool, Not a Religion
Conventions Used in This Book
How to Contact Us
Acknowledgments
1. Getting Started
The Design of XSLT
XML Basics
XML’s HeritageXML Document RulesAn XML document must be contained in a single elementAll elements must be nestedAll attributes must be quotedXML tags are case-sensitiveAll end tags are requiredEmpty tags can contain the end markerXML declarationsDocument Type Definitions (DTDs) and XML SchemasWell-formed versus valid documentsTags versus elementsNamespacesDOM and SAXDOMA sample DOM treeSAXXML StandardsXML 1.0The Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL)XML SchemasThe Simple API for XML (SAX)Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2Namespaces in XMLAssociating stylesheets with XML documentsScalable Vector Graphics (SVG)Canonical XML Version 1.0XML digital signaturesXML Pointer Language (XPointer) Version 1.0XML Linking Language (XLink) Version 1.0
Installing Xalan

Summary
2. The Obligatory Hello World Example
Goals of This Chapter
Transforming Hello World
Our Sample DocumentA Sample StylesheetTransforming the XML DocumentStylesheet Results
How a Stylesheet Is Processed
Parsing the StylesheetParsing the TransformeeLather, Rinse, RepeatWalking Through Our Example
Stylesheet Structure
The <xsl:stylesheet> ElementThe <xsl:output> ElementOur First <xsl:template>The <xsl:template> for <greeting> ElementsBuilt-in Template RulesBuilt-in template rule for element and root nodesBuilt-in template rule for modesBuilt-in template rule for text and attribute nodesBuilt-in template rule for comment and processing instruction nodesBuilt-in template rule for namespace nodesTop-Level ElementsOther Approaches
Sample Gallery
The Hello World SVG FileThe Hello World PDF FileThe Hello World Java ProgramThe Hello World VRML File
Summary
3. XPath: A Syntax for Describing Needles and Haystacks
The XPath Data ModelThe Root NodeElement NodesAttribute NodesText NodesComment NodesProcessing Instruction NodesNamespace Nodes
Location Paths
The ContextSimple Location PathsRelative and Absolute ExpressionsSelecting Things Besides Elements with Location PathsSelecting attributesSelecting the text of an elementSelecting comments, processing instructions, and namespace nodesUsing WildcardsAxesUnabbreviated syntaxAxis roll callPredicatesNumbers in predicatesFunctions in predicates
Attribute Value Templates
XPath Datatypes
The XPath View of an XML Document
Output ViewThe Stylesheet
Summary
4. Branching and Control Elements
Goals of This Chapter
Branching Elements of XSLT
The <xsl:if> ElementConverting to boolean valuesBoolean examplesThe <xsl:choose> Element<xsl:choose> exampleThe <xsl:for-each> Element<xsl:for-each> example
Invoking Templates by Name
How It WorksTemplates à la Mode
Parameters
Defining a Parameter in a TemplatePassing ParametersGlobal ParametersXalanXTMicrosoft’s XSLT toolsSaxonOracleSetting global parameters in a Java program
Variables
Are These Things Really Variables?Variable Scope
Using Recursion to Do Most Anything
Implementing a String Replace FunctionProcedural designRecursive design
A Stylesheet That Emulates a for Loop
Template DesignImplementationThe Complete Example
A Stylesheet That Generates a Stylesheet That Emulates a for Loop
XML InputTemplate DesignComplications
Summary
5. Creating Links and Cross-References
Generating Links with the id() FunctionThe ID, IDREF, and IDREFs DatatypesAn XML Document in Need of LinksA Stylesheet That Uses the id() FunctionLimitations of IDs
Generating Links with the key() Function
Defining a key()A Slightly More Complicated XML Document in Need of LinksStylesheets That Use the key() FunctionThe key() function and the IDREFS datatypeSolution #1: Replace the IDREFS datatypeSolution #2: Use the XPath contains() functionSolution #3: Use recursion to process the IDREFS datatypeSolution #4: Use an extension functionAdvantages of the key() Function
Generating Links in Unstructured Documents
An Unstructured XML Document in Need of LinksThe generate-id() Function
Summary
6. Sorting and Grouping Elements
Sorting Data with <xsl:sort>Our First ExampleThe Details on the <xsl:sort> ElementWhat’s the deal with that syntax?AttributesWhere can you use <xsl:sort>?Another Example
Grouping Nodes
Our First AttemptA Brute-Force ApproachGrouping with <xsl:variable>The <xsl:key> Approach
Summary
7. Combining XML Documents
Overview
The document() Function
An Aside: Doing Math with RecursionRecursive designGenerating output to initialize a variableUsing format-number() to control output
Invoking the document() Function
More Sophisticated Techniques
The document() Function and SortingImplementing Lookup TablesGrouping Across Multiple Documents
Summary
8. Extending XSLT
Extension Elements, Extension Functions, and Fallback ProcessingExtension ElementsExample: Generating multiple output filesExample: Using extension functions from multiple processorsExtension FunctionsExample: A library of trigonometric functionsExample: Writing extensions in other languagesFallback Processing
Extending the Saxon Processor
More Examples
Generating JPEG Files from XML ContentAccessing a Database with an Extension Element
Summary
9. Case Study: The Toot-O-Matic
About the Toot-O-Matic
Design Goals
Make It Easier to Create TutorialsShow Our Audience That We Use the Technologies We AdvocateSee Just How Much We Could Accomplish Through Stylesheets
Tutorial Layout
Menu PanelIndividual PanelsSection MenuFeedback PanelEmail PanelZip FilePDF Files
XML Document Design
Individual Panels
XSLT Source Code
Stylesheets and ModesInitializing Global VariablesGenerating the Main Menu PanelGenerating the Section IndexesGenerating the Individual PanelsGenerating the PDF FilesGenerating the JPEG FilesGenerating the Zip File
Summary
A. XSLT Reference
<xsl:apply-imports>
<xsl:apply-templates>
<xsl:attribute>
<xsl:attribute-set>
<xsl:call-template>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:comment>
<xsl:copy>
<xsl:copy-of>
<xsl:decimal-format>
<xsl:element>
<xsl:fallback>
<xsl:for-each>
<xsl:if>
<xsl:import>
<xsl:include>
<xsl:key>
<xsl:message>
<xsl:namespace-alias>
<xsl:number>
<xsl:otherwise>
<xsl:output>
<xsl:param>
<xsl:preserve-space>
<xsl:processing-instruction>
<xsl:sort>
<xsl:strip-space>
<xsl:stylesheet>
<xsl:template>
<xsl:text>
<xsl:transform>
<xsl:value-of>
<xsl:variable>
<xsl:when>
<xsl:with-param>
B. XPath Reference
XPath Node TypesThe Root NodeElement NodesAttribute NodesText NodesComment NodesProcessing-Instruction NodesNamespace Nodes
XPath Node Tests
XPath Axes
XPath Operators
Mathematical OperatorsBoolean OperatorsComparing values of various datatypesExpression Operators
Datatypes
The XPath Context
C. XSLT and XPath Function Reference
boolean() Function
ceiling() Function
concat() Function
contains() Function
count() Function
current() Function
document() Function
element-available() Function
false() Function
floor() Function
format-number() Function
function-available() Function
generate-id() Function
id() Function
key() Function
lang() Function
last() Function
local-name() Function
name() Function
namespace-uri() Function
normalize-space() Function
not() Function
number() Function
position() Function
round() Function
starts-with() Function
string() Function
string-length() Function
substring() Function
substring-after() Function
substring-before() Function
sum() Function
system-property() Function
translate() Function
true() Function
unparsed-entity-uri() Function
D. XSLT Guide
How Do I Put Quotes Inside an Attribute Value?
How Do I Convert All Attributes to Elements?
How Do I List All the Elements in an XML Document?
How Do I Implement an if Statement?
How Do I Implement an if-else Statement?
How Do I Implement a for Loop?
How Do I Implement a case Statement?
How Do I Group Elements in an XML Document?
How Do I Group Elements Pulled from Multiple XML Documents?
How Do I Combine XML Documents into a Single Master Document?
How Do I Resolve Cross-References?
How Do I Generate Some Text?
How Do I Control Angle Brackets and Quote Marks in My Output?
Glossary
Index
Colophon

Content preview from XSLT

Name

position() Function — Returns a number equal to the context position from the current context.

Synopsis

number position(
               )

Inputs

None.

Output

A number equal to the position of the current node in the evaluation context.

Defined in

XPath section 4.1, Node Set Functions.

Examples

This example uses the position() function to determine the background color of the rows of a table. The background colors cycle through the options white, darkgray, and lightgreen. Here’s the XML document we’ll use:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<list>
  <title>A few of my favorite albums</title>
  <listitem>A Love Supreme</listitem>
  <listitem>Beat Crazy</listitem>
  <listitem>Here Come the Warm Jets</listitem>
  <listitem>Kind of Blue</listitem>
  <listitem>London Calling</listitem>
  <listitem>Remain in Light</listitem>
  <listitem>The Joshua Tree</listitem>
  <listitem>The Indestructible Beat of Soweto</listitem>
</list>

We’ll use this stylesheet to generate our HTML document:

<?xml version="1.0"?> <xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"> <xsl:output method="html"/> <xsl:template match="/"> <html> <head> <title> <xsl:value-of select="/list/title"/> </title> </head> <body> <h1> <xsl:value-of select="/list/title"/> </h1> <table border="1"> <xsl:for-each select="/list/listitem"> <xsl:variable name="background-color"> <xsl:choose> <xsl:when test="position() mod 3 = 1">white</xsl:when> <xsl:when test="position() mod 3 = 2">darkgray</xsl:when> <xsl:otherwise>lightgreen</xsl:otherwise> </xsl:choose> ...

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