XSLT and XPath On The Edge

• Take advantage of utility templates for searching and replacing strings, calculating minimums, and more
• Build your own recursive templates or use simple XPaths
• Discover ready-made solutions for filtering, numbering, grouping, and other transformations
• Understand the building blocks of XSLT applications
• Separate style from format and break up your stylesheet into functional modules that are easier to maintain and reuse
• Build dynamic applications that use client-side processing with MSXML or server-side processing with Cocoon
• Fine-tune stylesheets to work more efficiently and deliver exactly the output you're looking for
• Harness the power of the XSLT extensions available with MSXML, Saxon, and Xalan

With this Unlimited Edition, owners of the book can download all-new content from the Web and access a searchable version of the book online.

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PartIBuilding Utility Templates

Chapter 1 Manipulating Numbers

Formatting Numbers as Strings

Formatting Decimal Numbers

Formatting Integers

Turning Numbers into Ordinals

Spelling Out Numbers

Changing the Base of Numbers

Converting from Hexadecimal to Decimal

Converting from Decimal to Hexadecimal

Summary

Chapter 2 Reformatting Strings and Text

Adding Padding

Padding Numerical Strings

Padding Strings with Characters

Padding Strings with Elements

Splitting Strings into Elements

Dividing a Poem into Lines

Tokenizing a String

Wrapping Lines

Gradual Tokenization

Searching and Replacing

Searching and Replacing Characters

Searching and Replacing Strings

Summary

Chapter 3 Turning XML into Text

Turning XML Lists into String Lists

Creating a Tree

Serializing XML

Creating XML Strings

Disabling Output Escaping

Creating Conditional Strings

Decoding Enumerated Values

Conditions with Computed Values

Summary

Chapter 4 Analyzing Data in XML

Getting Totals

Summing by Adding Subtotals

Summing by Building an Intermediate Node Set

Summing with a Recursive Template

Counting Items

Counting Character-Separated Items

Counting Word-Separated Items

Calculating Averages

Calculating the Median

Calculating the Mode

Finding Minima and Maxima

Finding Minima and Maxima with an Expression

Finding Minima and Maxima by Sorting and Picking

Finding Minima and Maxima by Recursion

Summary
PartIIPerforming Your Transformation

Chapter 5 Filtering XML

Filtering Principles

Basic Templates

Filtering Sections

Filtering Namespaces

Filtering Languages

Multiple Filters

Multiple Transformations in a Single Stylesheet

Multiple Transformations Through the Command Line

Multiple Transformations with Cocoon

Multiple Transformations with MSXML

Summary

Chapter 6 Translating Between Similar Structures

Translating Element and Attribute Names

Changing the Case of Names

Defining Translations with XML

Changing Names Conditionally

Changing Element Substructures

Adding Attributes

Adding Styling Information

Style in HTML

Style with XSL-FO

Debugging Translations

Summary

Chapter 7 Sorting

Sorting on Calculated Values

Calculating Sort Values with Expressions

Calculating Sort Values with Intermediate XML

Sorting by Date

Sorting Dates with Fixed Formats

Sorting Dates with Flexible Formats

Sorting with Named or Abbreviated Months

Sorting Dynamically

Selecting the value to sort by

Picking the data type for the sort

Doing Multiple Sorts

Sorting with Separate Parameters

Sorting with a String

Sorting with XML

Summary

Chapter 8 Numbering

Numbering Simple Lists

Numbering Simple Lists with xsl:number

Changing the Format of the Number

Starting the Count at a Different Number

Making Numbering more Efficient

Using an Ancestor's Number

Numbering Figures Across a Document

Numbering Subsections

Numbering Nested Subsections

Numbering Un-nested Subsections

Numbering Sorted and Grouped Items

Summary

Chapter 9 Grouping

General Grouping Methods

Flat Grouping Method

Recursive Grouping Method

Hierarchical Grouping Method

Grouping by Position

Paging Dynamically

Creating Batches of Pages

Grouping by Value

Adding Headers to Sorted Records

Adding Wrappers to Sorted Records

Grouping Unsorted Records by Value

Multi-level Grouping

Grouping in Hierarchies

Nesting Class Structures

Adding Structure to Documents

Summary

Chapter 10 Creating Summaries

Processing the Same XML Twice

Using Modes

Using Parameters

Generating Different Output Dynamically

Creating Links

Creating Local Links

Linking in Frames

Creating Indexes

Identifying Index Items

Working Through the Alphabet

Summary
PartIIIBuilding Your XSLT Application

Chapter 11 Separating Data from Presentation

Reusing XML Snippets

Using External References

Copying Documents

Generating External References

Using Page Templates

Creating Simplified Stylesheets

Using External References in a Template Page

Using Insertion Instructions in a Template Page

Supporting Customization and Internationalization

Encoding Customization

Customizing Document Style

Customizing Document Structure

Localizing Text

Summary

Chapter 12 Creating Functional Modules

Distinguishing Between Threads

Isolating Reusable Code

Named Templates versus Moded Templates

Limitations of Templates

Designing Templates for Reuse

Reusing Attribute Definitions

Using Attribute Sets in Context

Determining Attribute Names

Adding Attributes Conditionally

Overriding Attributes from Attribute Sets

Using Attribute Sets Programmatically

Summary

Chapter 13 Using Multiple Stylesheets

Splitting Up a Stylesheet into Multiple Files

Polishing Included Stylesheets

Positioning xsl:includes in the Main Stylesheet

Building Inclusion Hierarchies

Using XML Entities

Using XInclude

Using Utility Stylesheets

Overriding Constructs from Utility Stylesheets

Applying Imported Templates

Avoiding Dangerous Overrides

Designing Utility Stylesheets

Making Self-Sufficient Stylesheets

Adding a Namespace for the Utility

Testing User-Supplied Values

Improving Portability Across Processors

Combining Stylesheets

Identifying Common Code

Eliminating Conflicts

Creating High-Level Templates

Summary

Chapter 14 Client-Side Processing with MSXML

Scripting XSLT Processing

Creating DOMs

Manipulating DOMs

Creating XSLT Processors

Passing Parameters

Transforming XML

Using the Output

Dynamic Applications

Changing Parameters

Choosing the Data to View

Choosing the Stylesheet to Use

Creating Frames

Creating Graphics with SVG

Summary

Chapter 15 Server-Side Processing with Cocoon

Processing XML with Cocoon

Formatting Output

Generating PDF

Passing Parameters

Dynamic Applications

Changing Parameters

Choosing the Data to View

Indicating Which Stylesheet to Use

Creating Frames

Creating Graphics with SVG

Summary
PartIVFinalizing Your Stylesheet

Chapter 16 Controlling Output

Adding DTD Information

Referring to External DTDs

Building Internal DTDs

Managing Whitespace

Managing Source Whitespace

Managing Stylesheet Whitespace

Using Entities and CDATA Sections

Using Entities in the Stylesheet

Outputting Character and Entity References

Outputting CDATA Sections

Managing Namespace Declarations

Namespace Nodes

Namespaces in the Stylesheet

Summary

Chapter 17 Enhancing XSLT

Rationalizing XPath

Using Short Axes

Reducing the Number of Steps

Traversing Each Axis Only Once

Testing Only What Needs to Be Tested

Using Numeric Predicates

Using Implicit and Explicit Conversions

Using Keys

Testing Node Names

Testing Node Namespaces

Rationalizing XSLT

Using Push or Pull Processing

Setting Variables to Primitive Values

Using Literal Result Elements

Removing xsl:text Elements

Avoiding xsl:number

Summary
PartVUsing Extensions

Chapter 18 Using Extension Functions

Using Extension Functions

Testing Function Availability

Testing the Availability of Multiple Extensions

Recovering from Unavailable Functions

Converting Result Tree Fragments to Node Sets

Extension Functions

EXSLT Extension Functions

MSXML Extension Functions

Saxon Extension Functions

Xalan Extension Functions

Summary

Chapter 19 Using Extension Elements

Using Extensions to XSLT

Checking Extension Availability

Testing the Availability of Extension Elements

Testing the Availability of Other Extensions

Recovering from Unavailable Extension Elements

Creating Multiple Output Files

Creating Frames

Processing Multiple Files to Create Multiple Outputs

Extensions in Different Processors

Extension Elements in Saxon

Grouping in Saxon

Using a Procedural Style

Creating Internal DTDs

Summary

Chapter 20 Extending XPath Yourself

Defining Functions in Other Programming Languages

Defining Extension Functions in XSLT 1.1

Defining Extension Functions in MSXML

Defining Extension Functions in Xalan

Reusing Existing Java Methods

Defining Functions with XSLT

Summary

Appendix A:XPath Quick Reference

Appendix B: XSLT Quick Reference

Index

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