XSL Languages tutorial

8/7/2019 XSL Languages tutorial

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1 XSL Languages .................................................................................................................3

It Started with XSL ......................................................................................................... 3

1.1 CSS = HTML Style Sheets ........................................................................................ 31.2 XSL = XML Style Sheets .......................................................................................... 4

1.3 XSL - More Than a Style Sheet Language ................................................................ 4

1.4 This Tutorial is About XSLT .....................................................................................42 Introduction to XSLT ........................................................................................................4

2.1 What You Should Already Know .............................................................................. 4

2.2 What is XSLT? .......................................................................................................... 42.3 XSLT = XSL Transformations .................................................................................. 5

2.4 XSLT Uses XPath ...................................................................................................... 5

2.5 How Does it Work? ................................................................................................... 5

2.6 XSLT is a Web Standard ........................................................................................... 53 XSLT Browsers ................................................................................................................ 5

3.1 Firefox 1.0.2 ............................................................................................................... 5

3.2 Mozilla 1.7.8 .............................................................................................................. 6

3.3 Netscape 8 .................................................................................................................. 63.4 Opera 8 .......................................................................................................................6

3.5 Internet Explorer 6 ..................................................................................................... 63.6 Internet Explorer 5 ..................................................................................................... 6

3.7 Internet Explorer MSXML Parser ............................................................................. 6

4 XSLT Transformation ....................................................................................................6

4.1 Correct Style Sheet Declaration .................................................................................64.2 Start with a Raw XML Document ............................................................................. 7

4.3 Create an XSL Style Sheet .......................................................................................11

4.4 Link the XSL Style Sheet to the XML Document ...................................................124.5 My CD Collection ....................................................................................................12

5 XSLT Templates .......................................................................................................... 135.1 The Element .................................................................................... 135.2 My CD Collection ....................................................................................................14

6 XSLT - The Element .............................................................................. 14

6.1 The Element .................................................................................... 146.2 My CD Collection ....................................................................................................15

7 XSLT - The Element .............................................................................. 15

7.1 The Element .................................................................................... 15

7.2 My CD Collection ....................................................................................................167.3 Filtering the Output ..................................................................................................16

7.4 My CD Collection ....................................................................................................17

8 XSLT - The Element ..................................................................................... 178.1 Where to put the Sort Information ...........................................................................17

8.2 My CD Collection ....................................................................................................18

9 XSLT - The Element .........................................................................................199.1 The Element ...............................................................................................19

9.1.1 Syntax ...............................................................................................................19

9.2 Where to Put the Element ..........................................................................19

9.3 My CD Collection ....................................................................................................20

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10 XSLT - The Element ..............................................................................20

10.1 The Element .....................................................................................20

10.1.1 Syntax .............................................................................................................2010.2 Where to put the Choose Condition .......................................................................20

10.3 My CD Collection ..................................................................................................21

10.4 Another Example ................................................................................................... 2210.5 My CD Collection ..................................................................................................23

11 XSLT - The Element ................................................................23

11.1 The Element ......................................................................2411.2 My CD Collection ..................................................................................................24

12 XSLT - On the Client ....................................................................................................24

12.1 A JavaScript Solution ............................................................................................25

12.2 The XML File and the XSL File ............................................................................2512.3 Transforming XML to XHTML in the Browser ....................................................26

13 XSLT - On the Server ...................................................................................................27

13.1 A Cross Browser Solution .....................................................................................27

13.2 The XML File and the XSLT File .........................................................................2713.3 Transforming XML to XHTML on the Server ......................................................28

14 XSLT - Editing XML ....................................................................................................2814.1 Open, Edit and Save XML .....................................................................................29

14.2 The XML File and the XSL File ............................................................................29

14.3 The ASP File ..........................................................................................................30

15 XML Editors .................................................................................................................3215.1 XML is Text-based ................................................................................................ 32

15.2 Why Not Notepad? ................................................................................................ 32

15.3 Why an XML Editor? ............................................................................................3215.4 XML Editors ..........................................................................................................32

15.5 Altova's XMLSPY .................................................................................................33

16 XSLT Elements Reference ........................................................................................... 3316.1 XSLT Elements ......................................................................................................33

17 XSLT Functions ............................................................................................................35

17.1 XSLT Functions .....................................................................................................3518 The current() Function .................................................................................................. 35

18.1 Definition and Usage .............................................................................................35

18.2 Syntax ....................................................................................................................36

18.2.1 Example 1 .......................................................................................................3619 The document() Function ..............................................................................................36


19.2 Syntax ....................................................................................................................3619.3 Parameters ..............................................................................................................37

20 The element-available() Function ................................................................................. 37

20.1 Definition and Usage .............................................................................................3720.2 Syntax ....................................................................................................................37

20.3 Parameters ..............................................................................................................37

20.3.1 Example 1 .......................................................................................................37

21 The format-number() Function ..................................................................................... 38

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21.2 Syntax ....................................................................................................................38

21.3 Parameters ..............................................................................................................3821.3.1 Example 1 .......................................................................................................39

22 The function-available() Function ................................................................................ 39


22.3 Parameters ..............................................................................................................39

22.3.1 Example 1 .......................................................................................................3923 The generate-id() Function ........................................................................................... 40


23.2 Syntax ....................................................................................................................40


24 The key() Function ........................................................................................................41


24.2 Syntax ....................................................................................................................4124.3 Parameters ..............................................................................................................41

24.3.1 Example 1 .......................................................................................................4125 The system-property() Function ................................................................................... 42


25.2 Syntax ....................................................................................................................42


26 The unparsed-entity-uri() Function ..............................................................................43


26.3 Parameters ..............................................................................................................43

1 XSL Languages

It started with XSL and ended up with XSLT, XPath, and XSL-FO.

It Started with XSL

XSL stands for EXtensible Stylesheet Language.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) started to develop XSL because there was a need for anXML-based Stylesheet Language.

1.1 CSS = HTML Style Sheets

HTML uses predefined tags and the meaning of the tags are well understood.

The element in HTML defines a table - and a browser knows how to display it.

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Adding styles to HTML elements is simple. Telling a browser to display an element in a special fontor color, is easy with CSS.

1.2 XSL = XML Style Sheets

XML does not use predefined tags (we can use any tag-names we like), and the meaning of thesetags are not well understood.

A element could mean an HTML table, a piece of furniture, or something else - and abrowser does not know how to display it.

XSL describes how the XML document should be displayed!

1.3 XSL - More Than a Style Sheet Language

XSL consists of three parts:

XSLT - a language for transforming XML documents XPath - a language for navigating in XML documents

XSL-FO - a language for formatting XML documents

1.4 This Tutorial is About XSLT

The rest of this tutorial is about XSLT - the language for transforming XML documents.

But you can also study our XPath Tutorial and our XSL-FO Tutorial.

2 Introduction to XSLT

XSLT is a language for transforming XML documents into XHTML documents or to otherXML documents.

XPath is a language for navigating in XML documents.

2.1 What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

HTML / XHTML

XML / XML Namespaces

XPath

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.

2.2 What is XSLT?

XSLT stands for XSL Transformations

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http://www.w3schools.com/xpath/default.asphttp://www.w3schools.com/xslfo/default.asphttp://www.w3schools.com/xslfo/default.asphttp://www.w3schools.com/default.asphttp://www.w3schools.com/xpath/default.asphttp://www.w3schools.com/xslfo/default.asphttp://www.w3schools.com/default.asp


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XSLT is the most important part of XSL

XSLT transforms an XML document into another XML document

XSLT uses XPath to navigate in XML documents

XSLT is a W3C Recommendation

2.3 XSLT = XSL Transformations

XSLT is the most important part of XSL.

XSLT is used to transform an XML document into another XML document, or another type ofdocument that is recognized by a browser, like HTML and XHTML. Normally XSLT does this bytransforming each XML element into an (X)HTML element.

With XSLT you can add/remove elements and attributes to or from the output file. You can alsorearrange and sort elements, perform tests and make decisions about which elements to hide anddisplay, and a lot more.

A common way to describe the transformation process is to say that XSLT transforms an XMLsource-tree into an XML result-tree.

2.4 XSLT Uses XPath

XSLT uses XPath to find information in an XML document. XPath is used to navigate throughelements and attributes in XML documents.

If you want to study XPath first, please read our XPath Tutorial.

2.5 How Does it Work?

In the transformation process, XSLT uses XPath to define parts of the source document that shouldmatch one or more predefined templates. When a match is found, XSLT will transform the matchingpart of the source document into the result document.

2.6 XSLT is a Web Standard

XSLT became a W3C Recommendation 16. November 1999.

To read more about the XSLT activities at W3C, please read our W3C Tutorial.

3 XSLT BrowsersNot all Internet browsers have full support for XML and XSLT.

3.1 Firefox 1.0.2

This web browser has support for XML and XSLT (and CSS).

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http://www.w3schools.com/xpath/default.asphttp://www.w3schools.com/xpath/default.asphttp://www.w3schools.com/w3c/w3c_xsl.asphttp://www.w3schools.com/xpath/default.asphttp://www.w3schools.com/w3c/w3c_xsl.asp


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3.2 Mozilla 1.7.8

Mozilla includes Expat for XML parsing and has support to display XML + CSS. Mozilla also has somesupport for Namespaces.

Mozilla is available with an XSLT implementation.

3.3 Netscape 8

Netscape 8 is based on the Mozilla engine. Same XML / XSLT support as Mozilla.

3.4 Opera 8

This web browser supports XML + CSS.

3.5 Internet Explorer 6

Microsoft's web browser has full XML support, including Namespaces, Style sheets in CSS, and XSLT1.0.

The XML Parser 3.0 in Internet Explorer 6.0 and Windows XP is based on both the W3C XSLT 1.0and the W3C XPath 1.0 Recommendations.

If you are serious about learning XSLT you should upgrade to Internet Explorer 6.0.

3.6 Internet Explorer 5

XSLT in Internet Explorer 5 is NOT compatible with the official W3C XSL Recommendation.

3.7 Internet Explorer MSXML Parser

MSXML Parser 2.5 is the XML parser that is shipped with Windows 2000 and IE 5.5.

MSXML Parser 3.0 is the XML parser that is shipped with IE 6.0 and Windows XP.

According to Microsoft, the MSXML Parser 3.0 is 100% compatible with the official W3C XSLTRecommendation.

4 XSLT Transformation

Example study: How to transform XML into XHTML using XSLT.

The details of this example will be explained in the next chapter.

4.1 Correct Style Sheet Declaration

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The root element that declares the document to be an XSL style sheet is or.

Note: and are completely synonymous and either can be used!

The correct way to declare an XSL style sheet according to the W3C XSLT Recommendation is:

or:

To get access to the XSLT elements, attributes and features we must declare the XSLT namespaceat the top of the document.

The xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" points to the official W3C XSLTnamespace. If you use this namespace, you must also include the attribute version="1.0".

4.2 Start with a Raw XML Document

We want to transform the following XML document ("cdcatalog.xml") into XHTML:

Empire BurlesqueBob DylanUSAColumbia10.901985

...

Viewing XML Files in Firefox and Internet Explorer: Open the XML file (typically by clicking ona link) - The XML document will be displayed with color-coded root and child elements. A plus (+) orminus sign (-) to the left of the elements can be clicked to expand or collapse the elementstructure. To view the raw XML source (without the + and - signs), select "View Page Source" or"View Source" from the browser menu.

Viewing XML Files in Netscape 6: Open the XML file, then right-click in XML file and select "ViewPage Source". The XML document will then be displayed with color-coded root and child elements.

Viewing XML Files in Opera 7: Open the XML file, then right-click in XML file and select "Frame" /"View Source". The XML document will be displayed as plain text.

View "cdcatalog.xml"

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http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml


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-

--

Empire Burlesque

Bob DylanUSAColumbia

10.901985

-

Hide your heartBonnie Tyler

UKCBS Records

9.901988

-

Greatest HitsDolly Parton

USARCA

9.901982

-

Still got the bluesGary Moore

UKVirgin records

10.201990

-

ErosEros Ramazzotti

EUBMG

9.901997

- One night only

Bee Gees

UK

Polydor

10.90

1998

- Sylvias Mother

Dr.Hook

UK

CBS

8.10

1973

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http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23


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- Maggie May

Rod StewartUK

Pickwick8.50

1990

- Romanza

Andrea BocelliEU

Polydor10.80

1996

- When a man loves a woman

Percy SledgeUSA

Atlantic8.70

1987

- Black angel

Savage RoseEU

Mega10.90

1995

- 1999 Grammy Nominees

ManyUSA

Grammy10.20

1999

- For the good times

Kenny Rogers

UK

Mucik Master

8.70

1995

- Big Willie style

Will Smith

USAColumbia

9.90

1997

- Tupelo Honey

Van Morrison

UK

Polydor

8.20

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1971

- Soulsville

Jorn HoelNorway

WEA

7.901996

- The very best of

Cat StevensUK

Island8.90

1990

- Stop

Sam BrownUK

A and M8.90

1988

- Bridge of Spies

T`PauUK

Siren7.90

1987

- Private Dancer

Tina TurnerUK

Capitol

8.90

1983

- Midt om natten

Kim Larsen

EU

Medley

7.80

1983

-

Pavarotti Gala ConcertLuciano Pavarotti

UK

DECCA

9.90

1991

- The dock of the bay

Otis Redding

USA

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Atlantic7.90

1987

- Picture book

Simply Red

EUElektra7.20

1985

- Red

The CommunardsUK

London7.80

1987

- Unchain my heart

Joe CockerUSA

EMI8.20

1987

4.3 Create an XSL Style Sheet

Then you create an XSL Style Sheet ("cdcatalog.xsl") with a transformation template:

My CD CollectionTitleArtist

View "cdcatalog.xsl"

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http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xml#%23http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xsl


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4.4 Link the XSL Style Sheet to the XML Document

Add the XSL style sheet reference to your XML document ("cdcatalog.xml"):


...

If you have an XSLT compliant browser it will nicely transform your XML into XHTML!

View the result!

4.5 My CD Collection

Title Artist

Empire Burlesque Bob DylanHide your heart Bonnie Tyler

Greatest Hits Dolly Parton

Still got the blues Gary Moore

Eros Eros Ramazzotti

One night only Bee Gees

Sylvias Mother Dr.Hook

Maggie May Rod Stewart

Romanza Andrea Bocelli

When a man loves a woman Percy Sledge

Black angel Savage Rose

1999 Grammy Nominees Many

For the good times Kenny Rogers

Big Willie style Will Smith

Tupelo Honey Van Morrison

Soulsville Jorn Hoel

The very best of Cat Stevens

Stop Sam Brown

Bridge of Spies T`Pau

Private Dancer Tina Turner

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http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_with_xsl.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_with_xsl.xml


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Midt om natten Kim Larsen

Pavarotti Gala Concert Luciano Pavarotti

The dock of the bay Otis Redding

Picture book Simply Red

Red The Communards

Unchain my heart Joe Cocker

The details of the example above will be explained in the next chapters!

5 XSLT Templates

An XSL style sheet consists of one or more set of rules that are called templates.

Each template contains rules to apply when a specified node is matched.

5.1 The Element

The element is used to build templates.

The match attribute is used to associate a template with an XML element. The match attribute canalso be used to define a template for the entire XML document. The value of the match attribute isan XPath expression (i.e. match="/" defines the whole document).

Ok, let's look at a simplified version of the XSL file from the previous chapter:


..

Since an XSL style sheet is an XML document itself, it always begins with the XML declaration: .

The next element, ,defines that this document is an XSLT style sheet document(along with the version number and XSLT namespace attributes).

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The element defines a template. The match="/" attribute associates thetemplate with the root of the XML source document.

The content inside the element defines some HTML to write to the output.

The last two lines defines the end of the template and the end of the style sheet.

The result of the transformation above will look like this:


Title Artist

. .

View the XML file,View the XSL file, and View the result

The result from this example was a little disappointing, because no data was copied from the XMLdocument to the output.

In the next chapter you will learn how to use the element to select values from theXML elements.

6 XSLT - The Element

The element is used to extract the value of a selected node.

6.1 The Element

The element can be used to extract the value of an XML element and add it to theoutput stream of the transformation:

My CD Collection

TitleArtist

14
http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_ex1.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_ex1.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_with_ex1.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_ex1.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_with_ex1.xml


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Note: The value of the select attribute is an XPath expression. An XPath expression works likenavigating a file system; where a forward slash (/) selects subdirectories.



Title Artist

Empire Burlesque Bob Dylan


The result from this example was also a little disappointing, because only one line of data wascopied from the XML document to the output.

In the next chapter you will learn how to use the element to loop through the XMLelements, and display all of the records.


The element allows you to do looping in XSLT.

7.1 The Element

The XSL element can be used to select every XML element of a specified node-set:


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Note: The value of the select attribute is an XPath expression. An XPath expression works likenavigating a file system; where a forward slash (/) selects subdirectories.



Title Artist


Hide your heart Bonnie Tyler


Still got the blues Gary More






When a man loves a woman Percy SledgeBlack angel Savage Rose







Stop Sam Brown







Red The Communards



7.3 Filtering the Output

We can also filter the output from the XML file by adding a criterion to the select attribute in the element.

Legal filter operators are:

= (equal)

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!= (not equal)

< less than

> greater than

Take a look at the adjusted XSL style sheet:

My CD Collection

TitleArtist



Title ArtistEmpire Burlesque Bob Dylan

View the XML file,View the XSL file, View the result


The element is used to sort the output.

8.1 Where to put the Sort Information

To sort the output, simply add an element inside the element in the XSLfile:

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http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_filter.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_filter.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_filter.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_filter.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_filter.xml


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Note: The select attribute indicates what XML element to sort on.



Title Artist





The very best of Cat StevensGreatest Hits Dolly Parton













Stop Sam Brown




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Red The Communards






The element is used to put a conditional test against the content of the XML file.

9.1 The Element

To put a conditional if test against the content of the XML file, add an element to the XSLdocument.

9.1.1 Syntax

......some output if the expression is true......

9.2 Where to Put the Element

To add a conditional test, add the element inside the element in the XSLfile:


19
http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_sort.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_sort.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_sort.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_sort.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_sort.xml


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Note: The value of the required test attribute contains the expression to be evaluated.

The code above will only output the title and artist elements of the CDs that has a price that is

higher than 10.



Title Artist





Black Angel Savage Rose




The element is used in conjunction with and to express multiple conditional tests.

10.1 The Element

To express a multiple conditional test against the content of the XML file, add an element to the XSL document.

10.1.1 Syntax

... some output ...

... some output ....

10.2 Where to put the Choose Condition

To insert a conditional choose test against the content of the XML file, add the ,, and elements to the XSL file:


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xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">My CD Collection

TitleArtist

The code above will add a pink background-color to the "Artist" column WHEN the price of the CD ishigher than 10.

The result of the transformation will look like this:


Title Artist
















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Stop Sam Brown



Midt om natten Kim LarsenPavarotti Gala Concert Luciano Pavarotti



Red The Communards



10.4 Another Example

Here is another example that contains two elements:


22
http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_choose.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_choose.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_choose.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_choose.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_choose.xml


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The code above will add a pink background color to the "Artist" column WHEN the price of the CD ishigher than 10, and a grey background-color WHEN the price of the CD is higher than 9 and loweror equal to 10.


10.5 My CD CollectionTitle Artist


















Stop Sam Brown


Private Dancer Tina TurnerMidt om natten Kim Larsen




Red The Communards




The element applies a template to the current element or to thecurrent element's child nodes.

23
http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_choose2.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_choose2.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_choose2.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog.xmlhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_choose2.xslhttp://www.w3schools.com/xsl/cdcatalog_choose2.xml


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11.1 The Element

The element applies a template to the current element or to the currentelement's child nodes.

If we add a select attribute to the element it will process only the child

element that matches the value of the attribute. We can use the select attribute to specify the orderin which the child nodes are processed.

Look at the following XSL style sheet:

My CD Collection
Title:

Artist:



Title: Empire BurlesqueArtist: Bob Dylan

Title: Hide your heart

Artist: Bonnie Tyler

. . . . .

12 XSLT - On the Client

If your browser supports it, XSLT can be used to transform the document to XHTML inyour browser.

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12.1 A JavaScript Solution

In the previous chapters we have explained how XSLT can be used to transform a document fromXML to XHTML. We did this by adding an XSL style sheet to the XML file and let the browser do thetransformation.

Even if this works fine, it is not always desirable to include a style sheet reference in an XML file(e.g. it will not work in a non XSLT aware browser.)

A more versatile solution would be to use a JavaScript to do the transformation.

By using a JavaScript, we can:

do browser-specific testing

use different style sheets according to browser and user needs

That is the beauty of XSLT! One of the design goals for XSLT was to make it possible to transformdata from one format to another, supporting different browsers and different user needs.

XSLT transformation on the client side is bound to be a major part of the browsers work tasks in thefuture, as we will see a growth in the specialized browser market (Braille, aural browsers, Webprinters, handheld devices, etc.)

12.2 The XML File and the XSL File

Look at the XML document that you have seen in the previous chapters:

Empire Burlesque

Bob DylanUSAColumbia10.901985

...

View the XML file.

And the accompanying XSL style sheet:

My CD Collection

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TitleArtist

View the XSL file.

Notice that the XML file does not have a reference to the XSL file!

IMPORTANT: The above sentence indicates that an XML file could be transformed using manydifferent XSL style sheets!

12.3 Transforming XML to XHTML in the Browser

Here is the source code needed to transform the XML file to XHTML on the client:

// Load XMLvar xml = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM")

xml.async = falsexml.load("cdcatalog.xml")// Load XSLvar xsl = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM")xsl.async = falsexsl.load("cdcatalog.xsl")// Transformdocument.write(xml.transformNode(xsl))

Tip: If you don't know how to write JavaScript, you can study ourJavaScript tutorial.

The first block of code creates an instance of the Microsoft XML parser (XMLDOM), and loads theXML file into memory. The second block of code creates another instance of the parser and loadsthe XSL file into memory. The last line of code transforms the XML document using the XSLdocument, and displays the result as XHTML in your browser. Nice!

See how it works in IE.

Title Artist


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. .

. .

13 XSLT - On the ServerSince not all browsers support XSLT, one solution is to transform the XML to XHTML onthe server.

13.1 A Cross Browser Solution

In the previous chapter we explained how XSLT can be used to transform a document from XML toXHTML in the browser. We created a JavaScript that used an XML parser to do the transformation.The JavaScript solution will not work in a browser that doesn't have an XML parser.

To make XML data available to all kind of browsers, we must transform the XML document on theSERVER and send it as XHTML back to the browser.

That's another beauty of XSLT. One of the design goals for XSLT was to make it possible totransform data from one format to another on a server, returning readable data to all kinds ofbrowsers.

13.2 The XML File and the XSLT File

Look at the XML document that you have seen in the previous chapters:


...

View the XML file.

And the accompanying XSL style sheet:

My CD Collection

27


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TitleArtist

View the XSL file.

Notice that the XML file does not have a reference to the XSL file!

IMPORTANT: The above sentence indicates that an XML file could be transformed using manydifferent XSL style sheets!

13.3 Transforming XML to XHTML on the Server

Here is the ASP source code needed to transform the XML file to XHTML on the server:


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Data stored in XML files can be edited from an Internet browser.

14.1 Open, Edit and Save XML

Now, we will show how to open, edit, and save an XML file that is stored on the server.

We will use XSL to transform the XML document into an HTML form. The values of the XML elementswill be written to HTML input fields in an HTML form. The HTML form is editable. After editing thedata, the data is going to be submitted back to the server and the XML file will be updated (this partis done with ASP).

14.2 The XML File and the XSL File

First, look at the XML document that will be used ("tool.xml"):

HAMMER HG2606

32456240

$30.00

View the XML file.

Then, take a look at the following style sheet ("tool.xsl"):

Tool Information (edit):

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View the XSL file.

The XSL file above loops through the elements in the XML file and creates one input field for eachXML "field" element. The value of the XML "field" element's "id" attribute is added to both the "id"

and "name" attributes of each HTML input field. The value of each XML "value" element is added tothe "value" attribute of each HTML input field. The result is an editable HTML form that contains thevalues from the XML file.

Then, we have a second style sheet: "tool_updated.xsl". This is the XSL file that will be used todisplay the updated XML data. This style sheet will not result in an editable HTML form, but a staticHTML table:

Updated Tool Information:

View the XSL file.

14.3 The ASP File

The HTML form in the "tool.xsl" file above has an action attribute with a value of "edittool.asp".

The "edittool.asp" page contains two functions: The loadFile() function loads and transforms theXML file for display and the updateFile() function applies the changes to the XML file:

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Tip: If you don't know how to write ASP, you can study ourASP tutorial.

Note: We are doing the transformation and applying the changes to the XML file on the server. Thisis a cross-browser solution. The client will only get HTML back from the server - which will work inany browser!

15 XML Editors

If you are serious about XML, you will benefit from using a professional XML Editor.

15.1 XML is Text-based

XML is a text-based markup language.

One great thing about XML is that XML files can be created and edited using a simple text-editor likeNotepad.

However, when you start working with XML, you will soon find that it is better to edit XMLdocuments using a professional XML editor.

15.2 Why Not Notepad?

Many web developers use Notepad to edit both HTML and XML documents because Notepad isincluded with the most common OS and it is simple to use. Personally I often use Notepad for quickediting of simple HTML, CSS, and XML files.

But, if you use Notepad for XML editing, you will soon run into problems.

Notepad does not know that you are writing XML, so it will not be able to assist you.

15.3 Why an XML Editor?

Today XML is an important technology, and development projects use XML-based technologies like:

XML Schema to define XML structures and data types

XSLT to transform XML data

SOAP to exchange XML data between applications

WSDL to describe web services

RDF to describe web resources

XPath and XQuery to access XML data

SMIL to define graphics

To be able to write error-free XML documents, you will need an intelligent XML editor!

15.4 XML Editors

Professional XML editors will help you to write error-free XML documents, validate your XML againsta DTD or a schema, and force you to stick to a valid XML structure.

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An XML editor should be able to:

Add closing tags to your opening tags automatically

Force you to write valid XML

Verify your XML against a DTD

Verify your XML against a Schema

Color code your XML syntax

15.5 Altova's XMLSPY

At W3Schools we have been using XMLSPY for many years. XMLSPY is our favorite XML editor.These are some of the features we especially like:

Easy to use

Syntax coloring

Automatic tag completion

Automatic well-formed check

Easy switching between text view and grid view

Built in DTD and / or Schema validation

Built in graphical XML Schema designer

Powerful conversion utilities

Database import and export

Built in templates for most XML document types

Built in XPath analyzer

Full SOAP and WSDL capabilities

Powerful project management

Read more about XMLSPY

16 XSLT Elements Reference

The XSLT elements from the W3C Recommendation (XSLT Version 1.0).

16.1 XSLT Elements

The links in the "Element" column point to attributes and more useful information about eachspecific element.

NN: indicates the earliest version of Netscape that supports the tag IE: indicates the earliest version of Internet Explorer that supports the tag

Note: Elements supported in IE 5.x may have NON-standard behavior, because IE 5.x was releasedbefore XSLT became an official W3C Recommendation. However, IE 6.x has full XML / XSLT 1.0 /XPath 1.0 support!

Element Description IE NN

apply-imports Applies a template rule from an imported style sheet 6.0

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apply-templates Applies a template rule to the current element or tothe current element's child nodes

5.0 6.0

attribute Adds an attribute 5.0 6.0

attribute-set Defines a named set of attributes 6.0 6.0

call-template Calls a named template 6.0 6.0

choose Used in conjunction with and to

express multiple conditional tests

5.0 6.0

comment Creates a comment node in the result tree 5.0 6.0

copy Creates a copy of the current node (without childnodes and attributes)

5.0 6.0

copy-of Creates a copy of the current node (with child nodesand attributes)

6.0 6.0

decimal-format Defines the characters and symbols to be used whenconverting numbers into strings, with the format-number() function

6.0

element Creates an element node in the output document 5.0 6.0

fallback Specifies an alternate code to run if the processordoes not support an XSLT element

6.0

for-each Loops through each node in a specified node set 5.0 6.0

if Contains a template that will be applied only if aspecified condition is true

5.0 6.0

import Imports the contents of one style sheet into another.Note: An imported style sheet has lower precedencethan the importing style sheet

6.0 6.0

include Includes the contents of one style sheet into another.Note: An included style sheet has the sameprecedence as the including style sheet

6.0 6.0

key Declares a named key that can be used in the stylesheet with the key() function

6.0 6.0

message Writes a message to the output (used to report errors) 6.0 6.0

namespace-alias Replaces a namespace in the style sheet to a differentnamespace in the output

6.0

number Determines the integer position of the current nodeand formats a number

6.0 6.0

otherwise Specifies a default action for the element 5.0 6.0

output Defines the format of the output document 6.0 6.0

param Declares a local or global parameter 6.0 6.0

preserve-space Defines the elements for which white space should bepreserved

6.0 6.0

processing-instruction Writes a processing instruction to the output 5.0 6.0

sort Sorts the output 6.0 6.0

strip-space Defines the elements for which white space should beremoved

6.0 6.0

stylesheet Defines the root element of a style sheet 5.0 6.0

template Rules to apply when a specified node is matched 5.0 6.0

text Writes literal text to the output 5.0 6.0

transform Defines the root element of a style sheet 6.0 6.0

value-of Extracts the value of a selected node 5.0 6.0

variable Declares a local or global variable 6.0 6.0

when Specifies an action for the element 5.0 6.0

with-param Defines the value of a parameter to be passed into atemplate

6.0 6.0

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17 XSLT Functions

XQuery 1.0, XPath 2.0, and XSLT 2.0 share the same functions library.

17.1 XSLT Functions

XSLT includes over 100 built-in functions. There are functions for string values, numeric values,date and time comparison, node and QName manipulation, sequence manipulation, Boolean values,and more.

The URI of the XSLT function namespace is:http://www.w3.org/2005/02/xpath-functions

The default prefix for the function namespace is fn:.

Tip: Functions are often called with the fn: prefix, such as fn:string(). However, since fn: is thedefault prefix of the namespace, the function names do not need to be prefixed when called.

The reference of all the built-in XSLT 2.0 functions is located in our XPath tutorial.

In addition, there are the following built-in XSLT functions:

Name Description

current() Returns the current node

document() Used to access the nodes in an external XML document

element-available() Tests whether the element specified is supported by the XSLT processor

format-number() Converts a number into a string

function-available() Tests whether the function specified is supported by the XSLT processor

generate-id() Returns a string value that uniquely identifies a specified node

key() Returns a node-set using the index specified by an element

system-property() Returns the value of the system propertiesunparsed-entity-uri() Returns the URI of an unparsed entity

18 The current() Function

18.1 Definition and Usage

The current() function returns a node-set that contains only the current node. Usually the currentnode and the context node are the same.

is equal to

However, there is one difference. Look at the following XPath expression: "catalog/cd". Thisexpression selects the child nodes of the current node, and then it selects the childnodes of the nodes. This means that on each step of evaluation, the "." has a differentmeaning.

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The following line:

will process all cd elements that have a title attribute with value equal to the value of the currentnode's ref attribute.

This is different from

that will process all cd elements that have a title attribute and a ref attribute with the same value.

18.2 Syntax

node-set current()

18.2.1 Example 1

Current node:

View the XML file,View the XSL file, and View the result.

Current node: Bob DylanCurrent node: Bonnie Tyler

19 The document() Function


The document() function is used to access nodes in an external XML document. The external XMLdocument must be valid and parsable.

One way to use this function is to look up data in an external document. For example we want tofind the Celsius value from a Fahrenheit value and we refer to a document that contains some pre-computed results:

19.2 Syntax

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node-set document(object,node-set?)

19.3 Parameters

Parameter Description

object Required. Defines an URI to an external XML document

node-set Optional. Used to resolve relative URI

20 The element-available() Function


The element-available() function returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the elementspecified is supported by the XSLT processor.

This function can only be used to test elements that can occur in a template body. These elementsare:

xsl:apply-imports xsl:apply-templates

xsl:attributes

xsl:call-template

xsl:choose

xsl:comment

xsl:copy

xsl:copy-of

xsl:element

xsl:fallback

xsl:for-each

xsl:if

xsl:message

xsl:number

xsl:processing instruction

xsl:text

xsl:value-of

xsl:variable

20.2 Syntax

boolean element-available(string)

20.3 Parameters

Parameter Descriptionstring Required. Specifies the element to test

20.3.1 Example 1

37


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xsl:comment is supported.

xsl:comment is not supported.

xsl:delete is supported.

xsl:delete is not supported.

View the XSL file and View the result.

xsl:comment is supported.

xsl:delete is not supported.

21 The format-number() Function


The format-number() function is used to convert a number into a string.

21.2 Syntax

string format-number(number,format,[decimalformat])

21.3 Parameters


number Required. Specifies the number to be formatted

format Required. Specifies the format pattern. Here are some of the characters used in theformatting pattern:

# (Denotes a digit. Example: ####) 0 (Denotes leading and following zeros. Example: 0000.00)

. (The position of the decimal point Example: ###.##)

, (The group separator for thousands. Example: ###,###.##)

% (Displays the number as a percentage. Example: ##%)

; (Pattern separator. The first pattern will be used for positive numbers andthe second for negative numbers)

decimalformatOptional.

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21.3.1 Example 1

View the XSL file and View the result.

500100.00500100.0500,100.0023%500100

22 The function-available() Function


The function-available() function returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the functionspecified is supported by the XSLT processor.

You may test the XSLT functions and the inherited XPath functions.

22.2 Syntax

boolean function-available(string)

22.3 Parameters

Parameter Descriptionstring Required. Specifies the function to test

22.3.1 Example 1

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sum() is supported.

sum() is not supported.

current() is supported.

current() is not supported.

View the XSL file and View the result

sum() is supported.

current() is supported.

23 The generate-id() Function


The generate-id() function returns a string value that uniquely identifies a specified node.

If the node-set specified is empty, an empty string is returned. If you omit the node-set parameter,it defaults to the current node.

23.2 Syntax

string generate-id(node-set?)

23.3 Parameters


node-set Optional. Specifies on which node-set to generate a unique id

23.3.1 Example 1

Artists:

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Artist:
Title:
Price:


24 The key() Function


The key() function returns a node-set from the document, using the index specified by an element.

24.2 Syntax

node-set key(string, object)

24.3 Parameters


string Required. Specifies the name of an xsl:key element

object Required. A string to search for

24.3.1 Example 1

Title:

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Artist:
Price:


Title: Empire BurlesqueArtist: Bob Dylan

Price: 10.90

25 The system-property() Function


The system-property() function returns the value of the system property specified by the name.

System properties in the XSLT namespace:

xsl:version - The version of XSLT implemented by the processor

xsl:vendor - The vendor of the XSLT processor

xsl:vendor-url - The URL identifying the vendor of the XSLT processor

25.2 Syntax

object system-property(string)

25.3 Parameters


string Required. Specifies the system property to return the value of

25.3.1 Example 1

Version:
Vendor:
Vendor URL:

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View the XSL file and View the result

Version: 1

Vendor: MicrosoftVendor URL: http://www.microsoft.com

26 The unparsed-entity-uri() Function


The unparsed-entity-uri() function returns the URI of an unparsed entity. The name of the entitymust match the passed argument. If there is no such entity an empty string is returned.

If the DTD contains the following declaration:

the following expression:

unparsed-entity-uri('pic')

will return the URI for the file "picture.jpg".

26.2 Syntax

string unparsed-entity-uri(string)

26.3 Parameters


string Required. Specifies the name of an unparsed entity
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XSL Languages tutorial

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