Xslt: Programmer′s Reference (Programmer to Programmer) - Softcover

Kay, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0764543814 ISBN 13: 9780764543814

Publisher: Wrox, 2001

Synopsis

What is this book about?

This compact, relevant, updated version reflects recent changes in the XSLT specification and developments in XSLT parsers. The material on tools and implementations has been revised; so too have all the examples. It also includes a new chapter on writing extension functions.

XML has firmly established itself as the universal standard for managing data for the web and is now being implemented on a wide scale.

XSL (eXtensible Stylesheet Language), a vital companion to XML, is used for two main purposes: to format or style XML data so that it can be displayed in a browser and to transform XML data (XSLT). When you transform an XML document, you manipulate the data into a new structure, for example, re–ordering the data. This enables the same data store to be used in an unlimited number of ways. XSLT is a flexible, customizable, and cross–platform language.

XSLT is a notoriously difficult language to understand, but this book, while being a complete reference to the recommendation, will also give code examples showing how it all ties together and can be effectively employed in a real–world development scenario.

What does this book cover?

In this book, you′ll find the following topics covered:

• The rationale behind XSLT: What is it for?
• The XSLT processing model
• Design patterns and stylesheet structure
• A full reference to the XPath and XSLT languages
• The use of XSLT with worked examplesCurrently available XSLT processors – updated to reflect recent advances in XSLT parser technology
• Coverage of proposed specification enhancements

Who is this book for?

This book is for programmers already using XML to organize their data in applications and for those who want to use the power and compatibility of XSLT to improve the display of their data. The book is in three parts: a detailed introduction to the concepts of the language, a reference section giving comprehensive specifications and working examples of every feature, and an exploitation guide giving advice and case studies for the advanced user.

About this title

Review

XML enables you to create documents that describe their data. XSLT, eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations, is yet another--declarative--language designed to transform an XML document into another XML (or other format) document. XSLT grew out of work on XLS. Before XSLT, each XML transformation required a bespoke program. XSLT provides general transformation solutions. It acts on the nodes of the tree structure created by SAX or DOM, not directly on the original document.

In XSLT Programmer's Reference, Kay covers the processing model, stylesheet structure, XSLT elements and expressions complete with explanations and example usage, patterns (for node matching) and provides a number of worked XSLT examples. XSLT is fairly new, which accounts for the academic feel of the text. It helps to know Kay wrote one of the first XLST applications. The book is bedevilled by uncertainties. For example, XSLT is part of XSL, which defines XML document formatting--and is still under development. Similarly, XPath, now a sub-language within XSLT used in stylesheets and capable of performing calculations and string manipulation is derived from XPointers, which defined links between parts of documents. Their late marriage has left some confusion in usage. Despite the inevitable confusion, the book succeeds in explaining what XLST is, how it works and how stylesheets are constructed and used. Check out the XSLT stylesheet, which calculates a knight's tour of the chessboard and outputs it as HTML.

It's unlikely programmers will work with raw XSLT for long, any more than they write raw HTML. Applications will handle much of the drudgery--a good thing because XSLT is verbose. Still, this is an important book for anyone working at the sharp end with XML. You'll need to know how this stuff is supposed to work despite ambiguities in the specifications. --Steve Patient

From the Publisher

This book is for programmers already using XML to organize their data in applications and for those who want to use the power and compatibility of XSLT to improve the display of their data. The book is in three parts: a detailed introduction to the concepts of the language, a reference section giving comprehensive specifications and working examples of every feature, and an exploitation guide giving advice and case studies for the advanced user.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wrox
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0764543814
• ISBN 13: 9780764543814
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 992