XSLT Cookbook: Solutions and Examples for XML and XSLT Developers

by Sal Mangano

Forget those funky robot toys that were all the rage in the '80s, XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Transformations) is the ultimate transformer. This powerful language is expert at transforming XML documents into PDF files, HTML documents, JPEG files--virtually anything your heart desires. As useful as XSLT is, though, most people have a difficult time learning its many peculiarities. And now Version 2.0, while elegant and powerful, has only added to the confusion.

XSLT Cookbook, Second Edition wants to set the record straight. It helps you sharpen your programming skills and overall understanding of XSLT through a collection of detailed recipes. Each recipe breaks down a specific problem into manageable chunks, giving you an easy-to-grasp roadmap for integrating XSLT with your data and applications. No other XSLT book around employs this practical problem-solution-discussion format.

In addition to offering code recipes for solving everyday problems with XSLT 1.0, this new edition shows you how to leverage the improvements found in XSLT 2.0, such as how to simplify the string manipulation and date/time conversion processes. The book also covers XPath 2.0, a critical companion standard, as well as topics ranging from basic transformations to complex sorting and linking. It even explores extension functions on a variety of different XSLT processors and shows ways to combine multiple documents using XSLT. Code examples add a real-world dimension to each technique.

Whether you're just starting out in XSLT or looking for advanced techniques, you'll find the level of information you need in XSLT Cookbook, Second Edition.

Genres: Programming, Software, Technology, Computers

776 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was much better than the first time I read this when I was just starting to learn XSLT. Some of the solutions in the cookbook are to problems that are better solved by writing extension functions in Java (for example, XSLT has no concept of dates, so it's advantageous to use Java instead of trying to reinvent the wheel in an extremely awkward way). The "template tagging" concept was one I had run across some time ago, but this time around I happened to have a practical problem that it solved pretty well. It's effective for decoupling multiple shared stylesheets, so you can organize things better and not have a cluster of included stylesheets be an all or nothing proposition. Basically, there are a lot of good concepts here that I didn't fully appreciate on my first read through.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for tips and tricks for complex problems. Definitely requires a healthy knowledge of XSL before diving in.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great set of examples to study/learn from once you already know the basics to XPath 2.0 and XSLT 2.0.