Xsl: The Personal Trainer for Xslt, Xpath and Xsl-Fo

Your 200-page Personal Trainer for XSL! To learn how to use XSL, you need practical hands-on advice from an expert who understands what it is like to just start out. By working step by step through document structures, template rules, stylesheet transformations, and formatting objects, you can master XSL fundamentals while learning how to transform structured data into any output format needed from HTML to XHTML to program source code. This book is designed for anyone who wants to learn XSL, including those who create or support XML applications and XML-based solutions. Inside, you'll find comprehensive overviews, step-by-step procedures, frequently used tasks, documented examples, and much more. One of the goals is to keep the content so concise that the book remains compact and easy to navigate while at the same time ensuring that the book is packed with as much information as possible--making it a valuable resource. Learning XSL doesn't have to be a frustrating experience, you can use XSL: The Personal Trainer for XSLT, XPath and XSL-FO to learn everything you need to use XSL and related technologies effectively. Look also for XML, DTDs, Schemas: The Personal Trainer. Table of Contents Chapter 1. XSL Transformations & Formatting 14 Introducing XSLT 14 Matching Document Structures to Template Rules 18 The Template for Element and Root Nodes 20 The Template for Modes 20 The Template for Text and Attribute Nodes 21 Understanding Other Built-In Templates 21 Structuring XSLT Stylesheets 22 Starting the XSLT Stylesheet 22 Defining the Output Format 24 Defining Template Rules and Declarations 41 Chapter 2. XPath Operators & Expressions 48 Understanding Location Paths 49 Understanding XPath Operators and Datatypes 55 Using Relative XPath Expressions with Elements 60 Referencing the Current Context Node 60 Referencing a Parent Node 61 Referencing Siblings Relative to the Current Context 62 Referencing Child Nodes 63 Using Absolute XPath Expressions with Elements 65 Locating Nodes 67 Working with Attribute Nodes 67 Working with Text Nodes 70 Working with Comment Nodes 71 Working with Processing Instruction Nodes 72 Using Namespaces with Element and Attribute Nodes 73 Using Wildcards and Predicates in XPath Expressions 75 Selecting Any Node 75 Skipping Levels in the Hierarchy 77 Filtering To Match Nodes 79 Chapter 3. Branching & Control Functions 86 Processing with if Statements 86 Processing with choose Statements 89 Processing with for-each Statements 92 Invoking, Including, and Importing Templates 97 Including and Importing Templates 97 Calling Templates by Name 101 Invoking Templates by Mode 102 Chapter 4. Variables & Parameters in XSLT 106 Working with Parameters 106 Defining and Referencing Parameters 106 Setting Default Values for Parameters 108 Passing Parameter Values to Templates 111 Using Global Parameters 113 Working with Variables 120 Defining Variables 120 Referencing Variables 123 Using Global Variables 125 Chapter 5. Working with Strings, Booleans, & Numbers 128 Manipulating Strings 128 Converting Values to Strings 128 Managing Spaces Within Strings 130 Normalizing Space in Strings 134 Merging Values into a Single String 135 Examining and Manipulating String Contents 136 Translating Characters in Strings 145 Converting and Manipulating Boolean Values 147 Using the true() Function 151 Using the false() Function 151 Using the not() Function 151 Working with Numeric Values 151 Converting Values to Numbers 151 Formatting Values as Numbers 153 Rounding Numbers 159 Summing Values 161 And Much more!

About the Author :
William Stanek is a Microsoft MVP with 20+ years of experience in systems management and advanced programming. He is an award-winning author who's written more than 100 books, including Exchange Server Pocket Consultant, Windows Administration Pocket Consultant, and Windows Server Inside Out.