Sams Teach Yourself Xslt in 21 Days

by Van Otegem, Michiel

• ISBN13: 9780672323188
• ISBN10: 0672323184
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-01-31
• Publisher: Sams Publishing

Summary

The book covers XSLT and Xpath (as a part of XSLT), as these topics have everything to do with processing XML. It will also cover XML from an XSLT processing and design point of view. Other XML technologies will not be discussed as superset of XSLT, most notably XSL. XSL Formatting Objects alone is enough material for an entire book. Apart from that, XSLT and Xpath form the processing/programming section of the entire XSL specification. This book presents an overview of XSLT and guides readers through transforming their first XML data. In this book you will also learn: Selecting Data-Stylesheets and Xpath Basics; Inserting text and elements in output; Copying elements from the source and inserting text; Conditional processing basics and expressions; Modularizing stylesheets; Understanding, creating, and using templates; Controlling output, as well as creating more advanced output; Using multi-file stylesheets, variables, and parameters; Working with numbers, strings, multiple XML sources, and namespaces; Selecting data based upon keys; Recursion; Creating computational stylesheets; Working with parses; Designing XML and XSLT applications; Extending XSLT.

Author Biography

Michiel van Otegem lives and works in the Netherlands. He is the co-founder and Chief Web development Teacher of ASPNL, a consulting and teaching firm targeting the Dutch and European market. He teaches advanced ASP, ASP.NET, and XML/XSLT classes, and writes articles and tutorials for magazines and Web sites, such as ASPNL.com, TopXML.com, ASPAlliance.com, CoDe Magazine, and asp.netPRO magazine. He has had a passion for programming ever since he wrote his first programs in MSX Basic and Z80 assembler, at age 10. Now, nearly two decades later, he is a pioneer in Web development, quick to embrace technologies such as XML and ASP(.NET). He has worked with a wide range of languages and platforms, including ASP(.NET), Visual Basic, Access/SQL Server, C/C++, CGI/Perl, PHP, and, of course, XML and XSLT. He is a long-time contributing member of ASPFriends.com mailing lists, which he now helps to moderate and improve as a valued ASP Ace member.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(4)
Week 1 At a Glance	5	(200)
Getting Started with XSLT	7	(28)
Transforming Your First XML	35	(24)
Selecting Data	59	(24)
Using Templates	83	(24)
Inserting Text and Elements	107	(32)
Conditional and Iterative Processing	139	(24)
Controlling the Output	163	(42)
In Review	191	(14)
Week 2 At a Glance	205	(168)
Working with Variables	207	(22)
Working with Parameters	229	(20)
Understanding Data Types	249	(20)
Working with Strings	269	(26)
Sorting and Numbering	295	(24)
Working with Multifile Stylesheets	319	(22)
Working with Multiple XML Sources	341	(32)
In Review	363	(10)
Week 3 At a Glance	373	(252)
Working with Namespaces	375	(24)
Advanced Data Selection	399	(24)
Using Recursion	423	(18)
Building Computational Stylesheets	441	(24)
Working with XSLT Extensions	465	(20)
Working with Different Processors	485	(22)
Designing XML and XSLT Applications	507	(118)
In Review	527	(20)
Appendixes
Appendix A Answers to Quiz Questions and Exercises	547	(32)
Appendix B A Quick Reference of XSLT Elements and Functions	579	(38)
Appendix C Command-Line Reference for Selected Processors	617	(6)
Appendix D XML Resources on the Web	623	(2)
Index	625