2024-02-09T21:20:49
Status: #moc
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Links: [[home]] | [[Technology]] | [[Software Development]] | [[Standards]] | [[XML]] | [[XPath]] | [[XML Schema]]
# XSLT
## Introduction to XSLT
**[XSLT](https://www.w3.org/TR/xslt) (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations)** is a standard language designed for transforming XML documents into other [[XML]] documents, HTML, or other types of documents that are recognized by web browsers. It is part of the XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) family, which is used for XML document styling. The primary purpose of XSLT is to enable the transformation of XML documents into various formats for different uses, such as web publishing, content management, data conversion, and application integration.
![[afalk42_An_illustration_for_a_knowledge_base_article_on_XSLT_th_380868ba-47f9-4021-96e9-4c4b8d345d2d.png]]
## Key Features of XSLT
1. **Transformation**: XSLT allows for the transformation of the XML document structure. It can reorder, filter, and restructure an XML document into a completely different format.
2. **Template-Based**: XSLT uses a template-based approach. You define templates/rules that match specific XML elements, and these templates dictate how the elements should be transformed.
3. **XPath Integration**: XSLT heavily relies on XPath for selecting parts of an XML document. XPath is used within XSLT to navigate through elements and attributes in the XML document for processing.
4. **Extensible**: XSLT is extensible, allowing for the creation of complex transformations using recursion, conditional processing, and the ability to call external functions or incorporate scripting.
5. **Multi-Format Output**: While primarily used to transform XML data, XSLT can produce various output formats including [[XML]], HTML, plain text, and even [[JSON]] with some creativity.
## Basic Concepts of XSLT
### Stylesheet
An XSLT document is known as a stylesheet. It defines how an XML document should be transformed. A stylesheet contains a set of template rules.
### Template Rules
A template rule has two main parts: a `match` attribute, which selects the XML content, and a template content, which defines the output or transformation to be applied.
### XPath
[[XPath]] is used within XSLT to navigate XML documents. It allows you to specify paths to elements and attributes, enabling precise selection for transformation.
## Using XSLT
To use XSLT, follow these basic steps:
1. **Create an XML Source Document**: This is the document you want to transform.
2. **Write an XSLT Stylesheet**: The stylesheet contains the transformation rules.
3. **Process the Transformation**: Use an XSLT processor to apply the stylesheet to the XML document. This can be done using various tools or programming environments that support XSLT.
## Practical Example
Consider an XML document that lists books:
```xml
<books>
<book>
<title>The Great Gatsby</title>
<author>F. Scott Fitzgerald</author>
</book>
<book>
<title>1984</title>
<author>George Orwell</author>
</book>
</books>
```
To transform this into an HTML document listing the books, an XSLT stylesheet may look like this:
```xml
<xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" version="1.0">
<xsl:template match="/">
<html>
<body>
<h2>Book List</h2>
<ul>
<xsl:for-each select="books/book">
<li>
<xsl:value-of select="title"/> by <xsl:value-of select="author"/>
</li>
</xsl:for-each>
</ul>
</body>
</html>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
```
This example demonstrates a simple transformation that iterates over each `book` element, creating a list item in HTML for each book, including its title and author.
## [XSLT Tools](https://www.altova.com/xslt-tools)
* [XSLT Editor](https://www.altova.com/xmlspy-xml-editor/xslt-editor)
* [XSLT Back-mapping](https://www.altova.com/xmlspy-xml-editor/xslt-debugger)
* [XSLT Debugger](https://www.altova.com/xmlspy-xml-editor/xslt-debugger#xslt-debugger)
* [XSLT Profiler](https://www.altova.com/xslt-tools#xslt-profiler)
* [XSL Speed Optimizer](https://www.altova.com/xslt-tools#xsl-optimizer)
* [Visual XSLT Stylesheet Designer](https://www.altova.com/stylevision#stylesheet-design)
* [XSLT for data mapping](https://www.altova.com/mapforce/xml-mapping)
## Conclusion
XSLT offers a powerful and flexible means to transform XML documents into various formats, making it an essential tool for developers working with XML data. Understanding XSLT not only allows for the manipulation of XML data but also opens up a wide range of possibilities for data presentation and integration across different platforms and applications.