Product DescriptionCritical for converting XML documents, and extremely versatile, the XSLT language nevertheless has complexities that can be daunting. The XSLT Cookbook is a collection of hundreds of solutions to problems that Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) developers regularly face. The recipes range from simple string-manipulation and mathematical processing to more complex topics like extending XSLT, testing and debugging XSLT stylesheets, and graphics creation with SVG. Recipes can be run directly or tweaked to fit your particular application's needs more precisely. Each recipe walks through a problem and a solution, with explanations of the choices made and techniques used in creating that solution, and many recipes include alternate solutions and explore issues like convenience and performance. Topics covered include:
String manipulation
Mathematical processing
Date and time handling
Interactions between calendar systems
Selecting content in source documents
Efficient tree-manipulation
Conversions from XML to plain text
Tweaking XML documents with stylesheets
Using XSLT to query XML documents
Generating HTML with XSLT
Creating charts and graphs with SVG and XSLT
Generating C and XSLT code using XSLT
Processing Visio documents in XSLT
Working with XML Topic Maps (XTM)
Using XSLT to create SOAP documentation from WSDL
Extending XSLT with additional functions
Embedding XSLT in other processing
Testing and debugging XSLT stylesheets
Creating generic XSLT processors which work on many XML vocabularies
The XSLT Cookbook provides an ideal companion both for developers still figuring out XSLT's template-based approach who want to learn by example, and for developers who know XSLT and want a collection of quickly reusable recipes. XSLT frequently offers a number of ways to perform a transformation, and the best solution may not always be the most straightforward. The recipes in this Cookbook demonstrate and explain XSLT's template-based logic, a frequent stumbling block for developers new to XSLT. Among the variety of XSLT books now available, none has the explicit solution-oriented approach of this Cookbook.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - For Experienced XLST users, as a reference and to get ideas.
This book is for the experienced XSLT developer. It will provide many, many code samples right from the beginning. I purchased this book thinking I can learn XSLT but, this book is not for the beginner. With that, I am not saying you should not purchase it. What I am saying is that I found a very good companion book: XSLT FOR DUMMIES. Believe it or not, this was my first for dummies book. Don't let the title fool you, this is a great first book to understand XSLT. I think the cookbook will ... Read More
Rating: - Useful XSLT Recipes
This book was very helpful in getting my first XSLT transform up and running in just a few days. Its Problem -- Solution -- Discussion format provides ready-made solutions for a range of transformation problems, from the simple to the more complex. In my case, I quickly found clear and straightforward illustrations of how to produce multiple text output files from an XML input file.
This book is not an XSLT language reference. But it is a good supplement to, for instance, Michael Kay's ... Read More
Rating: - What a time saver!
I've just completed a job where one of my primary functions was editing, teaching, and solving problems with XSLT. I started that job as an experienced programmer with little experience in XSLT. I frequently referred to this book whenever I thought, "I bet XSLT can do this, but how?" For example, if you are already familiar with common scripting languages and programming libraries, one of the first things you will notice about XSLT is a lack of regular expression functionality. I referred to the ... Read More
Rating: - Don't make the same mistake as I did!
This is a great book with a collection of XSLT solutions to difficult and non-trivial XSLT problems. It covers XSLT 2.0 and shows to you how elegant 2.0 solution can be comparable to ugly and monstrous 1.0 listing.
But don't make the same mistake as I did! It is not a learning book! It is a book for programmers that already know XSLT at least a bit and want to improve their skills in this language. If you don't know XSLT at all, it would be better to you to purchase another book together with ... Read More
Rating: - Some useful examples
The code examples in the book can be found online. While several of them are quite helpful, this book is by no means an exhaustive reference, nor does it clearly articulate the basics. See the w3schools website for this.
- For Experienced XLST users, as a reference and to get ideas.
- Useful XSLT Recipes
