XSLT is a powerful language for transforming XML
documents into something else. That something else can
be an HTML document, another XML document, a Portable
Document Format (PDF) file, a Scalable Vector Graphics
(SVG) file, a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML)
file, Java code, or a number of other things. You write
an XSLT stylesheet to define the rules for transforming
an XML document, and the XSLT processor does the work.
As useful as XSLT is, its peculiar characteristics make
it a difficult language in which to get started. In
fact, newcomers are often a little dazed on first
contact. Learning XSLT offers a hands-on introduction to
help them get up to speed with XSLT quickly. The book
will help web developers and designers understand this
powerful but often mystifying template-driven and
functional-styled language, getting them over the many
differences between XSLT and the more conventional
programming languages. Learning XSLT moves smoothly from
the simple to complex, illustrating all aspects of XSLT
1.0 through step-by-step examples that you'll practice
as you work through the book.Thorough in its coverage of
the language, the book makes few assumptions about what
you may already know. You'll learn about XSLT's
template-based syntax, how XSLT templates work with each
other, and gain an understanding of XSLT variables.
Learning XSLT also explains how the XML Path Language
(XPath) is used by XSLT and provides a glimpse of what
the future holds for XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0. The ability
to transform one XML vocabulary to another is
fundamental to exploiting the power of XML. Learning
XSLT is a carefully paced, example-rich introduction to
XSLT that will have you understanding and using XSLT on
your own in no time. |
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