XSLT Syntax

XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) has its own syntax for specifying templates, XPath expressions, control structures, and output elements. Here’s an overview of the key components of XSLT syntax:

XSLT Declaration:

The XSLT declaration is used to specify the version of XSLT being used and the XML namespace for the XSLT elements. It typically appears at the beginning of an XSLT stylesheet.

<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">

Template Match:

XSLT uses templates to define rules for transforming specific elements or nodes from the input XML document. The match attribute of the <xsl:template> element is used to specify which nodes the template should match.

<xsl:template match="element">
  <!-- Template content -->
</xsl:template>

Output Element:

The <xsl:element> element is used to create output elements in the transformed result. You can use XPath expressions or literal element names for the output element.

<xsl:element name="tagname">
  <!-- Output element content -->
</xsl:element>

Value-of Element:

The <xsl:value-of> element is used to output the value of a selected node in the input XML document. It is often used to display data in the output.

<xsl:value-of select="xpath-expression" />

For-each Loop:

The <xsl:for-each> element is used to iterate over a set of nodes in the input XML document and apply templates or generate output for each node.

<xsl:for-each select="xpath-expression">
  <!-- Code block to execute for each selected node -->
</xsl:for-each>

If-else Conditional:

The <xsl:if> element is used to perform conditional processing based on a specified condition.

<xsl:if test="condition">
  <!-- Code block to execute if the condition is true -->
</xsl:if>

Choose-when-otherwise:

The <xsl:choose>, <xsl:when>, and <xsl:otherwise> elements are used for more complex conditional processing.

<xsl:choose>
  <xsl:when test="condition-1">
    <!-- Code block to execute when condition-1 is true -->
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="condition-2">
    <!-- Code block to execute when condition-2 is true -->
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:otherwise>
    <!-- Code block to execute if none of the conditions are true -->
  </xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>

Variables:

XSLT allows you to define and use variables using the <xsl:variable> element.

<xsl:variable name="variable-name" select="expression" />

Comments:

You can add comments in XSLT using the standard XML comment syntax.

<!-- This is a comment -->

These are some of the basic elements and constructs in XSLT syntax. XSLT is a powerful and expressive language, and you can create complex transformations using these building blocks. As you gain more experience with XSLT, you’ll be able to leverage its capabilities to process and transform XML data efficiently.