XSLT and XPATH: A Guide to XML Transformations [Paperback]

John Robert Gardner (Author), Zarella L. Rendon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130404462 | ISBN-13: 978-0130404466 | Publication Date: August 5, 2001

Using XSLT and XPath, developers can take full advantage of virtually any XML data in both Web applications and printed documents. Guide to XML Transformations: XSLT & XPath delivers a thorough understanding of the concepts and inner workings of Xpath and the XSLT processing model. Leading XSL experts Zarella Rendon and John Robert Gardner teach XSLT and XPath through extensive example code, explained line by line. Guide to XML Transformations assumes basic HTML and/or skills, but no familiarity with programming concepts. Readers can utilize its hands-on exercises to quickly begin performing substantive transformations of XML to HTML and, soon after, to virtually any other format.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Gain total control over your information with XSLT and XPath!

• Master XSLT and XPath—the "keys to the XML kingdom"
• Build custom XML output solutions that won't become obsolete
• Learn everything from basic XML-to-HTML conversions to leading edge techniques
• CD-ROM includes all examples from the book

Mastering XSLT and XPath gives you unprecedented control over your information—and helps you leverage virtually every new XML technology, from XLink to schemas. Discover XSLT's powerful vocabulary of easy, programming-like features, and learn how to build custom solutions that resist obsolescence. By the end of the first chapter, you'll be performing XML-to-HTML conversions for display in any Web browser. Then build on your knowledge through a series of hands-on examples that transform you into an XSLT/XPath expert!

• XSLT as an XML document instance: leveraging your existing XML skills
• XSLT stylesheet concepts and constructs: fundamental through advanced level
• XPath patterns and functions
• XSLT subroutine functions and variables
• XSLT processing of multiple nodes: iterative and conditional XSLT elements
• Controlling output options
• XSLT extensions, and more

Whether you're an experienced programmer or a novice markup specialist, here's your chance to master XML's most potent tools for organizing, updating, and delivering digital information—any data, anywhere, any time!

About the Author

JOHN ROBERT GARDNER, Ph.D., is an Architect with Sun Microsystems, Inc., a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software, and services that power the Internet and B2B.

ZARELLA L. RENDON is Senior Applications Engineer and co-founder of ISOGEN International, a leading provider of XML and SGML solutions. She is a member of the W3C XSL Working Group.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (August 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130404462
• ISBN-13: 978-0130404466
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,935,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A practical guide for the beginner & the seasoned developer, December 18, 2001

By 

Gunter Vanasse (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: XSLT and XPATH: A Guide to XML Transformations (Paperback)

A must read.

I HAVE read this book. In fact, I am still reading it. It is well written and well structured. The subject matter is clear and concise. It discusses the key subjects necessary to master XML transformations. The contributions from industry experts of several corporations and associations, such as the W3C, make it a well rounded syllabus.

The title is what initially drew me to this book. Why? I was thrown into the thick of things developing an XSLT based Web site templating engine. My first XSLT book was Wrox's XSLT Programmer's Reference. Although I found the syntactical information I needed to craft the templates of the XSLT stylesheet, I was missing the answers to some recurring questions: how do I effectively navigate the source XML
document? how do extract the desired node-set?

From my previous hands-on XSLT experience, it quickly became evident how important it was to master XPath. Learning how to effectively write a rule set and optimize a style sheet requires a good understanding of how to navigate an XML document.

This is a good book to introduce newcomers to the world of XSLT transformations as it is a good book for knowledgeable XSLT developers to further refine their template design and coding skills.

This book lays a solid foundation to begin coding XSLT style sheets. It builds upon this foundation by expanding on more complex subjects in subsequent chapters. I also find it to be a useful reference. I've typically found what I was looking for using the detailed index.

I was taken aback by one of the appendices, which reveals the true power of XSLT, solving the classic "N-Queens" AI problem via an XSLT stylesheet!

I'm quite happy to have purchased this title, and if I were to have the choice of only one book on XSLT this would be the book.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Examples are laden with errors, August 10, 2003

By 

Joe (New Have, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: XSLT and XPATH: A Guide to XML Transformations (Paperback)

I suppose this book might be helpful as a reference, but to someone who is actually trying to figure out what to do with xslt and xpath, this book is a very poor primer. I found that, in addition to offering little explanation as to how xpath and xslt are needed in a larger context (is this supposed to supplant sql??, for example), the examples are so error-prone that I learned more by correcting the errors than I did reading the book. Here is a list of errors you will encounter (from the CD) for the first 3 chapters:

1.1 (string not quoted)
1.2 (only 1 top-level element allowed).
2.1 (invalid character)
2.4 (cannot locate resource)
2.5 (template.xml undeclared namespace)
2.7 (cannot locate resource)
3.2 (output.xml invalid at the top level)
3.3 ditto
3.4 worked -- hey, a working example!
3.5 (output.xml invalid at the top level)
3.6 misplaced period
3.7 invalid at top level
3.8 only 1 top level element allowed
3.9 invalid at the top level...

The rest of the chapter examples are similar to this one.
Without good examples, a programming book is almost worthless.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor Editing, Poor Examples, November 15, 2003

By 

Samuel Smith "Sammy" (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: XSLT and XPATH: A Guide to XML Transformations (Paperback)

This feels like a book that had it's table of contents laid out, and then the content filled in as quickly as possible. Editing must have lasted about 3 days. With a more thorough editing process, and a bit more thought to the examples (the boulevard examples taumatized me so much, I nearly stopped driving), it may have been a very good book.

In some sections, the same paragraph is repeated verbatim 2 or even 3 times. Often in the chapter overview, and then on the next page in the first chapter section.

Possibly the book appeals to other learning styles better, but I've found it a tough slog. In fairness though, XSLT is a strange and difficult beast- I may be transferring some of my frustration on to the messenger!

However, in general, I find the examples are too repetive, causing them to blur together. And you find myself flipping back as many as 6 pages at times to find the xml code the description is talking about.

And there is a lack of technical illustrations to help with more difficult topics.

I would have appreciate larger examples from different domains to specific goals. The problem with a lot of the examples is the purposelessness of the examples.

XML in a Nutshell, and Michael Kay's XLST reference have provided me much more joy.

My last word of advice- follow the examples live. XSLT and XPath need practice, and lots of it.