Sams Teach Yourself XSLT in 21 Days (Paperback)

~ Michiel Van Otegem (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The book covers XSLT and Xpath (as a part of XSLT), as these topics have everything to do with processing XML. It will also cover XML from an XSLT processing and design point of view. Other XML technologies will not be discussed as superset of XSLT, most notably XSL. XSL Formatting Objects alone is enough material for an entire book. Apart from that, XSLT and Xpath form the processing/programming section of the entire XSL specification. This book presents an overview of XSLT and guides readers through transforming their first XML data. In this book you will also learn:

• Selecting Data-Stylesheets and Xpath Basics;
• Inserting text and elements in output;
• Copying elements from the source and inserting text;
• Conditional processing basics and expressions;
• Modularizing stylesheets;
• Understanding, creating, and using templates;
• Controlling output, as well as creating more advanced output;
• Using multi-file stylesheets, variables, and parameters;
• Working with numbers, strings, multiple XML sources, and namespaces;
• Selecting data based upon keys;
• Recursion;
• Creating computational stylesheets;
• Working with parses;
• Designing XML and XSLT applications;
• Extending XSLT.

From the Back Cover

The book covers XSLT and Xpath (as a part of XSLT), as these topics have everything to do with processing XML. It will also cover XML from an XSLT processing and design point of view. Other XML technologies will not be discussed as superset of XSLT, most notably XSL. XSL Formatting Objects alone is enough material for an entire book. Apart from that, XSLT and Xpath form the processing/programming section of the entire XSL specification. This book presents an overview of XSLT and guides readers through transforming their first XML data. In this book you will also learn:

* Selecting Data-Stylesheets and Xpath Basics;
* Inserting text and elements in output;
* Copying elements from the source and inserting text;
* Conditional processing basics and expressions;
* Modularizing stylesheets;
* Understanding, creating, and using templates;
* Controlling output, as well as creating more advanced output;
* Using multi-file stylesheets, variables, and parameters;
* Working with numbers, strings, multiple XML sources, and namespaces;
* Selecting data based upon keys;
* Recursion;
* Creating computational stylesheets;
* Working with parses;
* Designing XML and XSLT applications;
* Extending XSLT.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Sams (February 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672323184
• ISBN-13: 978-0672323188
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #237,593 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This item is part of The Sams Teach Yourself Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book to learn the basics, August 6, 2003

By	Imtiazur Syed (Boise, ID United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just can't understand why there is no rating for the book and the book is priced so low. I am a VB developer of 6 yrs experience and am in the process of learning XML and all its related technologies. I tried to read books on XSLT by different authors and was frustrated by the advanced approach taken by different authors on the subject. I tried reading Jeni Tennison's XSLT. Didn't find it useful. Kay's XSLT has a lot of information but it was written as a reference. If you are new to XSLT read this book (not Kay's book) to get your feet wet and then with some knowledge read Kay's book. Never mind Tennison's book.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Examples, January 7, 2006

By	Pen Name "whiteaura" (milpitas, ca USA) - See all my reviews

Some PROs and CONs...

Pros:
Topic flows very well. Author was able to explain each topic without asking reader to refer to upcoming forward chapters. Best part of this book are the examples. They are relevant and short and sweet enough to understand. Best of all, there are lots of examples. The author doesn't just slap them on the page and tell you to figure it out yourself. The author walks the reader thru them.

Cons:
Some areas reads like a technical manual.. causing me to reread sentences over and again. But that said, the book still comes across as tutorial friendly (You figure that out.).

Comparisons:
I rate the book 5 stars. I own Beginnning XSLT 2.0 by Tennison, XSLT 2.0 by Kay, and Mastering XSLT by White. My opinion is that XSLT in 21 days is the best book to get you to learn it the quickest because of the author's superb examples.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best for BEGINNERS !, December 3, 2003

By	M. Lehiste "certifying_factor" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Best book to start out with XSLT;
quickly takes you to the point where you can put knowledge from the book to work;

ALSO - it is very easy to follow the Book on the road BECAUSE it explains exactly what each line of code in examples does;

Very thourough analysis and not much mumbo-jambo (as in xslt for dummmies book)