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XSLT

XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) is a programming language that is used to transform XML documents into other formats, such as HTML, PDF, or CSV. XSLT is based on XML and uses a set of specialized elements and attributes to define rules for transforming the elements, attributes, and content of an XML document into another format.

XSLT is often used to convert XML documents into formats that are more suitable for presentation or publication, such as HTML or PDF. It can also be used to extract data from XML documents and to transform it into other formats, such as CSV or JSON. XSLT is commonly used in conjunction with other XML technologies, such as XML parsers and XML databases, to process and manipulate XML data.

Versions

There have been several versions of XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) since it was first introduced in 1999. The current version of XSLT is 3.0, which was published as a W3C Recommendation in 2017. Here is a brief overview of the major versions of XSLT:

XSLT 1.0

XSLT 1.0 (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) is the first version of XSLT, which was published as a W3C Recommendation in 1999. XSLT 1.0 introduced the basic concepts and syntax of XSLT, including:

  • Template rules: XSLT 1.0 introduced the ability to define template rules for transforming XML elements and attributes, using XPath expressions to specify the patterns that trigger the transformation.

  • XPath expressions: XSLT 1.0 introduced the XPath language, which is used to select and manipulate nodes in an XML document. XPath expressions can be used to select elements and attributes based on their names, values, and relationships to other nodes.

  • Output options: XSLT 1.0 introduced the ability to generate output in various formats, including HTML, XML, and text. It also introduced the ability to specify the encoding and character set of the output.

  • Basic error handling: XSLT 1.0 introduced the ability to specify fallback behavior for errors, which allows for more graceful handling of errors and exceptions.

XSLT 2.0

XSLT 2.0 (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) is the second version of XSLT, which was published as a W3C Recommendation in 2007. XSLT 2.0 introduces a number of new features and improvements, including:

  • Multiple input and output documents: XSLT 2.0 introduces the ability to process multiple input documents and produce multiple output documents, which allows for more flexible and powerful transformations.

  • Regular expressions: XSLT 2.0 introduces the ability to use regular expressions in XPath expressions, which allows for more flexible and powerful pattern matching and string manipulation.

  • Functions: XSLT 2.0 introduces the ability to use functions in XPath expressions, which allows for more flexible and powerful calculations and operations.

  • Improved data types: XSLT 2.0 introduces a number of new data types, such as decimals, dates, and durations, which allows for more precise and powerful manipulation of data.

  • Improved error handling: XSLT 2.0 introduces the ability to specify and use fallback behavior for errors, which allows for more graceful handling of errors and exceptions.

  • Improved support for namespaces: XSLT 2.0 introduces improved support for handling and manipulating namespaces in XML documents, which allows for more flexible and powerful transformations.

XSLT 3.0

XSLT 3.0 (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) is the current version of XSLT, which was published as a W3C Recommendation in 2017. XSLT 3.0 introduces a number of new features and improvements, including:

  • Streaming: XSLT 3.0 supports the ability to process input and output as streams, which allows for the transformation of large documents without the need to read the entire document into memory.

  • Higher-order functions: XSLT 3.0 introduces the ability to define and use higher-order functions, which are functions that take other functions as arguments or return functions as results. This allows for more flexible and powerful programming constructs in XSLT.

  • Improved error handling: XSLT 3.0 introduces the ability to catch and handle runtime errors using try/catch blocks, which can improve the reliability and robustness of XSLT stylesheets.

  • Improved XPath support: XSLT 3.0 introduces a number of improvements to the XPath language, including the ability to use regular expressions and functions, to perform more complex calculations and operations, and to use sequences and maps in XPath expressions.

  • Improved output options: XSLT 3.0 introduces the ability to generate output in a wider range of formats, including HTML5, JSON, and binary formats. It also introduces the ability to specify the encoding and character set of the output, and to use content negotiation to produce different outputs for different clients.

Identity transform

Copy the input file to the output without any mods:

<xsl:stylesheet
  xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
  version="2.0">

  <xsl:template match="@*|node()">
    <xsl:copy>
      <xsl:apply-templates select="@*|node()"/>
    </xsl:copy>
  </xsl:template>

</xsl:stylesheet>