XSLT 1.0 Pocket Reference

By Evan Lenz
August 2005
Pages: 176
Series: Pocket References
ISBN 10: 0-596-10008-6 | ISBN 13: 9780596100087
starstarstarstarstar (5) (Average of 2 Customer Reviews)

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 Description

This handy pocket guide quickly gets you up to speed on XSLT so you can convert XML like a seasoned pro. It covers topics such as stylesheet structure, template rules, result trees, conditional processing, number formatting, and more. Best of all, its concise approach saves you time, aggravation, and effort.
Full Description

XSLT is an essential tool for converting XML into other kinds of documents: HTML, PDF file, and many others. It's a critical technology for XML-based platforms such as Microsoft .NET, Sun Microsystems' Sun One, as well as for most web browsers and authoring tools. As useful as XSLT is, however, most people have a difficult time getting used to its peculiar characteristics. The ability to use advanced techniques depends on a clear and exact understanding of how XSLT templates work and interact.

The XSLT 1.0 Pocket Reference from O'Reilly wants to make sure you achieve that level of understanding. With its concise approach, this handy pocket guide quickly gets you up to speed on XSLT 1.0 so you can covert XML like a seasoned pro. In addition to covering the basics of stylesheet structure, it also explains how to:

  • use template rules
  • create a result tree
  • apply conditional processing
  • transform multiple source documents
  • employ number formatting

Thanks to their convenient, quick-reference format, O'Reilly's Pocket References spare you from having to hunt through larger books for answers. They deliver just what you need to get the job done in a timely fashion. And the XSLT 1.0 Pocket Reference is no different--it's the ideal companion to have at your desk when you need an answer fast.


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Spot-on perfect.,  December 12 2006
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
Submitted by korisu   [Respond | View]

I own the O'Reilly XSLT Cookbook and Michael Kay's enormous XSLT Programmer's Reference, but I refer to the pocket reference more often than either of them. Evan Lenz targets exactly what you need to know to get a solid grasp on the fundamentals of XSLT, instantly clarifies those little built-in quirks that drive you crazy, and concisely explains every last option in the perfect amount of detail needed to utilize those parts of the language.

With as open-ended of a syntax as XML is, you need a solid base for manipulating it with open-ended functionality; I think the downfall of the cookbooks and the pre-designed scripts is that they're locked into a specific structure, and it's never going to be exactly what you need for your project. With the XSLT Pocket Reference, however, it's the exact opposite - Lenz empowers you to use these basic tools to their full extent, with your own creativity and innovation as the backdrop. Then when you run into a quirk, you'll find that there's another small part of his explanation that will get you back on track in no time.


I bought this book because I only have access to MSXSL (XSLT 1.0 only) at work, and it's allowed me to do amazing things with the most basic structures. My only complaint about the book is that it spends a good third of the book outlining different EXSLT elements and functions; I think that a library of EXSLT extensions would be better handled in its own book. Other than that, I couldn't be happier with it.


A perfect distillation of XPath and XSL into a pocket-size book,  August 15 2006
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
Submitted by Jim Garrison   [Respond | View]

This book represents an amazing feat of distilling all you really need to know about XSL 1.0 into 170 pocket-sized pages. What's more amazing is that an experienced developer with little prior XML/XSL experience can actually learn enough from this little gem to write competent XSL.

A reference manual AND quality tutorial in 1/20th the space (and dead trees) of most tech books these days. I've recommended this to several of my colleagues who had to get up to speed on XSL for a new project, and the reaction from them is the same as mine.... This was EXACTLY what I needed.

It's a shame there are no plans for Evan to write the corresponding XSLT 2.0 pockete reference.

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Media reviews
"...if you understand the basics and need a quick visual reference on how to use a feature, say like , this book shines. You don't have to wade through a dozen pages of conversation to find out the format and syntax. Two pages total in this book, and you have all the details. And that's what an O'Reilly's Pocket Reference title is for... "
-- Thomas Duff, Duffbert's Random Musings


"[Consumers] will find the fine 'pocket references' produced by O'Reilly to be compact and affordable."
-- James Cox, The Computer Shelf: Midwest Book Review



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