Learning XSLT

XML in a Nutshell, Third Edition

Xml

XSLT Cookbook

Format: Paperback
Author: Sal Mangano
ReleaseDate: December, 2002
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Rating:

Recipes cover all levels of use and provide developers with plenty of real-world examples
It's a daunting tool even for developers, and XSLT Cookbook helps developers with a set of problems and answers which cover all kinds of performance issues, from the basics of creating charts, graphics and generating code to handling data, processing math, and designing. Sal Mangano's XSLT Cookbook: Solutions And Examples For XML And XSLT Developers covers all the advanced features of the Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations, a tool for processing XML. Recipes cover all levels of use and provide developers with plenty of real-world examples. .

Outstanding Reference For Experienced XSLT Developers
When this is the case for any technology, any new guide that comes out is a breath of fresh air, because it might be the right tool to turn a regular developer into a SUPER developer. XSLT is one of those technologies that has been around for awhile, but it feels like not enough great references are out there for developers. With 'XSLT Cookbook' by Sal Mangano, XML and XSLT programmers finally have a guide that they can really sink their teeth into, with real solutions to everyday problems. Jam packed with over 700 pages of material, this book covers the major important topics that one would expect to read up on: string manipulation, math processing, date/time handling, XML conversions to plain text, querying XML documents with XSLT. . . the list goes on and on.

If you use XSLT on a regular basis or you have a project that is going to use XSLT and/or XML, you will be hard-pressed to find a better reference out there on the market today for your needs and this text will no doubt present either the solution you are exactly looking for, or provide a basis for achieving the desired solution you are aiming to find.

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECCOMENDATION.

Lots of "R&D" material here...
. [Review of 2nd edition]

One of my favorite development methodologies is "R&D".. "Rob & Duplicate". And an important source of inspiration is often the O'Reilly Cookbook series. For XSLT, you now have an up-to-date wealth of samples to pull from. . . XSLT Cookbook (2nd Edition) by Sal Mangano.

Contents: XPath; Strings; Numbers and Math; Dates and Times; Selecting and Traversing; Exploiting XSLT 2. 0; XML to Text; XML to XML; Querying XML; XML to HTML; XML to SVG; Code Generation; Vertical XSLT Application Recipes; Extending and Embedding XSLT; Testing and Debugging; Generic and Functional Programming; Index

If you've never seen an O'Reilly Cookbook, the concept is pretty simple. Each "recipe" consists of a problem description, a solution, and a discussion of how the solution addresses the issues, along with any observations that can shed light on the situation. These recipes are then grouped together by general problem types so that you can easily find an area that might offer up a quick answer to your particular problem. In this book, Mangano expands upon the 1st edition that covered XSLT 1. 0. The 2nd edition now covers the updated XSLT 2. 0 standard, and offers up both 1. 0 and 2. 0 solutions and discussions to many of the problems. As such, you will find value in the material regardless of your particular version usage. So for instance, let's say I have an XML file that needs to be reformatted into a second file to meet some formatting requirement. By checking into the XML to XML file, I'll find solutions on turning attributes into elements, elements to attributes, renaming elements and attributes, and so on. Tutorial books will teach you the syntax for doing stuff like this, but they can't anticipate real-world solutions. Cookbooks assume you already know what you're doing, and they go right to solutions.

Personally, I find a number of uses for books like this. There's the obvious, which is to find an exact (or nearly so) answer to your particular problem. But stepping away from the "immediate" need, there's always the opportunity to read through the recipes and see how others might code a solution. You can learn new coding techniques that way, as well as see features of the language that perhaps you never noticed before. Sort of like having a guru sitting next to you at work. . .

Assuming you're past the point of beginner, the XSLT Cookbook is probably the second XSLT book that you want to have on your bookshelf. If it helps you solve a couple of problems and save a handful of hours in the process, it'll more than pay for itself.