Editorial Review:Product Description:What is this book about? This compact, relevant, updated version reflects recent changes in the XSLT specification and developments in XSLT parsers. The material on tools and implementations has been revised; so too have all the examples. It also includes a new chapter on writing extension functions.
XML has firmly established itself as the universal standard for managing data for the web and is now being implemented on a wide scale.
XSL (eXtensible Stylesheet Language), a vital companion to XML, is used for two main purposes: to format or style XML data so that it can be displayed in a browser and to transform XML data (XSLT). When you transform an XML document, you manipulate the data into a new structure, for example, re-ordering the data. This enables the same data store to be used in an unlimited number of ways. XSLT is a flexible, customizable, and cross-platform language.
XSLT is a notoriously difficult language to understand, but this book, while being a complete reference to the recommendation, will also give code examples showing how it all ties together and can be effectively employed in a real-world development scenario.
What does this book cover? In this book, you'll find the following topics covered:
-
The rationale behind XSLT: What is it for?
-
The XSLT processing model
-
Design patterns and stylesheet structure
-
A full reference to the XPath and XSLT languages
-
The use of XSLT with worked examplesCurrently available XSLT processors - updated to reflect recent advances in XSLT parser technology
-
Coverage of proposed specification enhancements
Who is this book for? This book is for programmers already using XML to organize their data in applications and for those who want to use the power and compatibility of XSLT to improve the display of their data. The book is in three parts: a detailed introduction to the concepts of the language, a reference section giving comprehensive specifications and working examples of every feature, and an exploitation guide giving advice and case studies for the advanced user.
Amazon.com Review:As XML begins to take hold, the eXtensible Stylesheet Language: Transformation (XSLT) standard will be playing a major role in making all those XML predictions a reality. Author Michael Kay exudes enthusiasm in this guide,
XSLT Programmer's Reference, by taking every opportunity to illustrate the power and flexibility of XSLT.
Kay calls XSLT the 'SQL of the Web'--a phrase that is sure to perk up the ears of many readers expecting a simple documentation of just another Web-language standard. Like other Wrox Programmer's Reference series titles, this book starts off with chapters that rapidly introduce the concepts and set the context for the core of the book, which is a complete documentation of the XSLT standard. The book uses this space well to explore the transformation process and the tree structure that is used for both input and output of style sheet documents. By the time the reader gets to the reference section of the book, he or she will be convinced of the power of XSLT.
Each element of XSLT is covered with concise examples that include both the source XML code and style sheet code. XSLT style sheets can be used in a variety of ways and across a wide spectrum of complexity. The book helps the reader grasp this concept by presenting four style-sheet design patterns that comprise the vast majority of implementations. The text looks at each, demonstrating how to identify the design pattern by its content and apply it to appropriate circumstances.
XSLT is the true muscle behind XML and is integral to putting XML to work in the real world. This title is simply a must-have for any developer utilizing XML.
--Stephen W. Plain Topics covered: - XSLT transformation processing model
- Style sheet structure
- XSLT element reference
- Expressions patterns
- Functions
- Style-sheet design patterns
- Case studies
- Saxon
- Xalan
- xt
- Microsoft MSXML3
Related Items:
see more
Related Items:
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
-
Almost unusable
This book, as the other reviewers have said, is an awful beginning or reference text for XSLT.
I have to whip up an XSL transform only a few times a year, so I never remember exactly how the syntax works. This book is never any help. The introductory sections are not informative, and the reference sections are not well-organized and have no helpful examples.
He likes to spend a lot of time explaining in various places that "technically, this blah blah blah is a valid construct, but no one will ever use it." Who cares? The book is supposed to help others get their jobs done.
Still, I have been able to finish my assignments using this book, so I can't give it 1 star. 2 stars is generous, though, for how angry this book consistently makes me.
Rating: 
-
Wealth of information obscured by the editing, writing, and organization
This review is for "XSLT: Programmer's Reference 2nd Edition." The book covers XSLT 1.0 and XPath 1.0. Although these are "old" technologies, they are still heavily used in software in many industries. While there are newer books covering XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0, those technologies have not achieved widespread support, so you will want to rely on this book for the next few years.
Michael Kay is one of the leading authorities on XSLT, XML, and XPath, and it clearly shows in the content of this book. There is a lot of detail to his explanations, and the topics he covers are comprehensive, including little-discussed items that other books fail to cover. There is a wealth of information in this book. Mind you, this is a reference book, and it's not conducive to being read front-to-back. You do need some knowledge of the subject to be able to find what you need.
Unfortunately, the organization, editing, writing is not as good as the technical information itself. The writing style is similar to writing found in a technical paper, so it is somewhat hard reading. At times, the author repeats himself over several paragraphs as if he didn't know he already stated the information previously. The page headings don't have chapter designations, so when the author refers to a chapter (without a page number), you can't find the chapter without going back to the table of contents and finding the page number. The index is also a little disorganized as some keywords aren't always where one might think. Overall, it looked like there was so much information that the editors could not figure out how to organize it effectively.
Despite these serious flaws in organization, editing, and writing, the coverage of the subject matter is the most comprehensive I have found thus far. I've spent money to buy other books, including O'Reilly ones, and I still refer to this book, even though I know this book is not the best read. That is why I have to give it 4 stars rather than 3 stars; the information is too good to pass up.
Rating: 
-
Indispensable for XSLT Developers
I just finished up about 3 years on a job where one of my primary functions was editing, troubleshooting, teaching, and writing XSLT. I started that job as an experienced programmer with little XSLT experience, and I found this book relatively easy to navigate. I referred to this book constantly. It was indispensable as a reference for XPath and XSLT functions. Whenever I thought "How do I build the code to grab this XML?" or "What's the name of that function?" I would crack open this book and put together the pieces.
Note that there is a new XSLT reference out by Michael Kay-- that may be preferable if you are interested in XSLT 2.0.
Rating: 
-
Look Elsewhere for XSLT Book
This is the worst technical book I've ever used. There is no organization to it, and there is redundant information, especially in the elements listing section. There are areas that are extremely verbose and make little sense while other areas could use simple, less wordy explanation follwed by an example. This book makes a good paper weight, that's about it.
Rating: -
Very tough and unordered reading
It is a pity but I have to write I am not satisfied with the book. It is kind of a book which does not concetrate on the main purpose of a reading - "to learn something". Of course I understand - it is programmer's reference but even so there is a lot of introductory parts which could be done much better.
There are parts that are very very talkative and give nowadays "vain" information and on the other hand there are parts which should be absolutely more narrative. The book reminds me a kind of "scientific" or "academic" book. From this point of view it is quite good. It is for people who have time to read it in their labs. It is the book for a long time. You absolutely learn a lot of useful topics but you have to find your own way of reading.