Mark Wilson I am the creator of TopXML. I am available for international and local (Australia) contracts. I am a Solution Architect/Business Analyst. I have worked in IT in several countries (NZ, Australia, South Africa, UK) building and training teams for government and very large non-governmental organizations. I am ex-Microsoft Consulting Services. I wrote the first book on Microsoft XML published in 2000 called XML Programming with VB and ASP. Most recently I have been building tools for the SEO industry. Ask me for a 37 point SEO health-checkup for your website.
Example: Creating an HTML document with 'previous' and 'next' links
Creating HTML links in a document that is generated from XML: a recurring task. At best, we would like to
have a maintainable way to create links in the result document. Especially internal links (where both
the link and the links target are generated from the same source) can be tedious to maintain manually.
If you set things up as swonw in this sample, both the links and the anchors (the <a name=""> tag)
are created using the same code. This guarantees that internal links are always correct.
The last 5 templates in this stylesheet could be used as an import stylesheet in other transformations.
The logic has been split up in multiple templates: by doing this, we can import the templates and
override one of them to create a slightly different linking behavior (i.e. change only the way to
generate a unique identifier to another algorithm).
In this source document, the id attributes are all unique strings, which makes them suitable for use
as anchor. The only problem is that they contain spaces and possibly also pound signs (#). These
characters are not allowed in the anchor name, so we use the translate function to change all
spaces and #'s to underscores (_). Because this template is used for both creating the links and
creating the anchors, we can't go wrong!
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<book id="book oos" title="The origin of species">
<part id="oos part 1" title="Opening chapters">
<chapter id="oos ch 1" title="An historical sketch">
<par id="par 1">
text text text
</par>
<par id="par 2">
text text text text text
</par>
<par id="par 3">
text text text text text text text text text
</par>
</chapter>
<chapter id="oos ch 2" title="Introduction">
<par id="par 4">
text text text text text
</par>
<par id="par 4">
<b>text text</b> text text text
</par>
<par id="par 5">
text text text text text
</par>
<par id="par 6">
text text text text text
</par>
</chapter>
</part>
<part id="oos part 2" title="Later chapters">
<chapter id="oos ch 3" title="Variation under domestication">
<par id="par 7">
text text text text text
</par>
<par id="par 8">
text text text text text
</par>
</chapter>
<chapter id="oos ch 4" title="Variation under nature">
<par id="par 9">
text text text text text
</par>
</chapter>
<chapter id="oos ch 5" title="Struggle for existence">
<par id="par 10">
text text text text text
</par>
<par id="par 11">
text text text text text
</par>
<par id="par 12">
text text text text text
</par>
</chapter>
<chapter id="oos ch 6" title="Natural selection">
<par id="par 13">
text text text text text
</par>
</chapter>
<chapter id="oos ch 7" title="Laws of variation">
<par id="par 14">
text text text text text
</par>
</chapter>
</part>
</book>
XSLT code:
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
<xsl:output method="xml"/>
<xsl:template match="/book">
<html><body>
<xsl:call-template name="anchor-tag-for"/>
<h1><xsl:value-of select="@title"/></h1>
<xsl:apply-templates select="part"/>
</body></html>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="part">
<xsl:call-template name="anchor-tag-for"/>
<h2><xsl:value-of select="@title"/></h2>
<xsl:apply-templates select="chapter"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="chapter">
<xsl:for-each select="preceding-sibling::chapter[1]">
Prev: <xsl:call-template name="link-to"/><br/>
</xsl:for-each>
<xsl:for-each select="following-sibling::chapter[1]">
Next: <xsl:call-template name="link-to"/><br/>
</xsl:for-each>
<xsl:call-template name="anchor-tag-for"/>
<h3><xsl:value-of select="@title"/></h3>
<xsl:apply-templates select="par"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="par">
<p>
<xsl:call-template name="anchor-tag-for"/>
<xsl:copy-of select="node()"/>
</p>
</xsl:template>
<!-- It is important to have a way to reference to a specific location in the
source document with a string value. This can be used to create links to
a specific location in the content and much more. In this case, every
node we want to use as a link has a unique attribute called id. -->
<xsl:template name="node-identifier">
<xsl:param name="id-node" select="self::*"/>
<xsl:value-of select="translate($id-node/@id, ' #', '__')"/>
</xsl:template>
<!-- Create an HTML link to any section in the document. A link should always
be the same, both from the index or from another chapter. We locate the
logic of link-creation in this template. It relies on other templates for
determining the file location and the need for an anchor string (trailing #blabla) -->
<xsl:template name="link-to">
<xsl:param name="linktext" select="@title"/>
<a>
<xsl:attribute name="href">
<!-- first the filename -->
<xsl:call-template name="file-of"/>
<xsl:text>#</xsl:text>
<xsl:call-template name="anchor-of"/>
</xsl:attribute>
<xsl:value-of select="$linktext"/>
</a>
</xsl:template>
<!-- For creating links, one must know the filename. Calculating the filename
is isolated in this template. In later versions, when we distribute the
content over many files, we will overrule this template with much more
interesting versions. -->
<xsl:template name="file-of">
<xsl:text>doc.htm</xsl:text>
</xsl:template>
<!-- Here we decide if we need a trailing hash-string to identify the exact
spot in a page where to find a certain piece of information. For now we have
only one file, so we'll always need this extra info. -->
<xsl:template name="anchor-of">
<xsl:call-template name="node-identifier"/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template name="anchor-tag-for">
<xsl:param name="anchor-node" select="self::*"/>
<xsl:for-each select="$anchor-node">
<a>
<xsl:attribute name="name">
<xsl:call-template name="anchor-of"/>
</xsl:attribute>
</a>
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><html><body><a name="book_oos"/><h1>The origin of species</h1><a name="oos_part_1"/><h2>Opening chapters</h2>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_2">Introduction</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_1"/><h3>An historical sketch</h3><p><a name="par_1"/>
text text text
</p><p><a name="par_2"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_3"/>
text text text text text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_1">An historical sketch</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_2"/><h3>Introduction</h3><p><a name="par_4"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_4"/>
<b>text text</b> text text text
</p><p><a name="par_5"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_6"/>
text text text text text
</p><a name="oos_part_2"/><h2>Later chapters</h2>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_4">Variation under nature</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_3"/><h3>Variation under domestication</h3><p><a name="par_7"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_8"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_3">Variation under domestication</a><br/>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_5">Struggle for existence</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_4"/><h3>Variation under nature</h3><p><a name="par_9"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_4">Variation under nature</a><br/>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_6">Natural selection</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_5"/><h3>Struggle for existence</h3><p><a name="par_10"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_11"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_12"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_5">Struggle for existence</a><br/>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_7">Laws of variation</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_6"/><h3>Natural selection</h3><p><a name="par_13"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_6">Natural selection</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_7"/><h3>Laws of variation</h3><p><a name="par_14"/>
text text text text text
</p></body></html><?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<html><body><a name="book_oos"/><h1>The origin of species</h1><a name="oos_part_1"/><h2>Opening chapters</h2>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_2">Introduction</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_1"/><h3>An historical sketch</h3><p><a name="par_1"/>
text text text
</p><p><a name="par_2"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_3"/>
text text text text text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_1">An historical sketch</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_2"/><h3>Introduction</h3><p><a name="par_4"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_4"/>
<b>text text</b> text text text
</p><p><a name="par_5"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_6"/>
text text text text text
</p><a name="oos_part_2"/><h2>Later chapters</h2>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_4">Variation under nature</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_3"/><h3>Variation under domestication</h3><p><a name="par_7"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_8"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_3">Variation under domestication</a><br/>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_5">Struggle for existence</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_4"/><h3>Variation under nature</h3><p><a name="par_9"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_4">Variation under nature</a><br/>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_6">Natural selection</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_5"/><h3>Struggle for existence</h3><p><a name="par_10"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_11"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_12"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_5">Struggle for existence</a><br/>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_7">Laws of variation</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_6"/><h3>Natural selection</h3><p><a name="par_13"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_6">Natural selection</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_7"/><h3>Laws of variation</h3><p><a name="par_14"/>
text text text text text
</p></body></html><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<html><body><a name="book_oos"/><h1>The origin of species</h1><a name="oos_part_1"/><h2>Opening chapters</h2>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_2">Introduction</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_1"/><h3>An historical sketch</h3><p><a name="par_1"/>
text text text
</p><p><a name="par_2"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_3"/>
text text text text text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_1">An historical sketch</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_2"/><h3>Introduction</h3><p><a name="par_4"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_4"/>
<b>text text</b> text text text
</p><p><a name="par_5"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_6"/>
text text text text text
</p><a name="oos_part_2"/><h2>Later chapters</h2>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_4">Variation under nature</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_3"/><h3>Variation under domestication</h3><p><a name="par_7"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_8"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_3">Variation under domestication</a><br/>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_5">Struggle for existence</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_4"/><h3>Variation under nature</h3><p><a name="par_9"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_4">Variation under nature</a><br/>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_6">Natural selection</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_5"/><h3>Struggle for existence</h3><p><a name="par_10"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_11"/>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_12"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_5">Struggle for existence</a><br/>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_7">Laws of variation</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_6"/><h3>Natural selection</h3><p><a name="par_13"/>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_6">Natural selection</a><br/><a name="oos_ch_7"/><h3>Laws of variation</h3><p><a name="par_14"/>
text text text text text
</p></body></html><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?><html><body><a name="book_oos" /><h1>The origin of species</h1><a name="oos_part_1" /><h2>Opening chapters</h2>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_2">Introduction</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_1" /><h3>An historical sketch</h3><p><a name="par_1" />
text text text
</p><p><a name="par_2" />
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_3" />
text text text text text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_1">An historical sketch</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_2" /><h3>Introduction</h3><p><a name="par_4" />
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_4" />
<b>text text</b> text text text
</p><p><a name="par_5" />
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_6" />
text text text text text
</p><a name="oos_part_2" /><h2>Later chapters</h2>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_4">Variation under nature</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_3" /><h3>Variation under domestication</h3><p><a name="par_7" />
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_8" />
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_3">Variation under domestication</a><br />
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_5">Struggle for existence</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_4" /><h3>Variation under nature</h3><p><a name="par_9" />
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_4">Variation under nature</a><br />
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_6">Natural selection</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_5" /><h3>Struggle for existence</h3><p><a name="par_10" />
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_11" />
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_12" />
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_5">Struggle for existence</a><br />
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_7">Laws of variation</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_6" /><h3>Natural selection</h3><p><a name="par_13" />
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_6">Natural selection</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_7" /><h3>Laws of variation</h3><p><a name="par_14" />
text text text text text
</p></body></html><?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><html><body><a name="book_oos"></a><h1>The origin of species</h1><a name="oos_part_1"></a><h2>Opening chapters</h2>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_2">Introduction</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_1"></a><h3>An historical sketch</h3><p><a name="par_1"></a>
text text text
</p><p><a name="par_2"></a>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_3"></a>
text text text text text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_1">An historical sketch</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_2"></a><h3>Introduction</h3><p><a name="par_4"></a>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_4"></a><b>text text</b> text text text
</p><p><a name="par_5"></a>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_6"></a>
text text text text text
</p><a name="oos_part_2"></a><h2>Later chapters</h2>
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_4">Variation under nature</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_3"></a><h3>Variation under domestication</h3><p><a name="par_7"></a>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_8"></a>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_3">Variation under domestication</a><br />
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_5">Struggle for existence</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_4"></a><h3>Variation under nature</h3><p><a name="par_9"></a>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_4">Variation under nature</a><br />
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_6">Natural selection</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_5"></a><h3>Struggle for existence</h3><p><a name="par_10"></a>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_11"></a>
text text text text text
</p><p><a name="par_12"></a>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_5">Struggle for existence</a><br />
Next: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_7">Laws of variation</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_6"></a><h3>Natural selection</h3><p><a name="par_13"></a>
text text text text text
</p>
Prev: <a href="doc.htm#oos_ch_6">Natural selection</a><br /><a name="oos_ch_7"></a><h3>Laws of variation</h3><p><a name="par_14"></a>
text text text text text
</p></body></html>
Note: You can now download the full content of the XPath reference, the XSLT reference and the
DOM reference in one PDF document. This document contains the implementation tables, internal
links to navigate through the references, a full linked table of contents. You can use free text
search through the whole reference or print as a nicely formatted document.
Download here...
