Advanced XSLT: Conditions, Sorting, and Modular Design

Unit 4•CLO04, CLO05

Learning Objectives

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO04

CLO05

Course Outcomes

CO04

CO05

ℹ️

Introduction

Advanced transformations require branching logic, computed values, and structured templates. This topic introduces conditional constructs, sorting, and maintainable stylesheet organization.

The Basics

Conditional logic

xsl:if: single condition
xsl:choose: if/else-if/else

Technical Details

choose example

<xsl:choose>
  <xsl:when test="price &gt; 500">Expensive</xsl:when>
  <xsl:otherwise>Affordable</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>

Sorting

<xsl:for-each select="library/book">
  <xsl:sort select="number(price)" data-type="number" order="descending"/>
  <xsl:value-of select="title"/>
</xsl:for-each>

Examples

Example: classify a node

<xsl:template match="book">
  <tr>
    <td><xsl:value-of select="title"/></td>
    <td>
      <xsl:choose>
        <xsl:when test="number(price) &gt; 500">High</xsl:when>
        <xsl:otherwise>Low</xsl:otherwise>
      </xsl:choose>
    </td>
  </tr>
</xsl:template>

Real-World Use

Practical

Add conditional output (labels or styling).
Add computed values (totals/averages).

📝 For exams

Exam

Differentiate xsl:if and xsl:choose.
Explain xsl:sort usage.

✨ Key points

Takeaways

Use choose for robust branching.
Sort with xsl:sort; convert to numbers when needed.

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XSLT Basics: Templates, Match/Select, and HTML Output

XPath: Node Selection, Axes, Predicates, and Functions

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