Category: XML

1. What does <xsl:value-of> really do? <xsl:value-of> is the most frequently used instruction in XSLT. Its only job is: Take the result of an XPath expression Convert it to a string Output that string...

1. What does <xsl:for-each> really do? <xsl:for-each> is the classic loop in XSLT 1.0. It lets you: Take a set of nodes (selected by an XPath expression) and repeat the same block of output...

1. What does <xsl:sort> really do? <xsl:sort> is the only built-in way in XSLT to sort a list of nodes before processing them. It can only be used inside these two elements: <xsl:for-each> <xsl:apply-templates>...

1. What does <xsl:if> really do? (the clearest explanation) <xsl:if> is the simplest conditional statement in XSLT. It lets you say: “If this condition is true, then output this content. If not — output...

1. What is <xsl:choose> and why do we need it? <xsl:choose> is the closest thing XSLT has to a full if/else-if/else statement. Unlike <xsl:if>, which only has a “then” branch (no else), <xsl:choose> allows...

1. What does <xsl:apply-templates> really do? <xsl:apply-templates> is the most important instruction in XSLT after <xsl:template> itself. It tells the processor: “Now take these nodes (selected by the select attribute) and process each one...

1. What does “XSLT on the client” mean? Client-side XSLT = the browser itself reads an XML file + an XSLT stylesheet and performs the transformation in the browser, without any server-side code (PHP,...

1. Why XSLT is still used on the server in 2025–2026 (honest answer) Even though many new projects use JSON + JavaScript templates, XSLT remains very important on servers in specific domains: Domain /...

1. The honest reality in 2025–2026: “Editing XML” with XSLT When people say “edit XML with XSLT”, they almost never mean: Open file → change one line → save They mean: Take an existing...

XSLT Examples tutorial, written as if I’m your personal teacher sitting next to you with a whiteboard, explaining everything slowly and patiently. We will go step-by-step through progressively more realistic and useful examples —...