RE: [xsl] XSL queries

["Michael Kay" <michael.h.kay@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>    We're planning on receiving XML data and transforming it
> to delimited
>    format and have seen how we can do this using XSL and
> XSLT.  We'd like
>    to ease the creation of XSL files by using an off the
> shelf GUI.  Any
>    ideas of what we should be looking at bearing in mind we'd like to
>    create delimited files as the output.

There are a few tools around now that act as visual development environments
for XSLT. They vary in capabilities and approach. Take a look at
www.xmlsoftware.com.

>    When receiving XML data in we need to find a way of validating it.
>    Initially we're looking at just validating data types (character,
>    integer, decimal, etc. is this possible using XSL?  If it
> is, how would
>    we be able to assign error codes to validations that fail?

You can do validation using XSLT: just regard it as a transformation from a
source document to an error document. For a sophisticated approach, look at
schematron.

>    We're also planning on taking delimited output and
> creating XML, does
>    XSL and XSLT cater for this?
>
If the input isn't XML, then the first step is to turn it into XML. A simple
Perl script may be the best approach. Once it's in XML, use XSLT to get it
into the structure you want to use.

Mike Kay


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