Re: [xsl] combining two variables to generate XPATH

[Jeff Kenton <jkenton@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jeff Kenton wrote:
> bix xslt wrote:
> > What is different about a path with a single variable, and a path with 
> > two variables?  Why can't I specify a second variable:
> >
> > <xsl:template name="foo">
> >  <xsl:param name="node"/>
> >  <xsl:param name="branch" select="'someBranch'"/>
> >  <xsl:for-each select="$node/$branch/leaf">
> >    <xsl:value-of select="@id" />
> >  </xsl:for-each>
> > </xsl:template>
>
> This is not legal. The only place a variable reference can appear in a 
> Path Expression is at the beginning.  $node is OK here, but $branch is not.

Minor follow-up, for XPath language lawyers who care:

In XPath 2.0, $node/$branch/leaf is legal, though deserving of at least a 
warning (again, assuming $node and $branch represent nodesets).  What it does 
is effectively ignore $node and return the leaf children of $branch.

Thanks to Michael Kay for pointing this out in a previous message.

--
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Jeff Kenton
DataPower Technology, Inc.



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