Re: [xsl] xsl:element and namespace output

[David N Bertoni/Cambridge/IBM <david_n_bertoni@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> I am relatively new at this but I have been reading the list and I've
> tried to do my own leg work.  But I need some help now.  I want to
> transform xml to another xml moving data to diff. tag names and
> adding a namespace declaration to the root.  I've read, searched and
> done a lot of trial and error and here's where I am:
>
> <xsl:element name="RRRRR" namespace="http://www.aaa.com/bbb/ccc";>
>   <xsl:element name="TTT111">
>     <xsl:value-of select="concat(some source xml tags)"/>
>   </xsl:element>
>
>   <xsl:element name="TTT222">
>     <xsl:value-of select="concat(some source xml tags)"/>
>   </xsl:element>
>
>   <xsl:element name="TTT333">
>     <xsl:attribute name="AAA333">12345678</xsl:attribute>
>
>     <xsl:element name="TTT444">
>       <xsl:element name="TTT555">somedata</xsl:element>
>       <xsl:element name="TTT666">
>         <xsl:value-of select="a source xml tag"/>
>       </xsl:element>
>
> I want a simple default namespace declaration on the root in the
> output xml.  The xsl:element for RRRR does that.  But on all children
> at the first level below RRRR it's generating xmlns="".  So TTT222,
> TTT333 get this xmlns="" in the output.  I don't understand why
> except it's clearing the namespace so they don't belong to the RRRR
> namesspace.  But the entire output xml should belong to the same
> namespace.  Seems like it's doing the opposite of what I intended and
> thought it would do.
>
> Could someone explain and enlighten me?

If you want all of the elements in that namespace, you must create them
that way:

   <xsl:element name="TTT222" namespace="http://www.aaa.com/bbb/ccc";>
     <xsl:value-of select="concat(some source xml tags)"/>
   </xsl:element>

etc.

You're thinking the processor is generating serialized XML, so one default
namespace definition is all you need, but that's not the case.  The
processor is creating a tree of nodes, the result tree, and serializing
that.  If it detects there's a default namespace in scope, and it
serializes an element node whose tag name has no prefix, and the element
node has a null namespace URI, it must "turn off" the default namespace.

You might want to experiment with some variations of xsl:element to
understand how this all works.  Try creating some element in various
namespace and use both prefixed and unprefixed names and see what happens.

Dave


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