Re: [xsl] a simple question about node tests

[Wendell Piez <wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Robert,

At 01:20 PM 5/22/2003, you wrote:
>   a while back, i read somewhere (can't remember where, darn it)
> an explanation of node tests that cleared up a minor confusion
> i've had for a while.  to recap first...

Probably here ... I think we rehearsed this issue a couple of months back.

>   so what exactly does "*" mean?  a while back, i read
> that "*" doesn't mean "element" so much as it does "the
> primary node type along that axis", which for the child
> axis is an element node, for the attribute axis is the
> attribute node, etc.
>
>   once i read this, it made perfect sense.  did i read
> that correctly?  is that how one should interpret the
> "*" node test?

Yes, and yes.

The authoritative reference for all such questions of definition (that is, 
respecting XPath Location Path syntax) is the XPath 1.0 Recommendation. 
Find it at http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath. (This issue is covered in section 
2.3, "Node Tests".)

In fact, I'd go so far as to say any XSLTer who wants to master the 
language will eventually find themselves looking at this document and the 
related XSLT spec, at http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt. (They're really not as 
scary as they're sometimes made out to be.)

Other resources such as Mike's book _XSLT: A Programmer's Reference_ are 
also reliable and complete. But there's nothing like the horse's mouth when 
you really want to know the real deal.

Cheers,
Wendell


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Wendell Piez                            mailto:wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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