RE: [xsl] XPath Expression in XSL Template Will Not Return Documen t Element with Attributesþ

[Joshua Glenn <joshglenn1@xxxxxxx>]

Michael and Wendell,

Thank you both for your replies. Your answer gave me the understanding I
needed to solve this. I added a prefixed namespace declaration to my
stylesheet and prefixed all my xpath expressions with that like Wendell said,
now my stylesheet is working.

Thanks again.

Josh

----------------------------------------
> Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 18:31:19 -0500
> To: xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> From: wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [xsl] XPath Expression in XSL Template Will Not Return Documen
t Element with Attributes~
>
> Joshua,
>
> Welcome to XSL-List.
>
> At 05:03 PM 2/9/2009, you wrote:
>>Listmembers, I have a problem creating an appropriate XPath
>>expression in a XSL file, and have been unable to find a solution.
>>Here the Scenario: I have an xml file output from asp.net
>>xmlserializer class. It outputs the Document Element "Catalog" with
>>three attributes pertaining to XML namespaces.
>>
>>the catalog tag looks like this (markup removed):
>>
>>Catalog
>>xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance";
>>xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema";
>
> First off, a point of terminology. In namespace-aware XML, attributes
> that start "xmlns" aren't attributes in the normal sense, and don't
> appear as such in the data model. They are namespace declarations,
> which affect the way elements are named (specifically, by allowing us
> to differentiate families of elements and attributes with prefixes on
> their names).
>
> Second, while you say you have three attributes, you've only pasted
> in two. The third might be the source of the problem.
>
> In particular, if you have a (pseudo-)attribute named "xmlns", this
> is a namespace declaration for the "null" or unprefixed namespace --
> which has the effect of placing unprefixed elements, such as
> "Catalog", into this namespace.
>
> The tricky thing is that when this is the case, XSLT has no way of
> addressing the element, since you ordinarily do not want to bind
> unprefixed names in XSLT to a namespace. (If you do, it's going to
> affect elements in your *result* XML, without helping to address the
> elements in your *source* XML, since XSLT addresses the source data
> via XPath, which is to say, only as attribute values in the XSLT-as-XML.)
>
> The solution is therefore to declare a namespace with a prefix in
> your stylesheet, and use that to address the elements.
>
> So if your source data has:
>
> Catalog xmlns="http://my.namespace.com";
>
> your stylesheet would have a declaration
> xmlns:n="http://my.namespace.com"; (probably at the very top, on the
> xsl:stylesheet element; use any prefix you like, 'n' is my choice),
> and thence you would say
>
> ... xsl:apply-templates select="n:Catalog" ...
>
> and your stylesheet would then work with your (namespaced) input.
>
> I hope that helps.
>
> Cheers,
> Wendell
>
>>I have created an XSL file to restructure the information for use in
>>a ASP.NET GridView Control.
>>
>> xsl:template match="/"
>> xsl:apply-templates select="Catalog"
>> xsl:template>
>>
>>It works, but only if I remove the attributes from the Element. I
>>need to know how to format the xsl:template match="Catalog" xpath
>>expression in the XSL file to match that tag, even if it has attributes.
>
>
> ======================================================================
> Wendell Piez mailto:wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Mulberry Technologies, Inc. http://www.mulberrytech.com
> 17 West Jefferson Street Direct Phone: 301/315-9635
> Suite 207 Phone: 301/315-9631
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