[xsl] Re: "if-condition-return something" idiom : is it possible in XSLT 1 ?

Subject: [xsl] Re: "if-condition-return something" idiom : is it possible in XSLT 1 ?
From: "Kerry, Richard richard.kerry@xxxxxxxx" <xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:19:47 -0000
And just to be clear, I am asking about XSLT1.
(I am doing DocBook transformations and am trying to parse dates as strings)

________________________________________

In C/C++ programming the following idiom is quite common:

if (condition1)
  return value1;

if (condition2)
  return value2;

if (condition3)
  return value3;

return value4;

In other words each of these will test a condition and if it is satisfied
execution will stop and some value will be returned to the caller.  The run
stops with the first condition that succeeds.

I've tried to do something similar in XSLT and am getting somewhat
contradictory indications of whether or not it is working.  Please can someone
advise whether this should work, or if there is a similar form that I can
use.

What I have is like the following template, to be called by name.

<xsl:template name="test.1">
  <xsl:param name="string" select="''"/>

   <xsl:if test="$check.1 = 0">
     <xsl:value-of select="$value.1" />
   </xsl:if>

   <xsl:if test="$check.2 = 0">
     <xsl:value-of select="$value.2" />
   </xsl:if>

   <xsl:if test="$check.3 = 0">
     <xsl:value-of select="$value.3" />
   </xsl:if>

  <xsl:value-of select="$value.4" />
</xsl:template>

My theory of why it might work is based on knowing that the following will
work:

<xsl:template name="test.2">
  <xsl:param name="string" select="''"/>

  <xsl:value-of select="$value.4" />
</xsl:template>

I say "will work" in the sense that if the above template is called (by name)
it will return the value from value.4.  What I'm not sure of is whether that
should work if the "returning" value-of is a level down, in an xsl:if, as in
the other template (test.1).
It is only a theory of why it might work.  Practice may indicate otherwise,
and somewhere in the spec might be a reason.

Can someone please advise whether I can do this, or how to get broadly
equivalent behaviour ?

Regards,
Richard.



Richard Kerry
BNCS Engineer, SI SOL Telco & Media Vertical Practice
T: +44 (0)20 3618 2669
M: +44 (0)7812 325518
G300, Stadium House, Wood Lane, London, W12 7TA
richard.kerry@xxxxxxxx


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