RE: [xsl] a nicer total sibling count than this

["Michael Kay" <michael.h.kay@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> To my surprise and delight, the following worked, producing 
> heavy def numbers with a following non-break space:
> 
>  <xsl:template match="def">
>   <xsl:if test="(count(preceding-sibling::def) +   
>                  count(following-sibling::def)) >= 1">
>    <xsl:element name="strong">
>     <xsl:number/>
>     <xsl:text>&#160;</xsl:text>
>    </xsl:element>
>   </xsl:if>
>   <xsl:apply-templates/>
>  </xsl:template>
> 
> Is there a prettier/more efficient way of doing the same 
> thing without resorting to frankly ugly 
> '(count(preceding-sibling::def)+count(following-sibling::def))'?
> 

You've had a number of solutions to this, but there is another. Assuming
this template rule is processed by <xsl:apply-templates select="def"/>
or equivalent, you can write

<xsl:template match="def">
  <xsl:if test="last()!=1">
    <strong><xsl:value-of select="concat(position(),
&#x160;)"/></strong>
  </xsl:if>
  <xsl:apply-templates/>
</xsl:template>

Using position() and last() will often be more efficient than using
count() and xsl:number, because they work on the current node list,
which you are using anyway to output the nodes.

Michael Kay
Software AG
home: Michael.H.Kay@xxxxxxxxxxxx
work: Michael.Kay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 


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