[xsl] Tramsform XML through mapping schemas using XSL

["Alistair Power" <Alistair.Power@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

Just trying to work out whether I can transform xml by mapping schemas 
against each other using XSL, and thought I'd pick your brains for 
ideas/suggestions/be told that it's impossible and I'm a fool for even 
trying it :P

My problem is that I have a simple valid xml (generated from a 
relational database which I don't have access to!), along with a 
corresponding schema A which it adheres to, and I want to transform it 
into a different slightly more nested xml document, which validates 
against schema B. Both schemas are different enough so that certain 
element values in the source schema A might become attribute values in 
schema B, and vica-versa. 

I know the exact mappings between the data in the source and target 
schema. What I ideally want to achieve is to store the mappings in a 
configuration xml file, and write a series of (generic?) XSL templates 
that get called based on iteration through the mapping file plus source 
xml file, and after a bit of magic output my target xml file, conformant 
to schema B.

Now I could just write a straight transformation that took the source 
and transformed it, but I will be using different schemas in the future 
with different data and mappings, so wanted to try and approach this in 
a more generic fashion, with possible deference to the two schemas.

So my questions are:
1. Do you think this is feasible through the use of just XSL?
2. Is it feasible to match nodes against data from a config file, and 
pass the resultant chosen node into a config defined transformation (say 
calling a specific template)?

Apologies if the scenario description is a bit vague, but this is 
currently an idea in my head, and I am not sure whether this is 
something that would be better solved programatically with the support 
of XSL or through XSL alone. 

Thoughts/comments/ideas much appreciated...
Thanks,
Alistair

Alistair Power
alistair.power@xxxxxxxxx



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