Re: [xsl] Choosing different sorts

[Wendell Piez <wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Andrew,

At 04:07 PM 2/11/2003, you wrote:
> So how can I sort by a variable that hasn't been created or by a value that
> needs to be calculated when the variable can't be global when the sort line
> comes first?

You can't. A proper solution would require two passes: the first to 
generate the values on which you want to sort; the second to do the sorting.

Now, if you happen to be able to express the logic that generates the sort 
value in a *single* XPath expression, you could load it into the sort in 
its entirety. Fortunately for you, this may just be possible:

The number() function turns a Boolean true() into the value "1", false() 
into "0". So you could do

<xsl:sort select="(number(substring(@url, (string-length(@url) -
string-length('index.html'))+1='index.html')+1)*@weight"/>

(Translated into English: the equality test returns a Boolean which becomes 
1 if true, 0 if false. 1 is added to this value, and the sum, 2 or 1, is 
multiplied by the @weight attribute of the context node.)

See if that works --! but if it does and you use it, do the downstream 
maintainer a favor, and include a comment to explain it. ;->

Cheers,
Wendell


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Wendell Piez                            mailto:wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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