RE: [xsl] Output input_xml apart from one tag change?

[Wendell Piez <wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Scott,

At 11:50 AM 10/2/2007, you wrote:
> Say you _don't_ know you want to copy them. I use it as a standard
> identity template, because it allows me to do something like the
> following afterward:
>
> <xsl:template match="select[some condition]/@multiple"/>

Indeed: I thought I made that clear. My analysis wasn't intended to 
recommend one method over the other in the general case, just to 
clarify the tradeoffs, including the subtler ones that don't always 
make a difference.

For whatever reason, we human beings are quick to make value 
judgements where they're not necessary or useful. Something is not 
necessarily bad because it's different, but since we're naturally 
skittish about the unknown and about the risks that come with it, we 
often can't help but feel that way when trying to deal with something 
new. It's helpful when doing analysis to sort out all the options not 
because we learn which approaches are good or bad, but why a given 
approach may be good or bad in a given situation. Generalizing the 
"good/bad" thing is just substituting allergies for judgements.

FWIW, the match="node()|@*" variant (your favorite) is the one that 
appears in the XSLT spec. But experience shows it is rather 
mysterious for people whose XPath is weak, and for those who don't 
get the XSLT processing model. These are often the same people, which 
is doubly frustrating for them. Separating apart these two aspects of 
the problem often gives them a much easier way into seeing why the 
solution works (and seeing much else along with it). Until then it's 
just a magic spell at best.

One might also recommend

<xsl:template match="child::node() | attribute::node()">
  <xsl:copy>
    <xsl:apply-templates select="child::node() | attribute::node()"/>
  </xsl:copy>
</xsl:template>

... which would have the opposite set of virtues (and vices).

Cheers,
Wendell


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Wendell Piez                            mailto:wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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