[xsl] Sorting list of XML data into multiple columns

["Tim Watts" <timw@xxxxxxx>]

Hi,

I have come across a problem which I am sure will have been solved before.

In the XML I have a list of countries which I would like displayed in
columns in html in the form wirth check boxes...

<table>
  <tr>
    <td>country A</td>
    <td>country B</td>
    <td>country C</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>country D</td>
    <td>country E</td>
    <td>country F</td>
  </tr>
....
</table>

or (but more difficultly) in the form

<table>
  <tr>
    <td>country A</td>
    <td>country D</td>
    <td>country G</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>country B</td>
    <td>country E</td>
    <td>country H</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>country C</td>
    <td>country F</td>
    <td>country I</td>
  </tr>
</table>

(with the list running down the page)

The data is already sorted in the XML to save complexity there,

How can I go about this? Tests of position are not going to work with the
countires to detemine when the <tr> closes and the next one begins, because
the templates need to complete the <tr>

I've tried something like this...
<xsl:template name="paymentsystemcurrency">
	<xsl:for-each select="document('../currency.xml')/select/option">
		<xsl:choose>
			<xsl:when test="position() mod 3 = 1">
		<![CDATA[ <tr> ]]>
			<td colspan="2">
				<xsl:choose>
					<xsl:when test="option[@iso]/selected=yes">
						<input type="checkbox" name="payment/currency[@iso]/selected"
value="yes" checked="checked" />
					</xsl:when>
					<xsl:otherwise>
						<input type="checkbox" name="payment/currency[@iso]/selected"
value="yes" />
					</xsl:otherwise>
				</xsl:choose>
				<xsl:value-of select="@iso"/>
			</td>
			</xsl:when>
			<xsl:when test="position() mod 3 = 2">
			<td colspan="2">
				<xsl:choose>
					<xsl:when test="option[@iso]/selected=yes">
						<input type="checkbox" name="payment/currency[@iso]/selected"
value="yes" checked="checked" />
					</xsl:when>
					<xsl:otherwise>
						<input type="checkbox" name="payment/currency[@iso]/selected"
value="yes" />
					</xsl:otherwise>
				</xsl:choose>
				<xsl:value-of select="@iso"/>
			</td>
		</xsl:when>
		<xsl:otherwise>
			<td colspan="2">
				<xsl:choose>
					<xsl:when test="option[@iso]/selected=yes">
						<input type="checkbox" name="payment/currency[@iso]/selected"
value="yes" checked="checked" />
					</xsl:when>
					<xsl:otherwise>
						<input type="checkbox" name="payment/currency[@iso]/selected"
value="yes" />
					</xsl:otherwise>
				</xsl:choose>
				<xsl:value-of select="@iso"/>
			</td>
		<![CDATA[ </tr> ]]>
		</xsl:otherwise>
	</xsl:choose>
	</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:template>

But this method is full of problems and I shouldn't need to use CDATA stuff,
and this doesn't account for a number of countires/currencies which isn't
divisable by three.


Thanks for all help and advice

Tim


 XSL-List info and archive:  http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list