[xsl] apply-templates and predicates

["tom tom" <tomxsllist@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

when applying templates it is possible to filter out unwanted nodes in a 
number of ways, one is by putting a predicate on the apply-templates command 
and use modes if you have more than one filter. Another is to 
apply-templates to all nodes and put a predicate on the template match - 
this avoids the use of modes.

I can see 3 advantages for doing the former:

It improves efficiency i.e. the processor will only begin searching for 
relevant elements rather than searching for matches which are then filtered 
out immediately.

improves the readability of the stylesheet. The author will know 
definitively which template is being invoked without having to look through 
imported and included stylesheets.

In a situation of no suitable match being found the inbuilt <xsl:template 
match="*"> template will be invoked if it hasnt been overridden which could 
lead to either unexpected or unnecessary searching.

Can anyone provide any more or provide advantages of doing the latter?

Thanks

Tom

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