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XPath 2.0 Programmers Reference

We're pleased to provide chapter one entitled XPath 2.0 in Context of the XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference, the only authoritative reference on XPath, a sub-language within XSLT that determines which part of an XML document the XSLT transforms. Written for professional programmers who use XML every day but find the W3C XPath specifications tough to slog through, the book explains in everyday language what every construct in the language does and how to use it. It also offers background material on the design thinking behind the language, gentle criticism of the language specification when appropriate, and a diverse range of interesting examples in various application areas.

XPath 2.0 Programmers Reference covers the following topics:

• Top-level XPath constructs and the lexical rules for using whitespace and comments
• Basic XPath operators for writing arithmetic and Boolean expressions
• Three operators for combining the results of path expressions: union, intersect, and except
• How XPath 2.0 supports sequences
• Where to access a complete listing of all functions in the core function library
• How to define the syntax of XPath regular expressions as used in the new functions matches(), replace(), and tokenize(), and much more

From its origins as a sublanguage of XSLT, XPath has come into its own as a key element of XML. XPath 2.0 has emerged as a robust language twice the size of its predecessor, complex and capable of standing on its own. This substantive volume, by the editor of the W3C® XSLT 2.0 specification, is the authoritative reference on XPath 2.0. It begins by thoroughly explaining the foundations, including XML schema and the evaluation context. Building on this knowledge, it then moves through literals and function calls, basic operators, path expressions, types, and the regular expressions of three new functions that greatly boost the power of XPath 2.0.

Table of contents

• An Introduction to XPath 2.0
• Chapter 1: XPath 2.0 in Context.
• Chapter 2: The XPath Data Model.
• Chapter 3: The XPath Type System.
• Chapter 4: XPath Evaluation Context.
• Chapter 5: Basic XPath Constructs.
• Chapter 6: XPath Operators on Items.
• Chapter 7: XPath Expressions.
• Chapter 8: XPath Sequence Expressions.
• Chapter 9: XPath Type Expressions.
• Chapter 10: XPath Functions.
• Chapter 11: Regular Expressions.
• Appendix A: XPath 2.0 Syntax Summary.
• Appendix B: Operator Precedence.
• Appendix C: Compatibility with XPath 1.0.
• Appendix D: Error Codes.

Author Biography

Dr. Michael Kay is the author of "XSLT Programmer's Reference" from Wrox Press, the standard reference work on XSLT. He is also the editor of the W3C's XSLT 2.0 specification, which is currently a Last Call Working Draft, and his Java-based Saxon XSLT processor is one of the most successful and popular XSLT processors in the language's history. The branch of Saxon supporting XSLT 1.0 is currently at release 6.5.3, and regular readers of this column will know that the 7.x branch of Saxon has been implementing more and more support for XSLT 2.0, and has also added support for XQuery. Michael recently formed his own company, Saxonica, and has launched a commercial version of Saxon with support for XML Schema Aware XSLT and XQuery processing.

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