RE: thoroughly confused about node() matching

As a pattern, match="node()" is short for match="child::node()", which
matches any node that is a child of anything - which means elements,
text nodes, comments, and PIs, but not root nodes, attributes or
namespaces.

What's probably confusing you is that as a node-test, node() matches any
node. So if it's used with a different axis, e.g.
match="attribute::node()" or match="ancestor::node()", it will match
other node types than these.

Michael Kay
Software AG
home: Michael.H.Kay@xxxxxxxxxxxx
work: Michael.Kay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:owner-xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
> Robert P. J. Day
> Sent: 03 March 2003 16:08
> To: xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject:  thoroughly confused about node() matching
> 
> 
> 
>   having thoroughly exhausted everyone on the docbook-apps
> list with this, i'd like to get some clarification on what
> does and does not constitute a template match with "node()".
> 
>   given a couple test files:
> 
> 1.xml:
> 
> ----------------------------------------
> 
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
> <book id="id1">
>  <?whatever?>
>  <!-- and a worthless comment -->
>  <chapter id="chap2"><title>chapter 1</title>
>   <para>this is a paragraph in chapter 1.</para>
>  </chapter>
> </book>
> 
> ----------------------------------------
> 
> 1.xsl
> 
> ----------------------------------------
> 
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
> <xsl:stylesheet
>     xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
>     version="1.0">
> 
> <xsl:template match="@*">
>  <xsl:copy/>
> </xsl:template>
> 
> <xsl:template match="node()">
>  <xsl:copy>
>   <xsl:apply-templates select="@* | node()" />
>  </xsl:copy>
> </xsl:template>
> 
> </xsl:stylesheet>
> 
> ---------------------------------------
> 
> i get two different outputs using xsltproc and saxon.
> 
>   xsltproc does *not* generate output for comments or 
> processing instructions, while saxon *does*.
> 
>   i have read a number of docs, including tidwell's "XSLT", 
> kay's "XSLT Programmer's Reference", and the online docs at 
www.w3.org, and i can say with assurance that every one of those sources
disagrees with the others when it comes to defining what does and does
not match "node()" in the context of a template match.  (e.g., kay, p.
440 states that node() will *not* match attribute nodes, while tidwell,
p. 51, says it will.  argh.)

  rather than get into the gory details of what each of these sources
says, it seems obvious to this here newbie that 
*at least* one of xsltproc or saxon is generating incorrect output.

  can anyone point me at the definitive explanation as to 
what nodes the "node()" match really matches?  specifically, should the
rules in my stylesheet match comment()s or processing-instruction()s, to
override the built-in behavior which is to ignore them?

rday


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