RE: Re: <xsl:choose> or variable syntax incorrect?

[Brook Ellingwood]

> Incidentally, I like Tom's approach of just assigning the color to a
> variable better than mine. 

Using a variable makes it ultra clear what you are intending to do.  If
anything does not work as expected, there is just the one place to look,
and that place is not mixed up with anything else.  So it is a good way
to develop your transformation.  Also, you do not have to keep repeating
the same code with variations (like having a <td bgcolor='xxx'> in two
places), so there is less chance for error, and maintenance is easer.

After it is working right, you sometimes may want to refactor to put the
expressions inline instead of in a variable, depending.  By that time,
you will know with certainty that you are using the correct expressions
in the correct context, so the refactoring will be easier.

One of the first things I do to debug when I get stuck is to create a
variable for the bit that is causing me trouble, and then to output it
into an extra element so I can see just what is going on.  It's very
helpful!

Cheers,

Tom P

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