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Re: XSLT Cookbook - HELP

Subject: Re: XSLT Cookbook - HELP
From: Wendell Piez <wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 13:29:31 -0400
xslt cookbook
Linc,

Of course I can't speak for the book, but it does strike me you may be finding it poorly organized because it is organized for a purpose different from the one you are putting it to -- rather than a set of tutorial examples to be run through in sequence, think of it as an ad-hoc reference guide and mine for ideas. The title "XSLT Cookbook", especially in the context of other O'Reilly titles such as the Perl and Python cookbooks, might be the hint here. (Most cooks don't make all the recipes in a cookbook, in order, even to learn how to cook. :-)

Once you've grasped the concepts in Jeni's book, I should think the best way to learn would be just to write code and solve problems, turning to the more advanced resources when necessary. This is partly because XSLT is now a rather huge and various thing (being applied widely to solve a great range of problems), so examples to solve one type of problem may have little or no bearing on another, and it makes sense to explore the problem space starting in territory closer to home.

Just $0.02 from an unconcerned bystander. Anything about writing XSLT we can help you with?

Cheers,
Wendell

At 06:08 AM 8/31/2003, you wrote:
Hi all,
I am newish to XSLT and brought the book 'XSLT Cookbook', after reading "Beginning XSLT". I am trying to work through the "XML to SVG" chapter. However, I find the book VERY disorganized. I have spent the best part of my weekend trying to marry up code in the book with the downloaded code files and then trying to get the examples to run. In some cases the code is very different, where comments are removed (fair enough) but also whole new blocks of code are added ??????????. I think even advanced XML/XSLT users would find this a hassle.


The online reviews I have read for this book say it's excellent! And I am hoping it is just my lack of experience with XML and XSLT that is the main problem and that someone out there can help (Sol?, Jenny?).

Q1. How do I run the code on page 338 ("test-axis3" not "test-axis1" as expected), using Xalan? It seems to me that there is no XML data file to transform and produce "axis3.svg". ?
Some attempts where:
1. Using a 'dummy.xml' file that contains only an empty "root" node.
C:\XSLTCkBkCode\svg>java org.apache.xalan.xslt.Process -IN dummy.xml -XSL test-axis3.xslt -OUT axis3output.svg
2. Trying to run just an xslt file in isolation (although I don't believe that it is possible)
C:\XSLTCkBkCode\svg>java org.apache.xalan.xslt.Process -IN test-axis3.xslt -OUT
axis3.svg



Q2. Is there additional support info about this book about the downloaded code and how to run them. If there is not, I strongly recommend one be created.



___&&__&_&___&_&__&&&__&_&__&__&&____&&_&___&__&_&&_____&__&__&&_____&_&&_ "Thus I make my own use of the telegraph, without consulting the directors, like the sparrows, which I perceive use it extensively for a perch." -- Thoreau


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