RE: syntax for passing variable into XPath statement

I'm on the digest version, so just got your response now, Michael. This is
my variable declaration:

 <xsl:variable name="navNum"><xsl:number level="single"
count="//NavigationDivision"/></xsl:variable>

I had assumed that since the variable was set by using the xsl:number
element that the variable value was a number - apparently not. I used your
second suggestion (converting it at the point where it's used) and that
worked.

Thanks,

Esther

>
> Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2004 18:37:23 +0100
> To: <xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> From: "Michael Kay" <mhk@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: RE:  syntax for passing variable into XPath statement
>
> You haven't shown us the variable declaration, but I suspect it is not a
> number. Perhaps it is a result tree fragment. It would still look like a
> number when you print it. Perhaps you declared it as
>
> <xsl:variable name="n"><xsl:value-of select="3"/></xsl:variable>
>
> (I'm doing a Jeni here, trying to debug code you haven't shown me: but
the
> above is a very common error.)
>
> Either declare it in a way that makes it a number, e.g.
>
> <xsl:variable name="n" select="3"/>
>
> or convert it to a number at the point where it is used in a numeric
> predicate
>
> /a/b/c/d[number($n)]
>
> The problem is that if you write a/b[$n] where $n isn't a number, it's
> converted to a boolean, not to a number. Converting a result tree
fragment
> to a boolean always gives true, which means the predicate has no effect.
>
> Michael Kay
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Esther_Strom@xxxxxxxx [mailto:Esther_Strom@xxxxxxxx]
> > Sent: 06 August 2004 18:21
> > To: xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject:  syntax for passing variable into XPath statement
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I'm pretty new at this, and haven't been able to find a
> > sample of what I'm
> > trying to do. I have a variable set up, and it is getting set
> > correctly -
> > I've got an fo:inline printing out the value of the variable
> > at each point
> > in the code. But I need to pass that variable into an XPath
> > statement as a
> > predicate (the variable is a number), and although it isn't
> > causing any
> > errors the way it is now, I don't think it's getting set.
> > Could someone
> > take a look and see if I'm doing something wrong?
> >
> > * I know the variable navNum is set correctly because of the value-of
> > statement inside the inline *
> > <xsl:apply-templates select="Zone2"/>z2 is at navNum<fo:inline
> > font-weight="bold"><xsl:value-of select="$navNum"/></fo:inline>
> >
> > * now I need to pass that variable number into here to get the correct
> > NavigationDivision element. If I hard-code a number in, the statement
> > provides the correct output *
> > <xsl:value-of
> > select="//MLPublication/NavigationDivision[$navNum]/Activity/T
> > itle[1]"/>
> >
> > I know in cases where you're passing a variable into a parameter you
> > enclose it in curly braces, but doing that causes my parser
> > to throw an
> > error.
> > |------------------------------|
> > | E S T H E R  S T R O M, CLPP |
> > | Notes Application Development|
> > | McDougal Littell             |
> > | 909 Davis Street             |
> > | Evanston, IL 60201 USA       |
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