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RE: thoroughly confused about node() matching

2003-03-03 17:00:20
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(_dot_)H(_dot_)Kay(_at_)ntlworld(_dot_)com
work: Michael(_dot_)Kay(_at_)softwareag(_dot_)com 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-xsl-list(_at_)lists(_dot_)mulberrytech(_dot_)com 
[mailto:owner-xsl-list(_at_)lists(_dot_)mulberrytech(_dot_)com] On Behalf Of 
Robert P. J. Day
Sent: 03 March 2003 16:08
To: xsl-list(_at_)lists(_dot_)mulberrytech(_dot_)com
Subject: [xsl] 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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