XSLT is an essential tool for converting XML into other kinds of documents: HTML, PDF file, and many others. It's a critical technology for XML-based platforms such as Microsoft .NET, Sun Microsystems' Sun One, as well as for most web browsers and authoring tools. As useful as XSLT is, however, most people have a difficult time getting used to its peculiar characteristics. The ability to use advanced techniques depends on a clear and exact understanding of how XSLT templates work and interact.

The XSLT 1.0 Pocket Reference from O'Reilly wants to make sure you achieve that level of understanding. With its concise approach, this handy pocket guide quickly gets you up to speed on XSLT 1.0 so you can covert XML like a seasoned pro. In addition to covering the basics of stylesheet structure, it also explains how to:

• use template rules

• create a result tree

• apply conditional processing

• transform multiple source documents

• employ number formatting

Thanks to their convenient, quick-reference format, O'Reilly's Pocket References spare you from having to hunt through larger books for answers. They deliver just what you need to get the job done in a timely fashion. And the XSLT 1.0 Pocket Reference is no different--it's the ideal companion to have at your desk when you need an answer fast.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 4 Ratings

Handy for XSLT, not great on XPath - 2005-08-26
Reviewer Rating:
This is a handy little pocket book that covers the essentials of XSLT. It's far better than the stuff you will find on the W3C site, and it won't break your back like Michael Kay's excellent, but hefty, work. I have to ding it a little for lack of a complete reference on XPath. There is certainly information about the functions, but I would have like to have seen more depth on it. And the XPath appendix wasn't helpful. A language definition is definitely not what I was looking for there. Some common examples of XPath usage would be great.

A perfect distillation of XPath and XSL into a pocket-size book - 2006-03-17
Reviewer Rating:
This book represents an amazing feat of distilling all you really need
to know about XSL into 170 pocket-sized pages. What's more amazing
is that an experienced developer with little prior XML/XSL experience
can actually learn enough from this little gem to write competent XSL.

A reference manual AND quality tutorial in 1/20th the space (and dead
trees) of most tech books these days. I've recommended this to several
of my colleagues who had to get up to speed on XSL for a new project,
and the reaction from them is the same as mine.... This was EXACTLY
what I needed.

If you need a quick reference, this one works well... - 2005-10-09
Reviewer Rating:

The perfect pocket reference book for XSLT 1.0 - 2008-09-27
Reviewer Rating:
This is one of the best pocket programming reference books I've come across.

By the time I started to read this little gem, I had already spent some time learning XSLT 1.0 and XPath and had started to implement some simple XML transformations. However, this book was amazingly useful in expanding my understanding of this occasionally challenging language. Using it as a reference book, I was soon able to implement some fairly sophisticated XML transformations.

Evan Lenz's XSLT 1.0 Pocket Reference is well-structured, first covering some basics on XPath, then some details on how XSLT transforms XML, followed by detailed explanations on the elements and functions that constitute XSLT 1.0 and finally, a section on XSLT Extensions, containing additional elements and functions specific to a range of both free and commercial XSLT processors.

The main strength of this book is in its clear and concise explanation of elements and functions. Where appropriate, useful snippets of example code are provided to assist the in explanation of specific concepts.

This book also contains useful tips with explanations on additional XSLT 2.0 elements and functions which, I presume, evolved from those in XSLT 1.0. Hence, this is also a useful book for those wishing to move from XSLT 1.0 to 2.0.

In summary, this is the perfect portable reference book for XSLT 1.0. I wouldn't recommend using it to learn XSLT from scratch, but then that's not the purpose of this book. An understanding of the basics of XSLT or XML is all that's required to make this book a fantastic resource for the XSLT developer.

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