| It's time for us to part company. If you have read the whole book, I trust you are fairly competent using XSLT and XPath by now. You should be proud of yourself for sticking with it to the end. Whatever the case, this book is only an introduction to XSLT and XPath. You can now branch out and discover or rediscover some additional resources that are available for these technologies. Some of these I have mentioned before, but it will be nice to present all these resources in one place for your convenience. Here's the list:
- XSL Transformations (XSLT) Version 1.0
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This is the original XSLT recommendation from the W3C. You'll find it at http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt. It first appeared in November 1999, and it is under 100 pages long.
- XML Path Language (XPath) Version 1.0
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This concise little XPath recommendation is at http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath. It was introduced on the same day as the XSLT spec.
- XSL Transformations (XSLT) 2.0
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Here is XSLT 2.0 in working draft form, available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt20. It is over twice as long as the original XSLT 1.0 spec, but it offers plenty of new features.
- XML Path Language (XPath) 2.0
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The latest working draft of the 2.0 specification is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath20. Like the XSLT 2.0 draft, it is considerably longer than its predecessor, and packed with all kinds of new features, not all of which are certain to make it into the final recommendation.
- Michael Kay's XSLT Programmer's Reference, Second Edition (Wrox)
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At over 900 pages, Michael Kay's standard volume on XSLT weighs in heavily, but there is no fluff or waste. I have the first two editions of this book, and I count on them as a second-tier resource next to the XSLT specification itself. In fact, Michael's book helps clarify and expand on the spec. If you are serious about XSLT, I suggest that you invest in this book.
- Doug Tidwell's XSLT (O'Reilly)
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Doug Tidwell has a brisk and fun writing style that makes quick work of XSLT. I especially like the element and function reference appendixes at the end of the book. If you look up a particular element or function in the appendixes, you will find a complete stylesheet that demonstrates how to use that particular element or function.
- Sal Mangano's XSLT Cookbook (O'Reilly)
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Sal's popular book appeared at the end of 2002. The book crisply addresses just over 100 problems that can be addressed with XSLT recipes. If you do anything serious with XSLT, you'll be glad to have Sal's book on your shelf.
- XSL-List
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This active mail list maintained by Mulberry Technologies, Inc. is the place to go with your questions about XSLT. To subscribe, go to http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list/index.html. The list archive, complete with search capability, is available at http://www.biglist.com/lists/xsl-list/archives/. Incidentally, Mulberry Tech also offers quick reference cards in PDF form for both XSLT and XPath at http://www.mulberrytech.com/quickref/index.html.
- Robin Cover's Coverpages for XSLT
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Robin Cover provides broad and accurate coverage of a number of XML-related topics, including XSLT. Hosted by OASIS, the Coverpages are updated regularly and are considered by some as the resource of last resort when looking for technical information related to XML. See http://xml.coverpages.org/xsl.html.
- Dave Pawson's XSLT FAQ
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Dave Pawson's FAQ for XSLT is at http://www.dpawson.co.uk/. Dave has nicely organized the FAQ into categories. I find it easy to use, and it certainly has helped me pry a few rusty bolts off my stylesheets, so to speak.
- Jeni Tennison's site
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Jeni Tennison is a top XSLT consultant and author whose web site (http://www.jenitennison.com) offers plenty of helpful information, including advice on how to perform grouping in XSLT 1.0.
Be sure to check the appendix, which follows this chapter, for references to XSLT processor resources. One last tool I'll mention is a simple Java package I've written called Ox. |
