Conventions Used

You should be aware of a few conventions that I use in this book. Most importantly, when I add new sections of code, I mark them this way to point out the actual lines Im discussing so they stand out:

 <xsl:template match="PLANET">      <xsl:value-of select="NAME"/>      <xsl:if test="position()!=last()">, </xsl:if>      <xsl:if test="position()=last()-1">and </xsl:if>     <xsl:if test="position()=last()">.</xsl:if> </xsl:template>

Also, note that the code listings that are numbered are in the code that you can download for this book at www.newriders.com. Downloading this code will save you a lot of time if you want to run or modify the examples in the book.

Where theres something worth noting or some additional information that adds something to the discussion, Ill add a sidebar. That looks like this:

Setting the Initial Page Number

Heres another tip: To set the initial page number of a page sequence, you can use the <fo:page-sequence> elements initial- page-number property. This enables you, for example, to format chapters separately, starting each with the correct page number.

Now youre ready to go. If you have comments, I encourage you to write to me, care of New Riders. This book is designed to be the new standard in XSLT coverage, truly more complete and more accessible than ever before. Please do keep in touch with me with ways to improve it and keep it on the forefront. If you think the book lacks anything, let me knowIll add it, because I want to make sure this book stays on top.