Inside XSLT

XML-to-XML Transformations

XML-to-XML transformations are sometimes thought of as SQL for the Internet, because they enable you to use what amount to database queries on XML documents. Here’s an example of what I mean. The planets.xml file we’ve been using has a lot of data about each planet, as you see here:

 <?xml version="1.0"?> <PLANETS> <PLANET> <NAME>Mercury</NAME> <MASS UNITS="(Earth = 1)">.0553</MASS> <DAY UNITS="days">58.65</DAY> <RADIUS UNITS="miles">1516</RADIUS> <DENSITY UNITS="(Earth = 1)">.983</DENSITY> <DISTANCE UNITS="million miles">43.4</DISTANCE><!--At perihelion--> </PLANET> <PLANET> <NAME>Venus</NAME> <MASS UNITS="(Earth = 1)">.815</MASS> <DAY UNITS="days">116.75</DAY> <RADIUS UNITS="miles">3716</RADIUS> <DENSITY UNITS="(Earth ...