Special Edition Using XSLT

Dependency of Style Sheets on the Source Document

Before you can begin to map XML documents from one vocabulary to another, it is important to understand that there is a direct link between the XSLT style sheet and the document’s schema. In particular, the XSLT style sheet relies on the structure of the document it is transforming. That structure is defined by the document’s schema.

In the process of creating a style sheet, you must be able to scan a document’s schema, infer an overall structure, and create template rules that handle the structure. Although this task often is performed by an individual, the process can be generalized and automated by software.

Realize that many languages currently are being used to define the schema for an XML ...