Task 7: How can XSLT be used (a) to transform an XML structure and (b) to sort the contents of an XML document?

As we might already know XSLT stands for eXtensible Markup Language Transformation. When XSL is used for transformation, XSL takes the form of Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT). An XSLT style sheet is composed of template rules that match specific portions of an XML document and allow the transformation of the XML document content. Not only can XSLT transform an XML document from one dialect to another (often HTML), but it provides many other capabilities for extracting data from an XML document and manipulating that data.

XSL is of interest to any developer who needs to access and manipulate XML documents. XSL is robust, yet easy to learn. Developers can focus on the problem they are solving and the XML document content. Furthermore in html the tags are predefined and their names are significant while in xml you can utilize a tag name in the system and consequently, tag names are insignificant. Another important feature is that the technique of approach with an xml document using XSLT is that in the progression of transformation of XML documents into XHTML, each XML element that presents in the XML documents will be changed into XHTML elements. 

XSL is of interest to any developer who needs to access and manipulate XML documents. XSL is robust, yet easy to learn. Developers can focus on the problem they are solving and the XML document content. Furthermore in html the tags are predefined and their names are significant while in xml you can utilize a tag name in the system and consequently, tag names are insignificant. Another important feature is that the technique of approach with an xml document using XSLT is that in the progression of transformation of XML documents into XHTML, each XML element that presents in the XML documents will be changed into XHTML elements. 

Through this feature, you can achieve an assortment of functions on the elements to organize and produce necessary outputs. In addition XPath as I have mentioned in the other posts is decisive in the transformation of a document. In other words Xpath helps the XSLT by proving conversion path next to the XML document element starting from root elements and their attributes. Also XPath supports XSLT in various ways to characterize source documents, which will equal alongside templates that are predefined set of tags. The Transformation process will occur whilst there is corresponding documents between the definite foundation of the document and a outline.

  Reference:   XSLT Transformation, (2010) [Online] Available at: http://www.webreference.com/xml/resources/books/xsltreference/31290103.htm [Viewed At 23-12-2010].