W3Schools

home HOME

XSLT Basic
XSLT HOME
XSL Languages
XSLT Introduction
XSLT Browsers
XSLT Transform
XSLT <template>
XSLT <value-of>
XSLT <for-each>
XSLT <sort>
XSLT <if>
XSLT <choose>
XSLT Apply

XSLT Advanced
XSLT on the Client
XSLT on the Server
XSLT Edit XML
XSLT Editors
XSLT Summary

References
XSLT Elements
XSLT Functions

Selected Reading
Web Statistics
Web Glossary
Web Hosting
Web Quality

W3Schools Forum

Helping W3Schools

XSLT <xsl:variable> Element


XSLT Element Reference Complete XSLT Element Reference

Definition and Usage

The <xsl:variable> element is used to declare a local or global variable.

Note: The variable is global if it's declared as a top-level element, and local if it's declared within a template.

Note: Once you have set a variable's value, you cannot change or modify that value!

Tip: You can add a value to a variable by the content of the <xsl:variable> element OR by the select attribute!


Syntax

<xsl:variable
name="name"
select="expression">
  <!-- Content:template -->
</xsl:variable>

Attributes

Attribute Value Description
name name Required. Specifies the name of the variable
select expression Optional. Defines the value of the variable

Example 1

If the select attribute is present, the <xsl:variable> element cannot contain any content. If the select attribute contains a literal string, the string must be within quotes. The following two examples assign the value "red" to the variable "color":

<xsl:variable name="color" select="'red'" />

<xsl:variable name="color" select='"red"' />

Example 2

If the <xsl:variable> element only contains a name attribute, and there is no content, then the value of the variable is an empty string:

<xsl:variable name="j" />

Example 3

The following example adds a value to the variable "header" by the content of the <xsl:variable> element:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0"
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
<xsl:variable name="header">
  <tr>
  <th>Element</th>
  <th>Description</th>
  </tr>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:template match="/">
  <html>
  <body>
  <table>
    <xsl:copy-of select="$header" />
    <xsl:for-each select="reference/record">
    <tr>
    <xsl:if category="XML">
      <td><xsl:value-of select="element"/></td>
      <td><xsl:value-of select="description"/></td>
    </xsl:if>
    </tr>
    </xsl:for-each>
  </table>
  <br />
  <table>
    <xsl:copy-of select="$header" />
    <xsl:for-each select="table/record">
    <tr>
    <xsl:if category="XSL">
      <td><xsl:value-of select="element"/></td>
      <td><xsl:value-of select="description"/></td>
    </xsl:if>
    </tr>
    </xsl:for-each>
  </table>
  </body>
  </html>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>


XSLT Element Reference Complete XSLT Element Reference


Altova® XMLSpy® - The world's best-selling XML editor!

Whether you're new to XML or already an advanced user, the user-friendly views and powerful entry helpers, wizards, and debuggers in XMLSpy are designed to meet your XML and Web services development needs from start to finish.

  • XML editor
  • Graphical XML Schema / DTD editors
  • XSLT 1.0/2.0 editor, debugger, profiler
  • XQuery editor, debugger, profiler
  • Support for Office Open XML (OOXML)
  • Graphical WSDL editor & SOAP debugger
  • Java, C#, C++ code generation
  • And much more!

Download a free 30-day trial today!

Click to see a demo!

Learn what’s new in v2008




diploma   

Get Your Diploma!

W3Schools' Online Certification Program is the perfect solution for busy professionals who need to balance work, family, and career building.

The HTML Certificate is for developers who want to document their knowledge of HTML, XHTML, and CSS.

The ASP Certificate is for developers who want to document their knowledge of ASP, SQL, and ADO.



Jump to: Top of Page or HOME or Printer Friendly Printer friendly page

W3Schools provides material for training only. We do not warrant the correctness of its contents. The risk from using it lies entirely with the user. While using this site, you agree to have read and accepted our terms of use and privacy policy.

Copyright 1999-2008 by Refsnes Data. All Rights Reserved.

Validate Validate W3C-WAI level A conformance icon W3Schools was converted to XHTML in December 1999