L34T: An XML template language with XPath and XSLT functions

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L34T.tar.gz

What is L34T?

L34T is an XML-based template language that allows you to create XML and XHTML documents from an XML template. For variable substitutions, you use XPath syntax inside attributes and the XSLT value-of function with XPath syntax inside element content. You can also use XSLT iteration such as for-each and choose/when.

Inputs to the template can be a set of variables, values, and types specified on the command line, and can also be include an XML input file. The template can use the l34t:instance() function to access the input xml document, and can use the document function to read files.

The name L34T stands for "Literal-Result-Element-As-Stylesheet", or "L" followed by 34 letters, followed by "T". The feature of having a reduced set of XSLT just being the result document itself has existed in XSLT since hte beginning, but it was always thought that there was no way to pass in variables, making it almost useless. L34T starts with the realization that you can programmatically create a stylesheet containing the variables which then includes the template, and it works flawlessly.

Input

L34T Template

Template with variables

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <fred xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" xsl:version="2.0" >
      <bar><xsl:value-of select="$pizza" /></bar>
    </fred>

or, a more complex template that also uses access to an XML instance input document

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <pizza xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" xsl:version="2.0"
           xmlns:l34t='http://software.hipme.com/2014/saxon-extension' exclude-result-prefixes='l34t'>

      <bar><xsl:value-of select="$pizza" /></bar>
      <foo a="{$x * $x}">x=<xsl:value-of select="$x" /></foo>
      <instancedoc><xsl:copy-of select="l34t:instance()" /></instancedoc>
    </pizza>

Compile

    export CLASSPATH=$HOME/java/SaxonHE9/saxon9he.jar:classes

    rm -rf classes && mkdir classes
    javac -d classes -Xlint:deprecation L34T.java || exit

Run

With and the more complex template above and this input document:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <document>
      This is the input document.
    </document>

and the following CLI

    java org.l34t.L34T L34T.xml instance.xml x int 3 pizza string fred

L34T produces this output:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <pizza>fred</pizza>
    <foo a="9">x=3</foo>
    <instancedoc>
       <document>
      This is the input document.
    </document>
    </instancedoc>

Notes

If you want to add your own extension functions your copy of L34T, Look at https://github.com/twl8n/saxon-9-he-samples for more info on writing extension functions.