xslt and optional attributes

[Edwin G. Castro]

Is there a way to handle optional attributes in xslt?

I'd like to determine if an attribute exists and do some action if it
does. Otherwise, I want to take some other action or simply do
nothing.

Thanks!

--Edwin

 

[Richard Tobin]

I'd like to determine if an attribute exists and do some action if it
does. Otherwise, I want to take some other action or simply do
nothing.

Use an XPath that matches the attribute in a test, or that matches an
element that has the attribute in a template.

For example, if you have templates

<xsl:template select="foo[@bar]"> ...
and
<xsl:template select="foo"> ...

the first will match <foo>s that have a bar attribute, and the second
will match the others. Or you could use a conditional:

<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="@bar">
...
</xsl:when>
<xsltherwise>
...
</xsltherwise>
</xsl:choose>

-- Richard