< 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
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0"
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
<xsl:variable
name="header">
<tr bgcolor="#9acd32">
<th>Title</th>
<th>Artist</th>
</tr>
</xsl:variable>
<xsl:template
match="/">
<html>
<body>
<table border="1">
<xsl:copy-of select="$header" />
<xsl:for-each
select="catalog/cd">
<tr>
<td><xsl:value-of select="title"/></td>
<td><xsl:value-of select="artist"/></td>
</tr>
</xsl:for-each>
</table>
</body>
</html>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
< Complete XSLT Element Reference