If you are an experienced XSLT programmer who is not familiar with Eclipse, this article is intended to show you how easy it is to use Eclipse. If you are an experienced Eclipse user wondering what XSLT is all about, this article will introduce you to its wonders.

We start with a brief overview of XSLT. Then we go into specifics of using the Eclipse plug-in, including installing and using most of its functions.

What is XSLT?

Let's start with the basics: XML. Nowadays, it is hard not to go on the Web and hear about it. XML plays an important role as a data facilitator across myriad systems. The very fact that XML's extreme flexibility allows for the creation of customized vocabularies presents the need to be able to transform from one vocabulary to the next.

Enter XSLT. Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) enables interoperability. In other words, its primary goal is to take an XML-based markup language as input and transform it either into another markup language or into plain text.

Suppose you want to create a simple movie rental Web site. All your users' preferences, such as favorite movie genre, are stored in an XML file (see Figure 1). How would you utilize this information for performing queries, for instance? You can use an XSLT stylesheet to transform the user preferences into a set of database instructions (see Figure 2). These database instructions can then retrieve information like how many movies are in your inventory that relate to a specific user's favorite movie genre. Furthermore, you can even use another XSLT stylesheet to process the information retrieved from the database query and transform it into an HTML page to present to a specific user.

The following code samples will be used in this article to illustrate the plug-in's functionality. You can download them in the Download section.

Back to top

Overview of the Orangevolt EclipseXSLT plug-in

The Orangevolt XSLT plug-in, successor of the Java™ Swing-based ROXES XmlWrite, provides Eclipse with an enhanced XSLT editing environment. The plug-in builds upon the existing Eclipse Web Tools Platform (WTP) and introduces new features for XSL and XML (described later). These features include easy-to-use editor extensions, XSLT-specific launch configurations, syntax-colored XSLT process output, XPath navigator view, among others. In addition, one of the most interesting features of the plug-in is its ability to add and configure XSLT processors. The plug-in includes XSLT processors, such as Xalan and Saxon. Another exciting aspect of the plug-in is that it is being considered to be incorporated into the next major WTP release.

Back to top

Requirements

The plug-in requires that the following is installed (see Resources):

• Eclipse IDE V3.3 or later
• Java 2 Platform Standard Edition V1.5 or later
• Eclipse Web Tools Platform (WTP) V2.0.1 or later; you can download the all-in-one package or download the following prerequisites:
• Eclipse Modeling Framework SDK V2.3.1 or later
• Java EMF Model SDK V1.2.4 or later
• Graphical Editing Framework V3.3.1 or later

You can update your versions by using the Eclipse Europa update site at http://download.eclipse.org/releases/europa/site.xml. If you are unsure as to how to use the update site link, follow the steps below.

Back to top

Installation

To manually install the plug-in, download it. Once downloaded, extract the folders into your eclipse directory. Follow these easy steps to install the plug-in through the update site:

1. Launch your Eclipse environment and choose any workspace.
   
   Figure 3. Eclipse splash screen
   
   
   
   
2. Navigate to Help > Software Updates > Find and Install ...
   
   Figure 4. Help > Software Updates > Find and Install
   
   
   
   
3. The following screen appears:
   
   Figure 5. Find and Install pop-up screen
   
   
   
   
4. Choose the radio button Search for new features to install and click Next.
   
   Figure 6. Choose "Search for new features to install"
   
   
   
   
5. Click on the New Remote Site... button.
   
   Figure 7. New Remote Site button
   
   
   
   
6. Enter Name: Orangevolt EclipseXSLT and http://eclipsexslt.sourceforge.net/update-site in the URL field.
   
   Figure 8. New Remote Site details
   
   
   
   
7. Click OK.
8. Check Orangevolt EclipseXSLT and click Finish.
   
   Figure 9. Select Orangevolt EclipseXSLT
   
   
   
   
9. Check Orangevolt EclipseXSLT and click Next.
   
   Figure 10. Select Orangevolt EclipseXSLT
   
   
   
   
10. Accept the license terms and click Next.
    
    Figure 11. License agreement
    
    
    
    
11. Click Finish.
    
    Figure 12. Installing EclipseXSLT
    
    
    
    
12. The installation will begin.
    
    Figure 13. Installing EclipseXSLT
    
    
    
    
13. If the following screen appears, click on Install All.
    
    Figure 14. Installing EclipseXSLT
    
    
    
    
14. After the installation is finished, the following screen will appear. Choose to restart Eclipse.
    
    Figure 15. Restart Eclipse
    
    
    
    
15. To check whether the installation successfully completed, navigate to Help > Software Updates > Manage Configuration.
    
    Figure 16. Verify installation
    
    
    
    
16. Make sure you see an entry for Orangevolt EclipseXSLT in the list.
    
    Figure 17. Verify installation
    
    
    
    

Back to top

Basic plug-in functionality

Now that you have installed the plug-in, we can take a deeper look into all of its features.

Create a new project and add data.xml, located in the Download section. When you open the file, you should notice that the plug-in has two views: Design and Source.

Expand all the elements under the Design view. You should see a tree structure view of all the XML elements, along with their values.

Select the Source view. You will notice that the XML is syntax-colored.

Back to top

Editor extensions

The XML editor builds upon the existing Eclipse WTP editor and adds new features. To view these extra features, navigate to the data.xml file Source view. Right-click on any whitespace to bring up a context menu. The new features are highlighted in red below.

Each feature is described below.

Insert date

Will insert the current date where desired. Format: YYYY-MM-DD

Chars to HTML entities

Will convert the highlighted text into HTML entities. For example, converting the following:

Will result in:

HTML Entities to Chars

Is the reverse of "Chars to HTML Entities"

CDATA section

Encapsulates the selected value as CDATA. For example, the following:

Will result in:

Insert element

The highlighted text will be encapsulated with the element you are adding. For example, select all of the text in data.xml, right-click it and select insert element. Type root.

You should see the following:

Show in navigation

Right-click any area in a file and select Show in Navigation. The Package Explorer view will highlight which file is being referenced.

Back to top

Launching XSLT transformations

You can invoke an XSLT transformation by creating an Eclipse launch configuration. This is simply a configurable mechanism that allows you to specify a name, project, source XML file, stylesheet, XSLT stylesheet parameters, XSLT post-processing preferences, and VM arguments.

To create an Eclipse launch configuration specific to this plug-in, navigate to Run > Run... or Run > Open Run Dialog....

Or:

Double-click on Orangevolt XSLT configuration type to create a new launch configuration.

Figure 31 shows the XSLT transformations configuration screen.

Fill in the following fields: Name (TransformerLaunch), Project, Source (data.xml), Stylesheet (transformer.xsl), as shown below, and click Apply.

Click Run. The console window should display the following.

If you scroll to the right-most edge of the console window, you will notice that a text file was created.

Refresh your project view to see that the new text file has been added.

Open the file to view the result of the transformation.

Notice how the database query now includes the value Comedy. Another way to run this transformation is to click on the Run icon and select TransformerLaunch.

You can configure other properties, such as stylesheet parameters and post-processing options described in the next sections.

XSLT stylesheet parameters

You can add stylesheet parameters needed during the transformation.

The reference documentation for all user-configurable parameters in the DocBook XSL HTML stylesheets is linked in the Resources section.

Post-processing

A common practice is to execute an Apache Ant build file when the transformation has completed. This is helpful, for example, if you wanted to convert the result into a PDF (code sample below).

To invoke your Apache Ant build file, open the TransformerLaunch configuration window. Click on XSLT Post Processing. Choose your Ant file from the drop-down box.

Back to top

Plug-in console window

The Orangevolt EclipseXSLT console window extends the default console view that comes with Eclipse by adding a coloring scheme for the process output. For example, errors and warnings are in red.

Also, the plug-in provides output hyperlinking, which allows you to jump to the specific line where the error occurred by simply clicking on the error.

Back to top

XSLT processors

An XSLT processor is simply a software component that invokes an XSLT stylesheet on an XML document, producing output (types: XML, HTML, or text).

There are lots of XSLT processors available. Currently, the three major processors are:

• MSXML, authored by Microsoft®
• Saxon, authored by Michael Kay
• Xalan, authored by the Apache Project

Orangevolt EclipseXSLT allows you to choose which processor you prefer using, as well as add your own.

Choosing a new XSLT processor

Navigate to Window > Preferences.

The plug-in provides an area to allow you to customize its preferences. Expand Orangevolt XSLT.

Click on Transformer. You will notice that by default Saxon is selected.

You can change this option through the XSLT Processor Configuration drop-down box.

The plug-in comes with three XSLT processors:

• Default Transformer — it comes with Eclipse
• Saxon
• Xalan

Adding a new XSLT processor

The plug-in provides an Eclipse extension point for adding your own XSLT processor. For a quick tutorial, visit SourceForge.

Back to top

Using the XPath Navigator

The XPath Navigator view is a nice feature. It is useful for creating an XPath expression from a specific source XML file. The plug-in will execute the XPath query against the DOM representation of the XML file.

Navigate to Window > Show View > Other....

Expand Orangevolt to reveal the XPath Navigator and click OK.

You should now see the XPath Navigator view tab.

Select data.xml from the XML Source Document drop-down box. Type //customer in the XPath Expression text box. Click the Run icon within the Navigator to reveal the result.

Change around the XPath Expression to yield different results.

Back to top

Final words

By now you've seen, if you hadn't already, the immense customizability of Eclipse. Keep an eye out, as the technology you are working with might have an Eclipse plug-in available for it. In the case of the XSLT technology, Orangevolt EclipseXSLT proves to be a capable addition to any developer's toolbox. Be sure to check out the Resources for more learning materials.

Back to top

Download

Information about download methods

Resources

Learn

• "What kind of language is XSLT?" is a guide to understanding and learning XSLT.
  
  
• "Why I teach Eclipse" is a discussion of Eclipse technology.
  
  
• Check out the XSL Transformations (XSLT) Version 1.0 recommendation for the W3C specification for XSLT language syntax and the XML Path Language (XPath) Version 1.0 recommendation for the W3C specification for XPath expression syntax.
  
  
• Reference documentation for all user-configurable parameters in the DocBook XSL HTML stylesheets.
  
  
• Learn about Saxon, Xalan, and Apache Ant.
  
  
• The XSLT Project contains the functionality provided by Orangevolt's plug-in and includes an XSL debugger, as-you-type validation, and XPath content-assist. XSL Tools is an Eclipse WTP Incubator project.
  
  
• Check out the "Recommended Eclipse reading list."
  
  
• Browse all the Eclipse content on developerWorks.
  
  
• New to Eclipse? Read the developerWorks article "Get started with Eclipse Platform" to learn its origin and architecture, and how to extend Eclipse with plug-ins.
  
  
• Expand your Eclipse skills by checking out IBM developerWorks' Eclipse project resources.
  
  
• To listen to interesting interviews and discussions for software developers, check out developerWorks podcasts.
  
  
• For an introduction to the Eclipse platform, see "Getting started with the Eclipse Platform."
  
  
• Stay current with developerWorks' Technical events and webcasts.
  
  
• Watch and learn about IBM and open source technologies and product functions with the no-cost developerWorks On demand demos.
  
  
• Check out upcoming conferences, trade shows, webcasts, and other Events around the world that are of interest to IBM open source developers.
  
  
• Visit the developerWorks Open source zone for extensive how-to information, tools, and project updates to help you develop with open source technologies and use them with IBM's products.
  
  

Get products and technologies

• Download Orangevolt EclipseXSLT at SourceForge.net.
  
  
• Download the latest Eclipse IDE.
  
  
• Download the latest Java JDK from Sun Microsystems.
  
  
• Download the latest Eclipse WTP.
  
  
• Download the latest Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) — prerequisite for WTP.
  
  
• Download the latest Graphical Editing Framework (GEF) — prerequisite for WTP.
  
  
• Check out the latest Eclipse technology downloads at IBM alphaWorks.
  
  
• Download Eclipse Platform and other projects from the Eclipse Foundation.
  
  
• Download IBM product evaluation versions, and get your hands on application development tools and middleware products from DB2®, Lotus®, Rational®, Tivoli®, and WebSphere®.
  
  
• Innovate your next open source development project with IBM trial software, available for download or on DVD.
  
  

Discuss

• Check out the Orangevolt EclipseXSLT forum.
  
  
• The Eclipse Platform newsgroups should be your first stop to discuss questions regarding Eclipse. (Selecting this will launch your default Usenet news reader application and open eclipse.platform.)
  
  
• The Eclipse newsgroups has many resources for people interested in using and extending Eclipse.
  
  
• Participate in developerWorks blogs and get involved in the developerWorks community.
  
  

About the author

Yasmary Hernandez is an IT specialist with IBM Software Services for WebSphere focusing on Datapower. She is a graduate of IBM's Extreme Blue internship program.

Comments (Undergoing maintenance)

Back to top

Trademarks  |  My developerWorks terms and conditions

Table of contents

• What is XSLT?
• Overview of the Orangevolt EclipseXSLT plug-in
• Requirements
• Installation
• Basic plug-in functionality
• Editor extensions
• Launching XSLT transformations
• Plug-in console window
• XSLT processors
• Using the XPath Navigator
• Final words
• Download
• Resources
• About the author
• Comments

Next steps from IBM

With the no-charge DB2 Express-C, pureXML, Zend Core PHP, and Java you can develope advanced Web 2.0 applications quickly that matter.

---

• Try: Download a free trial version of DB2 Express-C, which includes Zend Core PHP and pureXML technology that is ideally suited for managing both XML and relational data.
• Article: See how DB2 pureXML schema capabilities can evolve schemas without making any changes to your applications.
• Tutorial: This tutorial shows you how to use DB2's pureXML to expose the native XML capabilities of DB2.
• Buy: DB2 9 for Linux, UNIX and Windows

My developerWorks community

Dig deeper into Open source on developerWorks

Rate a product. Write a review.

Write a review for Rational products today!

Special offers