SAXONICA

Saxon Documentation
Full Contents
About Saxon
Changes in this Release
| Version 8.7 (2006-02-24)
| Version 8.6.1 (24 November 2005)
| Version 8.6 (3 November 2005)
| Version 8.5.1 (26 August 2005)
| Version 8.5 (2 August 2005)
| Version 8.4 (4 April 2005)
| Version 8.3 (11 February 2005)
| Version 8.2 (21 December 2004)
| Version 8.1.1 (8 October 2004)
» | Version 8.1 (24 September 2004)
| Version 8.0 (1 June 2004)
Conditions of Use
Using XSLT 2.0
Using XQuery
Handling Source Documents
XML Schema Processing
The XPath API
Saxon on .NET
Extensibility
Saxon Extensions
Sample Saxon Applications
The Saxon SQL Extension
XSLT Elements
XPath 2.0 Expression Syntax
Function Library
Standards Conformance

# XSLT changes

The `xsl:sequence` instruction can no longer contain a sequence constructor. Specifically, it must have no content other than (optionally) one or more `xsl:fallback` instructions. This is a change agreed by the Working Group since the November 2003 drafts were published.

The `xsl:perform-sort` instruction can now contain a sequence constructor as an alternative to a `select` attribute.

The `xsl:sort` element can now contain a sequence constructor as an alternative to a `select` attribute.

A check has been added that within `xsl:for-each` and `xsl:for-each-group`, any `xsl:sort` elements appear before any other instructions. This enforces a rule in XSLT 1.0 and XSLT 2.0 that was previously not enforced.

The `xsl:key` element may now have a content constructor to evaluate the key value, in place of the `use` attribute.

The `[xsl:]inherit-namespaces` attribute is implemented on `xsl:element`, `xsl:copy`, and literal result elements. By default, the namespace nodes on a constructed element are inherited by its children. Setting this attribute to "no" prevents this. The difference will not usually be noticeable unless the result document is serialized with `version="1.1" undeclare-namespaces="yes"`.

The `xsl:result-document` instruction may now take serialization attributes such as `method`, `indent`, or `saxon:indent-spaces`. These attributes may be AVTs, so the values can be decided at run-time. Any values specified on the `xsl:result-document` instruction override the values specified on the `xsl:output` declaration.

Zero-length text nodes can now be constructed. They disappear when added as a child node of an element, but can exist so long as they are parentless. This means, for example, that a function whose body evaluates three `xsl:value-of` instructions will always return a sequence of three text nodes, regardless of the actual values.

A dynamic error that occurs while evaluating a predicate in a match pattern is now treated as a recoverable error. By default, a warning is output, and execution continues as if the predicate returned false. (Previous releases of Saxon recovered silently from this error without reporting it; previous versions of the XSLT specification treated the error as fatal. The product is now aligned with the specification.)

When `xsl:call-template` specifies a parameter using `xsl:with-param` for which there is no corresponding parameter declared in the called template, no error is reported if the call-template instruction is in backwards compatible mode, that is if the `version` attribute is equal to "1.0".

A document node can now be copied using `xsl:copy` or `xsl:copy-of`. If the destination is a tree, copying the document node has the same effect as copying its children. But it the destination is a sequence, the document node itself is copied.

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