SAXONICA

Saxon Documentation
Full Contents
About Saxon
» | Introduction
| Getting Started
| What is Saxon?
| Choosing a software package
| Installation: Java platform
| Installation: .NET platform
| Historical Note
| Technical Support
| Related Products
Changes in this Release
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

# About Saxon

Release 8.7 represents another important milestone in Saxonica's progressive implementation of the XPath 2.0, XSLT 2.0, and XQuery 1.0 specifications. This is the first version to be shipped simultaneously for the Java and .NET platforms.

Saxon 8.7 is aligned with the W3C Candidate Recommendation published on 3 November 2005. It is a complete and conformant implementation, providing all the mandatory features of those specifications and nearly all the optional features. In some cases changes to the specifications agreed since the Candidate Recommendation was published have been implemented.

Saxon is available in two versions (each of which is delivered on both platforms). Saxon-B is a non-schema-aware processor, and is available as an open-source product, free of charge, from SourceForge. It is designed to conform to the basic conformance level of XSLT 2.0, and the equivalent level of functionality in XQuery 1.0. Saxon-SA is the schema-aware version of the package, and is available as a commercially supported product from Saxonica Limited. Licensing options are available to provide XSLT only, XQuery only, or schema validation only, as well as a full license that gives access to all functionality.

This documentation covers all versions of the product, with differences noted where applicable. For a summary of the differences, see Product Packages.

Please note: this documentation is provided on the Saxonica web site and also in the download file. On occasions the online version may be more up-to-date. The download file also includes full API documentation: see the doc/api directory.

JavaDoc API specifications and .NET API specifications are also available.

A full change log is provided.

Saxon 8.x has been used for production applications by many users. The code is proving stable and reliable. However, you need to be aware that the specifications are still subject to change. Now that the specifications have reached Candidate Recommendation status, further changes are unlikely, but there may still be minor corrections and clarifications issued, and Saxon will implement any such changes. Such changes are always described in the change log.

If you are looking for an XSLT 1.0 or XPath 1.0 processor, Saxon 6.5.5 remains available.

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