Report based on element-function-available.xsl
Report generated 2008-10-21

SAXON 6.5.5 from Michael Kay: Elements and Functions Available

1. The XSLT stylesheet behind the report
2. XSLT and XPath
- 2.1 XSLT/XPath 2.0 Functions
- 2.2 XSLT Elements
  - 2.2.1 Warning
3. User-defined XSLT functions
4. Saxon Extensions
- 4.1 Saxon Extension Functions
- 4.2 Saxon Extension Elements
5. EXSLT Extensions
- 5.1 EXSL Dates and Times Functions
- 5.2 EXSL Dates and Times Elements
- 5.3 EXSL Dynamic Functions
- 5.4 EXSL Common Functions
- 5.5 EXSL Common Elements
- 5.6 EXSL Functions Elements
- 5.7 EXSL Math Functions
- 5.8 EXSL Random Functions
- 5.9 EXSL Regular Expressions Functions
- 5.10 EXSL Sets Functions
- 5.11 EXSL String Functions

1. The XSLT stylesheet behind the report

With the help of the XSLT functions element-available() and function-available(), the XSLT stylesheet, element-function-available.xsl, tests:

If instruction elements in XSLT and functions in XSLT and XPath are available in the XSLT processor.
If EXSLT extensions are available.
If proprietary Saxon extension instruction elements and functions are available in Saxon processors.

Note that:

AltovaXML supports no extensions of any kind. If the transformation takes place from inside an ordinary programming language the parameter method can help AltovaXML out.
Many XSLT 1.0 processors have their own proprietary sets of extensions which I am not testing. We test for Saxon extensions because of the importance of Saxon in XSLT 2.0.
There are other extensions than elements and functions which we can't test with element-available() and function-available(). Saxon extensions, e.g., include a few extension attributes and additional serialization parameters.
If an XSLT processor has a "script" extension element, often named "prefix:script", the programming languages supported can be used from inside the XSLT stylesheet. This makes it easy to use the functions of those programming languages when needed.
In e.g. Saxon, it is fairly easy to make additional extension functions in Java or .Net. Example: XSLT 2.0 extensions for Saxon made by Florent Georges.
We are only testing what the processor reports. We must use the element and function for real to see if it really is implemented or not and if the implementation is in accordance with the specs.

2. XSLT and XPath

2.1 XSLT/XPath 1.0 Functions

We can use function-available() to test if an XSLT or XPath function or even an extension function is available in an XSLT processor. Right below we test for XSLT/XPath functions, later we are going to test for extension function.

No	XSLT/XPath Function	Available	Spec
1	boolean	false	XPath
2	ceiling	false	XPath
3	concat	false	XPath
4	contains	false	XPath
5	count	false	XPath
6	current	false	XSLT
7	document	false	XSLT
8	element-available	false	XSLT
9	false	false	XPath
10	format-number	false	XSLT
11	function-available	false	XSLT
12	generate-id	false	XSLT
13	id	false	XPath
14	key	false	XSLT
15	lang	false	XPath
16	last	false	XPath
17	local-name	false	XPath
18	name	false	XPath
19	namespace-uri	false	XPath
20	normalize-space	false	XPath
21	not	false	XPath
22	number	false	XPath
23	position	false	XPath
24	round	false	XPath
25	starts-with	false	XPath
26	string	false	XPath
27	string-length	false	XPath
28	substring	false	XPath
29	substring-after	false	XPath
30	substring-before	false	XPath
31	sum	false	XPath
32	system-property	false	XSLT
33	translate	false	XPath
34	true	false	XPath
35	unparsed-entity-uri	false	XSLT

2.2 XSLT Elements

The XSLTstandards (Recommendations) say (2.0 more clearly than 1.0) that element-available() is about instruction elements. This means that non-instruction elements like declaration elements, e.g. xsl:strip-space and xsl:output, and sub-elements of instruction elements like xsl:when and xsl:sort can't be tested with element-available(). It is very confusing that non-instruction elements return "false" as if they don't exist.

Some XSLT processors like AltovaXML 2008 and MSXML 3.0 return true for all implemented elements. XMLSpy 2008 returns true for all elements except for xsl:strip-space (not implemented) and xsl-preserve-space (not implemented) and xsl:transform (implemented). The last one must be a bug. Element-available()would be more useful and less confusing if also Saxon returned "true" for any element implemented.

2.2.1 Warning

If element-available() returns "false" for all non-instruction elements, the "false" will be high-lighted with red but the elements are probably supported anyway. The "false" for non-instruction elements most often just means that the element is not an instruction element. If only some of the non-instruction elements return "false", as in AltovaXML, they are probably not available.

If an instruction-element returns "false", we always have a real problem.

No	XSLT Element	Available
1	xsl:apply-imports	true
2	xsl:apply-templates	true
3	xsl:attribute	true
4	xsl:attribute-set	false (not instruction)
5	xsl:call-template	true
6	xsl:choose	true
7	xsl:comment	true
8	xsl:copy	true
9	xsl:copy-of	true
10	xsl:decimal-format	false (not instruction)
11	xsl:element	true
12	xsl:fallback	true
13	xsl:for-each	true
14	xsl:if	true
15	xsl:import	false (not instruction)
16	xsl:include	false (not instruction)
17	xsl:key	false (not instruction)
18	xsl:message	true
19	xsl:namespace-alias	false (not instruction)
20	xsl:number	true
21	xsl:otherwise	false (not instruction)
22	xsl:output	false (not instruction)
23	xsl:param	false (not instruction)
24	xsl:preserve-space	false (not instruction)
25	xsl:processing-instruction	true
26	xsl:sort	false (not instruction)
27	xsl:strip-space	false (not instruction)
28	xsl:stylesheet	false (not instruction)
29	xsl:template	false (not instruction)
30	xsl:text	true
31	xsl:transform	false (not instruction)
32	xsl:value-of	true
33	xsl:variable	true
34	xsl:when	false (not instruction)
35	xsl:with-param	false (not instruction)

3. User-defined XSLT functions

Before we continue with extension elements and functions, let us not forget user-defined XSLT functions. That is collections of functions using named templates, the xsl:function element in XSLT 2.0, etc., and based on standard XSLT functionality.

Here is a list of some collections of user-defined XSLT-functions:

Priscilla Walmsley's The FunctX XSLT 2.0 Function Library. Here we have many small examples of how to use XSLT/XPath functions and additional user-defined functions using the "functx" prefix.
Peter Rushforth's Geofunctions, an open-source library of XSLT / functions, templates, stylesheets and classes devoted to the processing of geographic data in XML.
Dimitre Novatchev's FXSL, "the functional programming library for XSLT".
Xia Li's function library that enables applications to use XPath 2.0 schema-related node tests.

4. Saxon Extensions

Saxon's extensions are not necessarily relevant for Saxon only. If you use another XSLT processor, it can be nice to know what extensions are available in the trendsetting Saxon XSLT 2.0 processor. It can give you a hint for what to look or ask for in the XSLT processor you use. If some new XSLT 2.0 processor needs extensions, why not implement Saxon's?

A few of Saxon's extensions are only available in the "SA" (schema-aware) version.

4.1 Saxon Extension Functions

Many of Saxon's extension functions are unique, adding functionality to XSLT.2.0

No	Saxon Function	Available
1	saxon:analyze-string	false
2	saxon:base64Binary-to-octets	false
3	saxon:base64Binary-to-string	false
4	saxon:call	false
5	saxon:column-number	false
6	saxon:compile-query	false
7	saxon:compile-stylesheet	false
8	saxon:decimal-divide	false
9	saxon:deep-equal	false
10	saxon:discard-document	false
11	saxon:eval	false
12	saxon:evaluate	false
13	saxon:evaluate-node	false
14	saxon:expression	false
15	saxon:file-last-modified	false
16	saxon:find	false
17	saxon:for-each-group	false
18	saxon:format-dateTime	false
19	saxon:format-number	false
20	saxon:function	false
21	saxon:generate-id	false
22	saxon:get-pseudo-attribute	false
23	saxon:has-same-nodes	false
24	saxon:hexBinary-to-octets	false
25	saxon:hexBinary-to-string	false
26	saxon:highest	false
27	saxon:index	false
28	saxon:in-summer-time	false
29	saxon:is-whole-number	false
30	saxon:item-at	false
31	saxon:last-modified	false
32	saxon:leading	false
33	saxon:line-number	false
34	saxon:lowest	false
35	saxon:namespace-node	false
36	saxon:stream	false
37	saxon:octets-to-base64Binary	false
38	saxon:octets-to-hexBinary	false
39	saxon:parse	false
40	saxon:path	false
41	saxon:print-stack	false
42	saxon:query	false
43	saxon:result-document	false
44	saxon:serialize	false
45	saxon:sort	false
46	saxon:string-to-base64Binary	false
47	saxon:string-to-hexBinary	false
48	saxon:string-to-utf8	false
49	saxon:system-id	false
50	saxon:transform	false
51	saxon:try	false
52	saxon:type-annotation	false
53	saxon:unparsed-entities	false

4.2 Saxon Extension Elements

Many of Saxon's extension elements are unique, adding functionality to XSLT.2.0

No	Saxon Element	Available
1	saxon:assign	false
2	saxon:break	false (not instruction)
3	saxon:call-template	false
4	saxon:collation	false (not instruction)
5	saxon:doctype	false
6	saxon:entity-ref	false
7	saxon:import-query	false (not instruction)
8	saxon:iterate	false (not instruction)
9	saxon:script	false (not instruction)
10	saxon:while	false

5. EXSLT Extensions

EXSLT is a community initiative to provide extensions to XSLT. This was needed for XSLT 1.0 having limited functionality and very few functions. Almost anything in EXSLT made it into XSLT 2.0 making EXSLT less relevant today with few exceptions like the math functions. EXSLT is still a necessity if we must make stylesheets that work both in XSLT 2.0 processors an in XSLT 1.0 processors.

5.1 EXSL Dates and Times Functions

Except for date:parse-date() the functions in EXSLT DATES AND TIMES are irrelevant in XSLT 2.0 having similar functions. If we need to make stylesheets that work both in XSLT 2.0 and in XSLT 1.0, EXSL extensions can some times help us out if supported in older XSLT processors.

No	EXSL Function	Available
1	date:add	false
2	date:add-duration	false
3	date:date	true
4	date:date-time	true
5	date:day-abbreviation	true
6	date:day-in-month	true
7	date:day-in-week	true
8	date:day-in-year	true
9	date:day-name	true
10	date:day-of-week-in-month	true
11	date:difference	false
12	date:duration	false
13	date:format-date	false
14	date:hour-in-day	true
15	date:leap-year	true
16	date:minute-in-hour	true
17	date:month-abbreviation	true
18	date:month-in-year	true
19	date:month-name	true
20	date:parse-date	false
21	date:second-in-minute	true
22	date:seconds	false
23	date:sum	false
24	date:time	true
25	date:week-in-month	true
26	date:week-in-year	true
27	date:year	true

5.2 EXSL Dates and Times Elements

Extension element in EXSLT DATES AND TIMES is irrelevant in XSLT 2.0 having a similar element.

No	EXSL Element	Available
1	date:date-format	false (not instruction)

5.3 EXSL Dynamic Functions

Except for dyn:evaluate() the functions in EXSLT - DYNAMIC are irrelevant in XSLT/XPath 2.0 having similar functions. Saxon has a better and more complete set of "evaluate" functions. "Evaluate" makes it possible to create XPath expressions dynamically. Expressions in pure XPath can not be created dynamically except that predicates can contain variables.

No	EXSL Function	Available
1	dyn:closure	false
2	dyn:evaluate	false
3	dyn:map	false
4	dyn:max	false
5	dyn:min	false
6	dyn:sum	false

5.4 EXSL Common Functions

Functions in EXSLT Common are irrelevant in XSLT/XPath 2.0 having similar functions.

No	EXSL Function	Available
1	exsl:node-set	true
2	exsl:object-type	true

5.5 EXSL Common Elements

Elements in EXSLT Common are irrelevant in XSLT 2.0 having similar elements.

No	EXSL Element	Available
1	exsl:document	false

5.6 EXSL Functions Elements

Elements in EXSLT Functions are irrelevant in XSLT/XPath 2.0 having similar elements.

No	EXSL Element	Available
1	func:function	false (not instruction)
2	func:result	false
3	func:script	false (not instruction)

5.7 EXSL Math Functions

Most of the functions in EXSLT Math are still very relevant in XSLT 2.0.

No	EXSL Function	Available
1	math:abs	true
2	math:acos	true
3	math:asin	true
4	math:atan	true
5	math:atan2	true
6	math:constant	true
7	math:cos	true
8	math:exp	true
9	math:highest	true
10	math:log	true
11	math:lowest	true
12	math:max	true
13	math:min	true
14	math:power	true
15	math:random	true
16	math:sin	true
17	math:sqrt	true
18	math:tan	true

5.8 EXSL Random Functions

The random() function in EXSLT Random is still relevant in XSLT 2.0.

No	EXSL Function	Available
1	random:random-sequence	false

5.9 EXSL Regular Expressions Functions

Functions in EXSLT Regular Expressions are irrelevant in XSLT/XPath 2.0 having similar functionality.

No	EXSL Function	Available
1	regexp:match	false
2	regexp:replace	false
3	regexp:test	false

5.10 EXSL Sets Functions

Functions in EXSLT Sets are irrelevant in XSLT/XPath 2.0 having similar functionality.

No	EXSL Function	Available
1	set:difference	true
2	set:distinct	true
3	set:has-same-node	true
4	set:intersection	true
5	set:leading	true
6	set:trailing	true

5.11 EXSL String Functions

Functions in EXSLT Strings are irrelevant in XSLT 2.0 having similar functionality.

No	EXSL Function	Available
1	str:align	false
2	str:concat	false
3	str:decode-uri	false
4	str:encode-uri	false
5	str:padding	false
6	str:replace	false
7	str:split	false
8	str:tokenize	false

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