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XSLT <xsl:message> Element

Definition and Usage

The <xsl:message> element writes a message to the output. This element is primarily used to report errors.

This element can contain almost any other XSL element (<xsl:text>, <xsl:value-of>, etc.).

The terminate attribute gives you the choice to either quit or continue the processing when an error occurs.

Syntax

<xsl:message terminate="yes|no">

  <!-- Content:template -->

</xsl:message>

Attributes

Attribute	Value	Description
terminate	yes no	Optional. "yes" terminates the processing after the message is written to the output. "no" continues the processing after the message is written to the output. Default is "no".

Example 1

Check if artist is an empty string. If yes, we quit the XSL processor and display a message:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0"
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">

<xsl:template match="/">
  <html>
  <body>
  <xsl:for-each select="catalog/cd">
    <p>Title: <xsl:value-of select="title"/><br />
    Artist:
    <xsl:if test="artist=''">
      <xsl:message terminate="yes">
        Error: Artist is an empty string!
      </xsl:message>
    </xsl:if>
    <xsl:value-of select="artist"/>
    </p>
  </xsl:for-each>
  </body>
  </html>
</xsl:template>

</xsl:stylesheet>

Complete XSLT Element Reference