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Re: [xsl] Calling C++ from XSLT


Subject: Re: [xsl] Calling C++ from XSLT
From: Steve Ball <Steve.Ball@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2011 15:11:59 +1100

Hi Franck,

Yes it is possible. XSLT (1.0 and 2.0) defines an extension mechanism that
allows a stylesheet to declare extension functions and elements.

However, it depends on your XSLT engine as to how the engine interfaces with
your C++ code when it encounters a call to the extension. You should check the
documentation of your XSLT engine to see what's involved.

BTW, I developed TclXSLT; a binding of libxslt to the Tcl scripting language.
This allows Tcl to setup and invoke an XSL stylesheet. It also allows a Tcl
script to define an extension and implement extension functions and elements.
It is quite easy to interface Tcl with C/C++. I mention this just to show that
it can be done and I've done it - you probably don't want to have to use a
third-party language for your purpose.

One thing to note is that if your data is binary then it cannot be included
directly in an XML document, which is the source for your XSL stylesheet. You
would have to base64 encode the binary data and have your extension decode it
before trying to sort it.

Hope that helps,
Steve Ball

On 08/11/2011, at 5:10 AM, Franck Houssen wrote:

>
>
> Hello xsl-list,
>
> Is it possible to call a C++ code (or function) from an XSLT sheet ? If yes,
do you know some tutorial / guide / user manual dealing with this topic ?
> A subsidiary question : is it possible to trigger system calls from an XSLT
sheet ? (to trigger the execution of a C++ program)
>
>
>
> I'am experienced in programming (C++, Java) but I'am new to XML / XSLT
purposes.
>
> Starting from w3c.org, I started to find out more about XSLT. Then, I found
the mulberrytech web site and I decided to post this question !...
>
> Here is my need :
>
> 1. step 1 : I have text files and binary datas (little or big endian)
generated by C++, Java or Fortran (on Windows or Unix OS) that I need to sort
>
> 2. step 2 : to sort datas, I believed XSLT could be the suited solution
(avoiding writing a painfull-to-write-and-maintian-C++ code to sort datas)
>
> 3. step 3 : when sorting with XSLT, I need to call C++ (Java, Fortran, ...)
to read binary data to know how to handle them and which transformation should
be applied (according to associated text files)
>
>
> Could you give me a solution ? Some clue ? A link to some documentation ? A
book ? Or anything that could help me ?!...
> If you can't help me, could you forward this mail to somebody that could
help me ?
>
> Regards,
>
> Franck


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