Example of <xsl:message>

This example demonstrates use of the <xsl:message> element.

The style sheet verifies that the <name> element within a <record> element has been filled in. If a <name> element is empty, a message indicating that the XML is invalid is output.

In the XML file, a name is not supplied for the <name> element in the second record element.

Note To test this example, you need to use a script. For more information, see Initiate XSLT in a Script.

XML File (records.xml)

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="message.xsl" ?>
<records>
   <record>
      <name>David Perry</name>
      <address>222 Cherry</address>
      <phone>555-797-79797</phone>
   </record>
   <record>
      <name></name>
      <address>312 Elm</address>
      <phone>555-797-79797</phone>
   </record>
</records>

XSLT File (message.xsl)

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0"
      xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" >

  <xsl:template match="/">
     <xsl:apply-templates select="*"/>
     <xsl:copy-of select="."/>
  </xsl:template>

  <xsl:template match="*">
     <xsl:apply-templates select="//record"/>
  </xsl:template>

  <xsl:template match="record">
     <xsl:if test="name=''">
         <xsl:message terminate="yes">A name field is empty.
         </xsl:message>
     </xsl:if>
  </xsl:template>

</xsl:stylesheet>

Output

The formatted output is the following error message in Internet Explorer:

A name field is empty.

This the processor output:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>

See Also

<xsl:comment> Element