Work
Subscribe15 Aug
How to default a variable in XSLT
Since I couldn't find this anywhere on the web, and I'm working on a project that has had me very quickly learn XSLT, here's how to default a value in XSLT - useful if you're looking to grab a variable via the query string, and it may not be there in the first place.
<xsl:variable name="show_comments">
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="//QUERY_STRING/show_comments"><xsl:value-of select="//QUERY_STRING/show_comments"/></xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>0</xsl:otherwise> <!-- default value -->
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:variable>Note: //QUERY_STRING is a made up variable
I know XSLT might be a bit random for me, but client wants: client gets 
Only way I know of, too.
XSLT is fun
It's important to realize though that it has several limitations, and certain things are a real PITA to do in it.
That's where using Saxon or some other XSLT processor that lets you extend XSLT with your own functions/methods written in a more powerful langauge like Java or C.