Echelon NodeBuilder Resource Report Generator - Manual (Page 49)

XSLT Transformations
A resource report consists of a set of XML files that can be viewed in a Web browser.
The XML files contain unformatted data. They also contain references to an XSLT
transformation that defines how information is presented in a generated report page. The
XSLT transformation is responsible for converting information into HTML for viewing
reports using a Web browser. You can create transformations that produce different
report formats (such as XML file based reports with different markup), or a PDF-based
report. The number of variations is unlimited.
Transformations written in the XSLT programming language can be executed in many
environments, including Web servers or Web browsers. However, XSLT engines are
also available through command line tools such as Saxon.exe or MSXSL.exe (and any
other APIs, such as Microsoft’s comprehensive MSXML4 package). Using these tools
allows you to customize resource reports without visiting the report start page. You
could, for example, convert the entire resource report into an eBook using an XSLT-
based CGI application and send it to an eBook subscriber.
Report Generator Templates Folder
The default implementation of the report viewing process uses a two-step transformation
process. The index transformation creates a list of sub-indexes.
The type transformation converts information from the sub indexes and displays reported
resources. See below.
47 NodeBuilder Resource Report Generator User’s Guide