Thanks Ivan,

I have to go through you post slowly so I can absorb it and its 
implications. I'll post a note after I understand it and try your 
recommendations.

Thanks again,
Ron

"Ivan Peters" wrote:

> anotherron wrote:
> > Thanks Anthony and Ivan. Your exmples are very helpful. There is one detail 
> > that I left out of my original post. (I did not realize at the time that it 
> > was important.) I actually have to sort the xml data before traversing the 
> > tree. Specifically the code is:
> > 
> > <xsl:for-each match="parent">
> >  <xsl:sort  select="child"/>
> >   ...
> > </xsl:for-each>
> > 
> > The problem that I am now encountering is that position() uses the 
> > document's sort order not the order specified by the sort element. Is there a 
> > method that will use the sort element's order. (I assume that the sort 
> > element does not actually create a new tree.) Thanks in advance.
> 
> The problem is that the for-each filter is applied befor the sort.  Move 
> the position test inside the loop and it should be fine.
> 
> But... the following-sibling axis returns nodes in document order so 
> tha't going to be a problem.  The only "proper" solution to this is to 
> have a second loop to process the nodes in sort order and find the next 
> one (could be a performance problem with large node sets).
> 
> <table>
>   <xsl:variable name="parents" select="parent"/>
>   <xsl:for-each select="$parents">
>   <xsl:sort select="child"/>
>   <xsl:if select="position() mod 2 = 1">
>    <xsl:variable name="index" select="position()"/>
>    <tr>
>     <td>
>     <xsl:apply-templates select="child"/>
>     </td>
>     <td>
>      <xsl:for-each select="$parents">
>      <xsl:sort select="child"/>
>      <xsl:if select="position() = $index + 1">
>       <xsl:apply-templates select="child"/>
>      </xsl:if>
>      </xsl:for-each>
>     </td>
>    </tr>
>   </xsl:if>
>   </xsl:for-each>
> </table>
> 
> Or, you could use a node-set extension function (if your processor has 
> one) to seperate your sorted nodes from the source document.
> 
> Or, you go back to plan A and use this to insert your TR tags:
> 
> <xsl:text disable-output-escaping="yes">
> <![CDATA[<tr>]]>
> </xsl:text>
> 
> The well-formedness rules of XSL ensure that your output is well formed. 
>   This technique allows you to break those rules which could result in 
> invalid output if you are not careful.  So don't go crazy with it.
> 
> Ivan
>