How to Add Local Variables in XSLT View

In XSLT View, local variables are added in the same manner as other XSLT elements. See How to Add XSLT Statements for details about adding XSLT elements using the context menu or Components window.

So, for example, if you select Insert Sibling Before > XSL > Variable from the context menu of an XSLT node, you get the Variable dialog box. Enter the name of the variable, optionally specify a namespace, and click OK.

The variable appears at the appropriate place in the XSLT/target pane. You can choose to map XPath expressions to the variable to set the value of the variable.

The variable also appears in the source tree under the Variables folder. This enables you to map from the variable to other XPath expressions or XSLT nodes.

To determine if the variable is in scope for a particular XSLT node or XPath expression, select the XSLT node or XPath expression. If the variable is in scope for the XSLT node or XPath expression, then the variable appears in bold in the source tree. If the variable is not in scope for the selected XSLT node or XPath expression, then the variable appears disabled in the source tree.

Only scalar variables can be defined. You cannot define the structure of a variable. If the variable you are referencing represents a complex structure, you can reference nodes within the structure by entering the appropriate XPath expression manually.

Note:

If you are using XSLT 1.0, and using a complex variable, it might be necessary to wrap the variable in the ora:node-set function before an XPath expression can be used to access nodes within the variable.

For example, say the myVar variable has the following structure:

<xsl:variable name="myVar">
  <A>
     <B>sometext</B>
  </A>
</xsl:variable>

The text in B can be referenced as ora:node-set($myVar)/A/B. The node-set function is not necessary in XSLT 2.0.