• Chapter 1: Getting Started with Stylus Studio®
• Chapter 2: Editing and Querying XML
• Chapter 3: Converting Non-XML Files to XML
• Chapter 4: Working with XSLT
  • Getting Started with XSLT
    • What Is XSLT?
    • What Is a Stylesheet?
    • What Is a Template?
    • How the XSLT Processor Applies a Stylesheet
    • Controlling the Contents of the Result Document
    • Specifying XSLT Patterns and Expressions
    • Frequently Asked Questions About XSLT
    • Sources for Additional XSLT Information
    • Benefits of Using Stylus Studio
      • Structural Data View
      • Sophisticated Editing Environment
      • XSLT and Java Debugging Features
      • Integrated XML Parser/XSLT Processor
  • Tutorial: Understanding How Templates Work
  • Working with Stylesheets
  • Creating Stylesheets That Generate HTML
  • Specifying Extension Functions in Stylesheets
  • Working with Templates
  • Using Third-Party XSLT Processors
  • Validating Result Documents
  • Post-processing Result Documents
  • Generating Formatting Objects
  • Generating Scalable Vector Graphics
  • Generating Java Code for XSLT
  • XSLT Instructions Quick Reference
• Chapter 5: Creating XSLT Using the XSLT Mapper
• Chapter 6: Debugging Stylesheets
• Chapter 7: Defining XML Schemas
• Chapter 8: Defining Document Type Definitions
• Chapter 9: Writing XPath Expressions
• Chapter 10: Working with XQuery in Stylus Studio
• Chapter 11: Composing Web Service Calls
• Chapter 12: Accessing Relational Data as XML
• Chapter 13: Building XML Pipelines
• Chapter 14: Publishing XML Data
• Chapter 15: Integrating with Third-Party File Systems
• Chapter 16: Extending Stylus Studio
• Chapter 17: The Stylus Studio Java API
• Chapter 18: Stylus Studio GUI Reference

Home > Online Product Documentation > Table of Contents > Benefits of Using Stylus Studio

Benefits of Using Stylus Studio

Now that you have an understanding of what a stylesheet can do, you can appreciate the benefits of using Stylus Studio to create them. Stylus Studio is the first integrated environment for creating, managing, and maintaining an XSL-enabled Web presence. By combining the tools needed to create XSLT stylesheets in a visual editing environment, Stylus Studio speeds initial development and eases maintenance. Key elements of Stylus Studio's XSLT features include

Structural Data View

Stylus Studio graphically displays the structure, or schema, of the XML data to which you want to apply a stylesheet.

Using this tree view, you can apply formatting to your XML - double-clicking a node in the tree automatically adds an xsl:template match= instruction for that node, for example. Similarly, when you drag a node into the XSLT source, Stylus Studio displays a pop-up menu that allows you to easily insert an XSLT instruction.

Finally, you can also use the tree to move quickly among different XSLT templates - clicking a node in the tree places the cursor at the corresponding template in the XSLT source.

Sophisticated Editing Environment

The Stylus Studio editor allows you to edit both the XML source document and the XSLT stylesheet. There is no need to memorize complicated syntax. As you type, Stylus Studio Sense:X technology automatically suggests XSLT or HTML tag and attribute names, and ensures that all XML is well formed.

Sense:X also adapts to your document by suggesting more frequently used tags first. Valid XSLT and HTML tag names are color coded to improve readability.

XSLT and Java Debugging Features

Complex stylesheets require robust debugging features. With Stylus Studio, you can do the following:

Also, you can click in the stylesheet and the backmapping feature highlights the text generated by that template.

Integrated XML Parser/XSLT Processor

Stylus Studio integrates an XML parser with an XSLT processor. This allows Stylus Studio to instantly show the output of your stylesheet. Each time you apply a stylesheet to an XML document, Stylus Studio detects and flags any errors in your stylesheet or XML data.

Stylus Studio's default XSLT processor is compliant with the W3C XSLT Recommendation. You can also use the Xalan-J processor, or custom processors of your own.