XML Pipeline Components

Every XML pipeline consists of a number of components that represent some aspect of XML processing. Typically, an XML pipeline will contain components that represent

You also specify values for the input and output ports on these nodes, which determines the flow of the processing defined in the XML pipeline.

This section reviews the components you can include in an XML pipeline.

Transformations

A transformation is an operation that takes an input, performs an action on it, and returns an output. Examples of XML transformations include XQuery and XSLT. Transformation output can be a finished product - XSLT that creates an HTML report, for example - or it can be something that is passed along to another operation for additional processing - XQuery that specifies FO post-processing of the XML it generates, or output passed to an XML Schema for validation, for example.

You can include the following transformations in an XML pipeline in Stylus Studio:

Flow Control

Flow control nodes control the flow of an XML pipeline. For example, you might choose to use a Stop node to display a message when the XML pipeline encounters an error condition - such as when it requires an XML document fails validation against its XML Schema.

You can use the following nodes to control the flow of an XML pipeline in Stylus Studio

Data Sources

Data source nodes are used to specify the XML data that is to be processed. For example, your XML pipeline might begin by processing raw XML, or it might require that non-XML data (such as a text file or a relational table) first be converted to XML prior to additional processing.

You can use the following nodes to specify data sources in an XML pipeline:

XML pipeline nodes are connected to each other by one or more pipes. The pipes represent the flow of XML data from one operation or transformation in the XML pipeline to another. Pipes connect to a node's input and output ports, which are found on most nodes representing XML pipeline components. (Not all nodes have both input and output ports.)

You specify the flow of an XML pipeline's processing by linking one node's output port to another node's input port.