Just override the identity transformation, for example like this:

<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0"  xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
 <xsl:output omit-xml-declaration="yes" indent="yes"/>
 <xsl:strip-space elements="*"/>

  <xsl:template match="node()|@*">
    <xsl:copy>
      <xsl:apply-templates select="node()|@*"/>
    </xsl:copy>
  </xsl:template>

  <xsl:template match="span/number"/>
</xsl:stylesheet>

When this transformation is applied on the provided source XML document:


<root>
  <span><number>9.3</number> <code>protected</code> members</span>
  <span><number>9.4</number> miscellaneous members.</span>
< /root>

The wanted, correct result is produced:

<root>
   <span>
      <code>protected</code> members</span>
   <span> miscellaneous members.</span>
</root>


On Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 1:44 PM, Rick Quatro rick@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Here is my input xml:
>
> <?xml version="1.0"?>
> <root>
>   <span><number>9.3</number> <code>protected</code> members</span>
>   <span><number>9.4</number> miscellaneous members.</span>
> </root>
>
> Here is the desired output:
>
> <?xml version="1.0"?>
> <root>
>   <span> <code>protected</code> members</span>
>   <span> miscellaneous members.</span>
> </root>
>
> I want to output all of the elements and text of the original <span> element, but without the <number> element. I am using this for my xsl:
>
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
> <xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
>     xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
>     exclude-result-prefixes="xs"
>     version="2.0">
>
>     <xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes"/>
>
>     <xsl:template match="/root">
>         <root>
>             <xsl:for-each select="span">
>                 <xsl:copy-of select="descendant::*[not(self::number)]"/>
>             </xsl:for-each>
>         </root>
>     </xsl:template>
>
> </xsl:stylesheet>
>
> This is my current (incorrect) output:
>
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
> <root>
>    <code>protected</code>
> </root>
>
> Any help or pointers would be appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Rick Quatro
> Carmen Publishing Inc.
> 585-366-4017
> rick@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> 



-- 
Cheers,
Dimitre Novatchev
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Truly great madness cannot be achieved without significant intelligence.
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To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk
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Never fight an inanimate object
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To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the
biggest mistake of all
------------------------------------
Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.
-------------------------------------
You've achieved success in your field when you don't know whether what
you're doing is work or play
-------------------------------------
To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep.
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Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
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Typing monkeys will write all Shakespeare's works in 200yrs.Will they
write all patents, too? :)
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Sanity is madness put to good use.
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I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it.