[Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries]

Subject: Optimising XSLT 2.0 restructuring of large SVRL files (Saxon-HE 12.9)
From: "Susanne Wunsch susanne.wunsch@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 22 May 2026 11:35:56 -0000
Hi all,

TL;DR: An XSLT 2.0 stylesheet that restructures a flat SVRL document into a hierarchical tree takes ~20 minutes for a 40 MB input (C"B B346,000 elements) on Saxon-PE 12.9. I suspect the following-sibling:: / preceding-sibling:: lookups are the culprit. I would be grateful for hints on how to rewrite the two hot templates (svrl:active-pattern, svrl:fired-rule) while preserving the exact same output.

Background:

Schematron validation produces an SVRL (Schematron Validation Report Language) document. To make the report accessible to domain experts, the SVRL is post-processed in two steps:

(1) Transformation from the rather flat SVRL into a hierarchical XML tree (the step in question).
(2) A domain-specific enrichment of that restructured tree.


From the resulting in-memory tree, two output chains are derived:

a) HTML, and
b) XSL-FO, rendered to PDF via FOP.

The intermediate result of step (1) is NOT serialised to disk; it is held in an xsl:variable and consumed directly by step (2):

<xsl:import href="HierarchicalSVRL.xsl"/>

<xsl:variable name="strukt-svrl">
  <xsl:apply-templates mode="restructure"/>
</xsl:variable>

Environment:

XSLT processor: Saxon-HE 12.9, no extensions
XSLT version: 2.0
Input size: ~40 MB SVRL, ~346,000 elements
Runtime of step (1): ~20 minutes

Profiling observation:

Running Saxon with -TP (profile) shows the dominant "total time (net/ms)" for these two templates, which I would like to optimise:

* xsl:template element(Q{http://purl.oclc.org/dsdl/svrl}active-pattern)
* xsl:template element(Q{http://purl.oclc.org/dsdl/svrl}fired-rule)


The stylesheet (HierarchicalSVRL.xsl):


<xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
    xmlns:svrl="http://purl.oclc.org/dsdl/svrl"
    xmlns:hsvrl="http://tu-dresden.de/vlp/schematron/hierarchical-svrl"
    xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
    exclude-result-prefixes="xs svrl"
    version="2.0">

<xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes"/>

<!-- The following templates in 'mode="restructure"' perform the restructuring process -->

    <xsl:template match="@*|comment()" mode="restructure">
        <xsl:copy copy-namespaces="no">
            <xsl:apply-templates select="@*|comment()" mode="#current"/>
        </xsl:copy>
    </xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="svrl:*" mode="restructure">
<xsl:element name="{local-name()}" namespace="http://tu-dresden.de/vlp/schematron/hierarchical-svrl">
<xsl:apply-templates select="@*|comment()|node()" mode="#current"/>
</xsl:element>
</xsl:template>


<xsl:template match="*" mode="restructure">
<xsl:element name="{name()}" namespace="{namespace-uri()}">
<xsl:apply-templates select="@*|comment()|node()" mode="#current"/>
</xsl:element>
</xsl:template>


<xsl:template match="svrl:schematron-output" mode="restructure">
<xsl:element name="{local-name()}" namespace="http://tu-dresden.de/vlp/schematron/hierarchical-svrl">
<xsl:apply-templates select="@*" mode="#current"/>
<xsl:comment>
This is a restructured SVRL document, which does not comply with ISO 19757-3 Annex D grammar!
</xsl:comment>
<xsl:apply-templates select="comment()" mode="#current"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="svrl:text" mode="#current"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="svrl:ns-prefix-in-attribute-values" mode="#current"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="svrl:active-pattern" mode="#current"/>
</xsl:element>
</xsl:template>


<xsl:template match="svrl:active-pattern" mode="restructure">
<xsl:element name="{local-name()}" namespace="http://tu-dresden.de/vlp/schematron/hierarchical-svrl">
<xsl:apply-templates select="@*|comment()" mode="#current"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="*" mode="#current"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="following-sibling::svrl:fired-rule[count(preceding-sibling::svrl:active-pattern[1] | current()) = 1]"
mode="#current"/>
</xsl:element>
</xsl:template>


<xsl:template match="svrl:fired-rule[@flag = 'ignore']" mode="restructure">
<xsl:apply-templates mode="restructure"/>
</xsl:template>


<xsl:template match="svrl:failed-assert[preceding-sibling::*[1]/@flag = 'ignore']" mode="restructure" priority="2">
<xsl:apply-templates mode="restructure"/>
</xsl:template>


<xsl:template match="svrl:successful-report[preceding-sibling::*[1]/@flag = 'ignore']" mode="restructure" priority="2">
<xsl:apply-templates mode="restructure"/>
</xsl:template>


<xsl:template match="svrl:fired-rule[not(@role)]" mode="restructure" priority="-1">
<xsl:apply-templates mode="restructure"/>
</xsl:template>


<xsl:template match="svrl:fired-rule" mode="restructure">
<xsl:element name="{local-name()}" namespace="http://tu-dresden.de/vlp/schematron/hierarchical-svrl">
<xsl:apply-templates select="@*|comment()" mode="#current"/>
<xsl:variable name="next-element" select="parent::*/following-sibling::*[1]"/>
<xsl:if test="$next-element/not(svrl:*)">
<xsl:apply-templates select="$next-element" mode="#current"/>
</xsl:if>
<xsl:apply-templates select="following-sibling::svrl:failed-assert[count(preceding-sibling::svrl:fired-rule[1] | current()) = 1] |


following-sibling::svrl:successful-report[count(preceding-sibling::svrl:fired-rule[1] | current()) = 1]"
mode="#current"/>
</xsl:element>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>



"Minimal" Input Example (SVRL):
(I can post the full sample if anyone wants it; I trimmed it here for brevity.)


<svrl:schematron-output xmlns:fx="http://tu-dresden.de/vlp/schematron/functions"
xmlns:iso="http://purl.oclc.org/dsdl/schematron"
xmlns:planpro="http://www.plan-pro.org/regeln/struktur"
xmlns:saxon="http://saxon.sf.net/"
xmlns:schold="http://www.ascc.net/xml/schematron"
xmlns:svrl="http://purl.oclc.org/dsdl/svrl"
xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
title="Regelbasis fCB<r PlanPro-PlaZ"
schemaVersion="ISO19757-3">
<svrl:ns-prefix-in-attribute-values uri="http://www.plan-pro.org/regeln/struktur" prefix="planpro"/>
<svrl:ns-prefix-in-attribute-values uri="http://tu-dresden.de/vlp/schematron/functions" prefix="fx"/>
<svrl:ns-prefix-in-attribute-values uri="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" prefix="xsi"/>
<svrl:active-pattern document="file:/C:/Users/xyz/PlaZ/PlanPro-samples/Testdateien/Bezeichnertest2.xml"
id="ID123"
name="test rule"
fpi="12345678-9ABC-DEF1-2345-6789ABCDEF12"
see="test"
planpro:workpackage="BASISOBJEKTE"
planpro:version="1.10.0.1">
<svrl:text>
<planpro:description xmlns="http://purl.oclc.org/dsdl/schematron">
Human readable (sometimes lengthy) description of the specific rule, to be applied to the whole input XML file
</planpro:description>
<planpro:comment xmlns="http://purl.oclc.org/dsdl/schematron"/>
<planpro:test xmlns="http://purl.oclc.org/dsdl/schematron">
<planpro:success>human readable success message</planpro:success>
<planpro:error>human readable error message</planpro:error>
</planpro:test>
<planpro:output xmlns="http://purl.oclc.org/dsdl/schematron">PlanPro object type</planpro:output>
</svrl:text>
</svrl:active-pattern>
<svrl:fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<svrl:failed-assert test="false()"


location="/*:PlanPro_Schnittstelle[namespace-uri()='http://www.plan-pro.org/modell/PlanPro/1.10.0.1'][1]/LST_Planung[1]/Fachdaten[1]/Ausgabe_Fachdaten[1]/LST_Zustand_Ziel[1]/Container[1]/Anhang[1]">
<svrl:text>Es ist ein Fehler aufgetreten.</svrl:text>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="guid">317691e7-6b55-428d-925b-9107f72b9bc0</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="typ">Anhang</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="bereich">Betrachtung</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="aufbau">00</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s1">Anhang</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s2">file name</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s3"/>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s4"/>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s5"/>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s6"/>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s7"/>
</svrl:failed-assert>
<svrl:fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<svrl:fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<svrl:fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<svrl:fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<svrl:fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<svrl:fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<svrl:fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<svrl:fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<svrl:failed-assert test="false()"


location="/*:PlanPro_Schnittstelle[namespace-uri()='http://www.plan-pro.org/modell/PlanPro/1.10.0.1'][1]/LST_Planung[1]/Fachdaten[1]/Ausgabe_Fachdaten[1]/LST_Zustand_Ziel[1]/Container[1]/Aussenelementansteuerung[1]">
<svrl:text>Es ist ein Fehler aufgetreten.</svrl:text>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="guid">bc2efe9a-a70b-4249-9c84-80636c08b093</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="typ">Aussenelementansteuerung</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="bereich">Betrachtung</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="aufbau">01</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s1">Au\xDFenelementansteuerung</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s2">Gleisfreimelde-Innenanlage</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s3">AEA blah</svrl:diagnostic-reference>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s4"/>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s5"/>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s6"/>
<svrl:diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s7"/>
</svrl:failed-assert>
</svrl:schematron-output>



Desired Restructured Output (excerpt):


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<schematron-output xmlns="http://tu-dresden.de/vlp/schematron/hierarchical-svrl" title="Regelbasis f\xFCr PlanPro-PlaZ" schemaVersion="ISO19757-3"><!--
This is a restructured SVRL document, which does not comply with ISO 19757-3 Annex D grammar!
-->
<ns-prefix-in-attribute-values uri="http://www.plan-pro.org/regeln/struktur" prefix="planpro"/>
<ns-prefix-in-attribute-values uri="http://tu-dresden.de/vlp/schematron/functions" prefix="fx"/>
<ns-prefix-in-attribute-values uri="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" prefix="xsi"/>
<active-pattern xmlns:planpro="http://www.plan-pro.org/regeln/struktur"


document="file:/C:/Users/xyz/PlaZ/PlanPro-samples/Testdateien/Bezeichnertest2.xml"
id="ID123"
name="test rule"
fpi="12345678-9ABC-DEF1-2345-6789ABCDEF12"
see="test"
planpro:workpackage="BASISOBJEKTE"
planpro:version="1.10.0.1">
<text>
<planpro:description>
Human readable (sometimes lengthy) description of the specific rule, to be applied to the whole input XML file
</planpro:description>
<planpro:comment/>
<planpro:test>
<planpro:success>human readable success message</planpro:success>
<planpro:error>human readable error message</planpro:error>
</planpro:test>
<planpro:output>PlanPro object type</planpro:output>
</text>
<fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error">
<failed-assert test="false()"


location="/*:PlanPro_Schnittstelle[namespace-uri()='http://www.plan-pro.org/modell/PlanPro/1.10.0.1'][1]/LST_Planung[1]/Fachdaten[1]/Ausgabe_Fachdaten[1]/LST_Zustand_Ziel[1]/Container[1]/Anhang[1]">
<text>Es ist ein Fehler aufgetreten.</text>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="guid">317691e7-6b55-428d-925b-9107f72b9bc0</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="typ">Anhang</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="bereich">Betrachtung</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="aufbau">00</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s1">Anhang</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s2">file name</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s3"/>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s4"/>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s5"/>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s6"/>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s7"/>
</failed-assert>
</fired-rule>
<fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error"/>
<fired-rule context="(LST_Zustand|LST_Zustand_Ziel)/Container/*" role="error">
<failed-assert test="false()"


location="/*:PlanPro_Schnittstelle[namespace-uri()='http://www.plan-pro.org/modell/PlanPro/1.10.0.1'][1]/LST_Planung[1]/Fachdaten[1]/Ausgabe_Fachdaten[1]/LST_Zustand_Ziel[1]/Container[1]/Aussenelementansteuerung[1]">
<text>Es ist ein Fehler aufgetreten.</text>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="guid">bc2efe9a-a70b-4249-9c84-80636c08b093</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="typ">Aussenelementansteuerung</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="bereich">Betrachtung</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="aufbau">01</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s1">Au\xDFenelementansteuerung</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s2">Gleisfreimelde-Innenanlage</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s3">AEA blah</diagnostic-reference>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s4"/>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s5"/>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s6"/>
<diagnostic-reference diagnostic="s7"/>
</failed-assert>
</fired-rule>
</active-pattern>
</schematron-output>


In short: every fired-rule has to swallow its following failed-assert / successful-report siblings up to the next fired-rule, and every active-pattern has to swallow its following fired-rule group up to the next active-pattern.

Is there an XSLT 2.0 way that produces identical output but avoids the apparent n^2 cost of the sibling-axis idioms above?

Any pointer, code sketch, or "you are doing this wrong because..." is highly welcome.

Thanks in advance, and best regards,
Susanne

Current Thread
Site Map | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Trademarks
Free Stylus Studio XML Training:
W3C Member