Instructions Reference

Control Flow

xsl:if, xsl:choose, xsl:switch, xsl:where-populated, xsl:on-empty

#Control Flow

XSLT provides conditional instructions that determine what output to produce based on runtime conditions. Some of these instructions have no direct equivalent in general-purpose languages.

For C# developers: xsl:if and xsl:choose map to if and switch. Other instructions, such as xsl:where-populated, xsl:on-empty, and xsl:on-non-empty, have no direct C# equivalent but solve real formatting problems.

#xsl:if

Simple conditional — if the test expression is true, execute the body. There is no else branch.

xml

<xsl:if test="price > 100">
  <span class="premium-badge">Premium</span>
</xsl:if>

C# parallel: if (price > 100) { ... } — except there is no else. For if/else, use xsl:choose.

#Effective Boolean Value

The test attribute evaluates its XPath expression and transforms the result into a boolean using the "effective boolean value" (EBV) rules. Understanding EBV is essential for writing correct conditions:

Expression Result	Boolean Value	Example
Empty sequence `()`	`false`	`test="product"` is false when there are no `product` children
Non-empty sequence	`true`	`test="product"` is true when at least one `product` child exists
Empty string `""`	`false`	`test="@category"` is false when the attribute is empty
Non-empty string	`true`	`test="@category"` is true when the attribute has a value
Number `0` or `NaN`	`false`	`test="count(item)"` is false when there are no items
Any other number	`true`	`test="count(item)"` is true when items exist
Boolean `false()`	`false`	Explicit false
Boolean `true()`	`true`	Explicit true

This means you can write very concise existence checks:

xml

<!-- Check if element exists (has children named "description") -->
<xsl:if test="description">
  <p><xsl:value-of select="description"/></p>
</xsl:if>
<!-- Check if attribute exists and is non-empty -->
<xsl:if test="@discount">
  <span class="discount"><xsl:value-of select="@discount"/>% off</span>
</xsl:if>
<!-- Check if a string value is present -->
<xsl:if test="normalize-space(notes)">
  <div class="notes"><xsl:value-of select="notes"/></div>
</xsl:if>

C# parallel: This is similar to C#'s truthiness in pattern matching, but more pervasive. In XSLT, the node-existence test test="description" is the equivalent of C#'s null check if (description != null).

#Common Conditions

xml

<!-- Equality -->
<xsl:if test="@status = 'active'">...</xsl:if>
<!-- Numeric comparison -->
<xsl:if test="price >= 50 and price &lt; 100">...</xsl:if>
<!-- Note: < must be escaped as &lt; in XML attributes -->
<!-- Alternative using not(): -->
<xsl:if test="not(price >= 100) and price >= 50">...</xsl:if>
<!-- Existence check -->
<xsl:if test="@id">...</xsl:if>
<!-- Position-based (inside for-each) -->
<xsl:if test="position() != last()">
  <xsl:text>, </xsl:text>
</xsl:if>
<!-- Multiple conditions -->
<xsl:if test="@category = 'electronics' and price > 50">...</xsl:if>
<xsl:if test="@status = 'sale' or @status = 'clearance'">...</xsl:if>

Gotcha: You cannot write <xsl:if test="price < 100"> because < is not valid inside an XML attribute. Use < or reverse the comparison: test="not(price >= 100)" or test="100 > price".

#xsl:choose

Multi-branch conditional — the XSLT equivalent of if / else if / else or switch. This is your go-to when you need more than a simple xsl:if.

xml

<xsl:choose>
  <xsl:when test="price > 100">
    <span class="tier">Premium</span>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="price > 50">
    <span class="tier">Standard</span>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="price > 0">
    <span class="tier">Budget</span>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:otherwise>
    <span class="tier">Free</span>
  </xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>

C# parallel:

csharp

var tier = price switch
{
    > 100 => "Premium",
    > 50  => "Standard",
    > 0   => "Budget",
    _     => "Free"
};

#Structure Rules

xsl:choose must contain one or more xsl:when elements.
xsl:otherwise is optional. It must come last.
The first xsl:when whose test is true wins. Later branches do not run, the same as else if.
If no xsl:when matches and there is no xsl:otherwise, the instruction produces nothing.

#Pattern: Value Mapping

xml

<!-- Map status codes to display labels -->
<xsl:choose>
  <xsl:when test="@status = 'A'">Active</xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="@status = 'D'">Discontinued</xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="@status = 'P'">Pending Review</xsl:when>
  <xsl:otherwise>Unknown (<xsl:value-of select="@status"/>)</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>

#Pattern: Type-Based Processing

xml

<!-- Render different content types -->
<xsl:choose>
  <xsl:when test="self::image">
    <img src="{@src}" alt="{@alt}"/>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="self::video">
    <video src="{@src}" controls="controls"/>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="self::text">
    <p><xsl:value-of select="."/></p>
  </xsl:when>
</xsl:choose>

Note: For type-based processing, template matching (xsl:template match="image", etc.) is usually a better fit. Reserve xsl:choose for conditions that depend on values rather than element names.

#xsl:switch (XSLT 4.0)

XSLT 4.0 introduces xsl:switch — a cleaner syntax for value-based branching. It evaluates a single select expression and matches the result against multiple cases.

xml

<xsl:switch select="@category">
  <xsl:when test="'electronics'">
    <span class="icon">&#x1F4BB;</span>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="'clothing'">
    <span class="icon">&#x1F455;</span>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="'books'">
    <span class="icon">&#x1F4DA;</span>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:otherwise>
    <span class="icon">&#x1F4E6;</span>
  </xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:switch>

The key difference from xsl:choose:

	`xsl:choose`	`xsl:switch`
Evaluated	Each `xsl:when/@test` independently	`xsl:switch/@select` once, then compared to each `xsl:when/@test`
Comparison	Each test is a full boolean expression	Each test is a value compared with `=` to the switch expression
Best for	Complex conditions, range checks	Simple value matching

C# parallel: xsl:switch maps directly to C#'s switch statement or switch expression:

csharp

var icon = category switch
{
    "electronics" => "\U0001F4BB",
    "clothing"    => "\U0001F455",
    "books"       => "\U0001F4DA",
    _             => "\U0001F4E6"
};

#Multiple Values per Case

Each xsl:when can match multiple values if the test expression returns a sequence:

xml

<xsl:switch select="@status">
  <xsl:when test="('active', 'enabled')">
    <span class="badge-green">Available</span>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="('discontinued', 'disabled')">
    <span class="badge-red">Unavailable</span>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:otherwise>
    <span class="badge-gray">Unknown</span>
  </xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:switch>

This is equivalent to C#'s multi-case pattern:

csharp

switch (status)
{
    case "active":
    case "enabled":
        // ...
        break;
}

#xsl:where-populated

Conditionally produces its content only if the content is non-empty. This solves the "conditional wrapper" problem — you want to output a container element only if there is something to put in it.

#The Problem

Consider this common situation: you want to output a <ul> of tags, but only if there are tags:

xml

<!-- Without where-populated: you have to check twice -->
<xsl:if test="tag">
  <ul class="tags">
    <xsl:for-each select="tag">
      <li><xsl:value-of select="."/></li>
    </xsl:for-each>
  </ul>
</xsl:if>

The condition in xsl:if duplicates the logic of the xsl:for-each. If the selection logic is complex, this duplication becomes a maintenance problem.

#The Solution

xml

<xsl:where-populated>
  <ul class="tags">
    <xsl:for-each select="tag">
      <li><xsl:value-of select="."/></li>
    </xsl:for-each>
  </ul>
</xsl:where-populated>

xsl:where-populated evaluates its content. If the content produces any output (nodes or text), it is emitted. If the content produces nothing, the entire block — including the <ul> wrapper — is suppressed.

#Practical Example

xml

<xsl:template match="product">
  <div class="product">
    <h3><xsl:value-of select="name"/></h3>
    <!-- Only show specs table if there are specs -->
    <xsl:where-populated>
      <table class="specs">
        <xsl:for-each select="spec">
          <tr>
            <td><xsl:value-of select="@name"/></td>
            <td><xsl:value-of select="."/></td>
          </tr>
        </xsl:for-each>
      </table>
    </xsl:where-populated>
    <!-- Only show related products section if any exist -->
    <xsl:where-populated>
      <section class="related">
        <h4>Related Products</h4>
        <xsl:apply-templates select="//product[@id = current()/related/@ref]"/>
      </section>
    </xsl:where-populated>
  </div>
</xsl:template>

C# parallel: There is no direct C# equivalent. The closest pattern is a Razor helper that checks for content:

csharp

@if (items.Any())
{
    <ul>
        @foreach (var item in items) { <li>@item</li> }
    </ul>
}

xsl:where-populated avoids the need to write the check separately.

#xsl:on-empty and xsl:on-non-empty

These instructions provide fallback or conditional content based on whether the preceding sibling instructions produced any output.

#xsl:on-empty

Produces output only if nothing else in the same sequence constructor produced output. Think of it as a "default" or "fallback."

xml

<xsl:template match="product">
  <p class="description">
    <xsl:value-of select="description"/>
    <xsl:on-empty>No description available.</xsl:on-empty>
  </p>
</xsl:template>

If the description element is empty or missing, the output is:

html

<p class="description">No description available.</p>

#xsl:on-non-empty

The inverse — produces output only if preceding instructions did produce output. Useful for adding decorative wrappers or separators:

xml

<xsl:template match="product">
  <div class="product">
    <h3><xsl:value-of select="name"/></h3>
    <xsl:apply-templates select="tag"/>
    <xsl:on-non-empty>
      <hr/>
    </xsl:on-non-empty>
    <xsl:apply-templates select="review"/>
  </div>
</xsl:template>

Here, the <hr/> only appears if there were tags. If the product has no tags, no <hr/> is produced.

#Combined Example

xml

<xsl:template match="product">
  <div class="product-card">
    <h3><xsl:value-of select="name"/></h3>
    <div class="tags">
      <xsl:for-each select="tag">
        <span class="tag"><xsl:value-of select="."/></span>
      </xsl:for-each>
      <xsl:on-empty>
        <span class="no-tags">Uncategorized</span>
      </xsl:on-empty>
    </div>
  </div>
</xsl:template>

C# parallel: The null-coalescing operator ?? or the DefaultIfEmpty() LINQ method:

csharp

var displayTags = product.Tags.Any()
    ? product.Tags
    : new[] { "Uncategorized" };

#Placement Rules

xsl:on-empty and xsl:on-non-empty must be the last instructions in their parent sequence constructor.
They evaluate whether everything before them in the same parent produced output.
They can appear inside xsl:where-populated for layered conditional logic.

#Common Patterns

#Combining Conditions with and / or

xml

<!-- Product is on sale AND in stock -->
<xsl:if test="@on-sale = 'true' and stock > 0">
  <span class="available-sale">On Sale — In Stock!</span>
</xsl:if>
<!-- Product is either new or featured -->
<xsl:if test="@new = 'true' or @featured = 'true'">
  <span class="highlight">Recommended</span>
</xsl:if>

#Nested choose

When you need multi-dimensional branching:

xml

<xsl:choose>
  <xsl:when test="@category = 'electronics'">
    <xsl:choose>
      <xsl:when test="price > 500">High-end Electronics</xsl:when>
      <xsl:when test="price > 100">Mid-range Electronics</xsl:when>
      <xsl:otherwise>Budget Electronics</xsl:otherwise>
    </xsl:choose>
  </xsl:when>
  <xsl:when test="@category = 'clothing'">
    <!-- ... -->
  </xsl:when>
</xsl:choose>

Tip: Deeply nested xsl:choose is a code smell. Consider extracting inner conditions into separate templates or functions.

#Null-Checking with xsl:if

A common pattern is checking whether a value exists before using it:

xml

<xsl:template match="product">
  <div class="product">
    <h3><xsl:value-of select="name"/></h3>
    <!-- Only show price if it exists -->
    <xsl:if test="price">
      <p class="price">$<xsl:value-of select="price"/></p>
    </xsl:if>
    <!-- Only show image if src attribute is present and non-empty -->
    <xsl:if test="normalize-space(image/@src)">
      <img src="{image/@src}" alt="{name}"/>
    </xsl:if>
    <!-- Only show discount if it's a positive number -->
    <xsl:if test="number(@discount) > 0">
      <span class="discount"><xsl:value-of select="@discount"/>% off</span>
    </xsl:if>
  </div>
</xsl:template>

C# parallel: Null-conditional operators ?. and null-coalescing ??:

csharp

// C# null checks
if (product.Price != null)
    html += $"<p class='price'>${product.Price}</p>";
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(product.Image?.Src))
    html += $"<img src='{product.Image.Src}'/>";

#Separator Pattern (Comma-Separated Lists)

xml

<xsl:for-each select="tag">
  <xsl:if test="position() > 1">
    <xsl:text>, </xsl:text>
  </xsl:if>
  <xsl:value-of select="."/>
</xsl:for-each>
<!-- Output: electronics, sale, new -->

Or use xsl:value-of with separator:

xml

<xsl:value-of select="tag" separator=", "/>