As mentioned earlier, reports are produced by applying XSLT stylesheet transformations to XML query results. This includes all the out-of-the-box formats. XSLT stylesheets are capable of producing not only any HTML layout but also any other XML or text format.

XSLT stylesheets are based on the concepts of templates and rules. Most XSLT stylesheets are largely composed of XML or HTML tags and text that are static; that is, included verbatim in the output. The remainder of the stylesheet is then composed of rules for computing the dynamic portion of the output from the input XML. Depending on the mix of templates and rules, the nature of XSLT customization can vary from simple HTML authoring to pure programming. For the definitive specification on XSLT, refer to the W3C XSLT specification, currently available at the following URL: http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt

For additional information about XSLT, refer to the “What is XSLT?” link and the “Resources” area currently available at the following URL: http://www.xml.com