Convert CSS to XSL

Understanding css and xsl file formats

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a stylesheet language used to describe the presentation of HTML or XML documents. It controls layout, colors, fonts, and other visual aspects of web pages.

XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) is a family of languages used to transform and render XML documents. The most common part, XSLT (XSL Transformations), is used to transform XML data into different formats, including HTML, text, or other XML structures.

Why convert css to xsl?

Converting CSS to XSL is useful when you want to apply styles or transformations directly to XML data, especially for automated publishing or data presentation workflows. While CSS styles the appearance, XSL can both transform and style XML content.

How to convert css to xsl

There is no direct, automated one-to-one conversion from CSS to XSL, as they serve different purposes. However, you can manually translate CSS rules into XSL templates and use XSL-FO (Formatting Objects) for styling XML output. This process involves:

• Identifying the CSS selectors and properties you want to replicate.
• Creating XSLT templates that match the corresponding XML elements.
• Using <xsl:template> and <fo:block> or similar XSL-FO elements to apply styles.

Recommended software for css to xsl conversion

Since there is no fully automated tool for this conversion, the best approach is to use an XML/XSLT editor such as Oxygen XML Editor or Altova XMLSpy. These tools provide robust environments for editing and testing XSLT stylesheets:

• Oxygen XML Editor: Offers advanced XSLT editing, transformation, and debugging features.
• Altova XMLSpy: Provides visual XSLT design and supports XSL-FO for styling XML output.

To manually convert, open your XML file and create a new XSLT stylesheet. Use menu options like File → New → XSLT Stylesheet and start building templates that reflect your CSS styling logic.

Tips for effective conversion

• Focus on the structure of your XML and how you want it to appear after transformation.
• Use XSL-FO for advanced styling, especially for print-ready documents (PDF, etc.).
• Test your XSLT transformations frequently to ensure correct output.