XSL-FO Introduction
XSL-FO is used to format XML data for output.
Prerequisites
Before you learn XSL-FO, you should have a basic understanding of XML and XML namespaces.
If you wish to learn these items first, please read ourXML Tutorial。
What is XSL-FO?
- XSL-FO is a language for formatting XML data.
- XSL-FO stands for Extensible Stylesheet Language Formatting Objects.
- XSL-FO is based on XML.
- XSL-FO is a W3C Recommendation.
- XSL-FO is now often referred to as XSL.
XSL-FO is about formatting.
XSL-FO is an XML-based markup language for describing the formatting (information) of XML data output to screen, paper, or other media.
XSL-FO is often called XSL.
Why does this confusion exist? Are XSL-FO and XSL the same thing?
You could say that, but we need to give you an explanation:
Styling is abouttransforming informationandformatting informationtwo aspects. When the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) wrote their first XSL working draft, this draft included language syntax for transforming and formatting XML documents.
Later, the W3C working group split the original draft into separate standards:
- XSLTa language for transforming XML documents
- XSL or XSL-FO, a language for formatting XML documents
- XPatha language for navigating XML documents through elements and attributes
The rest of this tutorial is about formatting XML documents: XSL-FO, also known as XSL.
XSL-FO is a Web standard.
XSL-FO was established as a W3C Recommendation on October 15, 2001. It is often called XSL.
For more information about W3C's XSL activities, please read ourW3C Tutorial。
Other Extensions