use xslt to insert a number n times to a xml document

Question

I'd like to repeatedly add a elect to and xml structure, the number of times depends on a value attribute.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<?xml-stylesheet href="zahlen.xsl" type="text/xsl"?> 
<numbers>
    <number value="8"/>
    <number value="3"/>
    <number value="13"/>
    <number value="2"/>
    <number value="9"/>
</numbers>

I have this XSLT that returns each number one time

<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">

<xsl:output method="xml" encoding="utf-8" indent="yes"/>

<xsl:template match="/">
                
 <xsl:for-each select="numbers/number">

       <p> <xsl:value-of select="@value"/></p>
   
 </xsl:for-each>

                    </xsl:template>

                    </xsl:stylesheet>

what I want is something like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<p>8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8</p>
<p>3 3 3</p>
<p>13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13</p>
<p>2 2</p>
<p>9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9</p>

I tried to look for loop examples for xslt, but I can't reproduce them.

Are you limited to XSLT 1.0? Which XSLT engine are you using? — Sebastien, Feb 18 '21 at 16:59
I am not limeted to XSLT 1. it is a learning question, no concrete engine. — Nivatius, Feb 19 '21 at 10:23

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 18 '21 at 17:08

Here's a solution in XSLT 1.0 that uses a recursive template.

<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">

<xsl:output method="xml" encoding="utf-8" indent="yes"/>

    <xsl:template match="/">
        <output>
            <xsl:apply-templates select="numbers/number"/>
        </output>
    </xsl:template>
    
    <xsl:template match="number">
        <p>
            <xsl:call-template name="iteration">
                <xsl:with-param name="number" select="@value"/>
                <xsl:with-param name="iter" select="@value"/>
            </xsl:call-template>
        </p>
    </xsl:template>
    
    <xsl:template name="iteration">
        <xsl:param name="number"/>
        <xsl:param name="iter"/>
        <xsl:if test="$iter>0">
            <xsl:value-of select="concat($number,' ')"/>
            <xsl:call-template name="iteration">
                <xsl:with-param name="number" select="$number"/>
                <xsl:with-param name="iter" select="$iter - 1"/>
            </xsl:call-template>
        </xsl:if>
        
    </xsl:template>

</xsl:stylesheet>

See it working here: https://xsltfiddle.liberty-development.net/6q1SDkS

use xslt to insert a number n times to a xml document

1 Answers1