How to transform XML using XSLT in a .NET application
Use the XslCompiledTransform class to load XSLT files, convert XML to the required format through the Transform method, support file, stream or string input, and can pass parameters and settings, and finally generate output results such as HTML.
To transform XML using XSLT in a .NET application, you can use the System.Xml.Xsl namespace, which provides the XslCompiledTransform class—the recommended processor for XSLT transformations in modern .NET applications.
1. Prepare Your XML and XSLT Files
Ensure you have both an XML file (input data) and an XSLT file (transformation rules). For example:
- input.xml – contains your source data
- transform.xslt – defines how to transform the XML
2. Use XslCompiledTransform to Perform the Transformation
Create an instance of XslCompiledTransform , load the XSLT file, and execute the transformation. Here's a basic example:
using System;
using System.Xml;
using System.Xml.Xsl;
using System.IO;
class Program
{
static void Main()
{
// Create the XSL Transform object
XslCompiledTransform xslt = new XslCompiledTransform();
// Load the XSLT document
xslt.Load("transform.xslt");
// Execute the transformation and output to a file
using (XmlReader input = XmlReader.Create("input.xml"))
using (FileStream output = new FileStream("output.html", FileMode.Create))
{
xslt.Transform(input, null, output);
}
Console.WriteLine("Transformation completed. Check output.html.");
}
}
3. Handle Parameters and Settings (Optional)
If your XSLT uses parameters or requires specific settings, you can pass them during the transformation:
// Create argument list with parameters
XsltArgumentList args = new XsltArgumentList();
args.AddParam("paramName", "", "paramValue");
// Set transformation settings
XsltSettings settings = new XsltSettings(false, true); // Enable document function and script if needed
xslt.Load("transform.xslt", settings, new XmlUrlResolver());
xslt.Transform("input.xml", args, new StreamWriter("output.html"));
4. Work with In-Memory Data (Optional)
You can also perform transformations using strings or streams in memory instead of files:
- Use StringReader and StringWriter for string-based XML/XSLT
- Pass XmlDocument or XDocument as input via XmlReader.Create()
For example, transforming from a string:
string xmlData = "<root><item>Test</item></root>";
string xsltData = File.ReadAllText("transform.xslt");
using (StringReader sr = new StringReader(xsltData))
using (XmlReader xsltReader = XmlReader.Create(sr))
using (StringReader xmlReader = new StringReader(xmlData))
using (XmlReader input = XmlReader.Create(xmlReader))
using (StringWriter results = new StringWriter())
{
XslCompiledTransform xslt = new XslCompiledTransform();
xslt.Load(xsltReader);
xslt.Transform(input, null, results);
string output = results.ToString();
Console.WriteLine(output);
}
Basically just load the XSLT, provide the XML input, and run the transform—whether to a file, stream, or string. Make sure to handle exceptions and validate inputs in production code.
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