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File Utility Functions
XTF provides a number of functions that stylesheets can use to check attributes of a file in the local filesystem. See the
XTF Programming Guide for a description and examples.
File Existence Extension Function
This extension function can be used within a stylesheet to determine whether a particular file exists on the filesystem, like this:
<xsl:if test="FileUtils:exists(FilePath)">
…
</xsl:if>
where
FileUtils: |
is a namespace prefix identifying this set of Saxon extension functions. The namespace URI for this prefix must be: java:org.cdlib.xtf.xslt.FileUtils. |
FilePath |
specifies the relative or absolute path to the file in question. If a relative path is specified, it will be resolved in relation to the stylesheet that calls the function. |
The extension function returns the boolean value true if the file is readable by the stylesheet, or false if not.
File Length Function
This extension function can be used within a stylesheet to determine the length (in bytes) of a particular file exists on the filesystem, like this:
<xsl:variable name="myFileLen" select="FileUtils:length(FilePath)">
…
</xsl:variable>
where
FileUtils: |
is a namespace prefix identifying this set of Saxon extension functions. The namespace URI for this prefix must be: java:org.cdlib.xtf.xslt.FileUtils. |
FilePath |
specifies the relative or absolute path to the file in question. If a relative path is specified, it will be resolved in relation to the stylesheet that calls the function. |
The extension function returns the length, in bytes, of the specified file, or -1 if the file cannot be read.
File Modification Time Function
This extension function can be used within a stylesheet to find out when a particular file was last modified, like this:
<xsl:variable name="myModTime"
select="FileUtils:lastModified(FilePath, DateFormat)">
…
</xsl:variable>
where
FileUtils: |
is a namespace prefix identifying this set of Saxon extension functions. The namespace URI for this prefix must be: java:org.cdlib.xtf.xslt.FileUtils. |
FilePath |
specifies the relative or absolute path to the file in question. If a relative path is specified, it will be resolved in relation to the stylesheet that calls the function. |
DateFormat |
is a string representing the format that the date and/or time should be returned in. This uses codes from Java's SimpleDateFormat class such as yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss. |
The extension function returns a formatted version of the date and/or time (depending on format) that a given file was last modified. This can be useful for detecting which files are newer than others, processing all files newer than a certain date, etc.
Current Date & Time Function
This extension function can be used within a stylesheet to find out the current date and time known to the system, like this:
<xsl:variable name="myTime"
select="FileUtils:curDateTime(DateFormat)">
…
</xsl:variable>
where
FileUtils: |
is a namespace prefix identifying this set of Saxon extension functions. The namespace URI for this prefix must be: java:org.cdlib.xtf.xslt.FileUtils. |
DateFormat |
is a string representing the format that the date and/or time should be returned in. This uses codes from Java's SimpleDateFormat class such as yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss. |
The extension function returns a formatted version of the current date and/or time (depending on format). This can be useful for constructing time-based queries, displaying the time or date on a result page, etc.