Using non-core EXSLT date functions with Xalan Java

Question

I have had EXSLT\'s core date functions working well in some XSL templates I\'ve been using for years. I\'d like to start using a new one: seconds. This function is

Answer 1

For those who want to roll their own (for seconds() specifically), it can be done rather simply using this code:

package tools;

import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
import java.text.ParseException;

public class Dates
{
  /**
   * Converts a date in xs:dateTime format into seconds-since-the-epoch
   * 
   * @param date The date to be converted,
   *             in <code>s:dateTime</code> format (yyyy-MM-dd'T'hh:mm:ss).
   *
   * @return Number of seconds since <code>1970-01-01 00:00:00</code>,
   *         or 0 if the date is blank or null.
   * @throws ParseException
   */
  public static long seconds(String date)
      throws ParseException
  {
      if(null == date || 0 == date.trim().length()) return 0;

      SimpleDateFormat df = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd'T'hh:mm:ss");
      Date d = df.parse(date);

      return d.getTime() / 1000;
  }
}

This can be used through Apache Xalan like this:

<?xml ...
  xmlns:java="http://xml.apache.org/xalan/java"
  ...

<xsl:variable name="some-date" select="...some xs:dateTime data ..." />
<xsl:value-of select="java:tools.Dates.seconds($some-date)" />

I'll probably look at the Xalan source in order to make this more flexible, but for now it seems to be doing what I'd like it to do.

Answer 2

First, have a look at: http://www.exslt.org/howto.html#other-implementations However, AFAIK Xalan does not support the func:script extension element (at least it says it doesn't, which is not always the same). OTOH, Xalan has its own extension mechanism - see: http://xml.apache.org/xalan-j/extensions.html

If it were me, I would simply use a named template instead.