| name | xslt-dita-helper |
| description | Provides XSLT and XPath assistance for DITA 1.3 transformations, including DITA-OT plugin development. Use this skill when you need XPath expressions for DITA element selection, XSLT template match patterns using DITA class attributes, transformation override guidance for DITA-OT, or help with specialization class attribute values. |
| compatibility | No runtime dependencies. Generates XSLT 1.0/2.0 code and XPath expressions for use in DITA-OT or standalone processors. |
Overview
Generates and validates XSLT patterns for DITA content transformation.
Key principle: always match by @class, not by element name
DITA elements carry a @class attribute encoding the specialization hierarchy. Matching by element name breaks with specializations; matching by @class is robust.
<!-- ✅ Robust — works for all specializations of task/taskbody -->
<xsl:template match="*[contains(@class, ' task/taskbody ')]">
<div class="taskbody"><xsl:apply-templates/></div>
</xsl:template>
<!-- ❌ Fragile — breaks if a specialization renames the element -->
<xsl:template match="taskbody">
<div class="taskbody"><xsl:apply-templates/></div>
</xsl:template>
Class attribute reference
See references/CLASS-ATTRIBUTES.md for the full table.
Quick reference for common elements:
| Element | @class token to match |
|---|
| Any topic | topic/topic |
| concept | concept/concept |
| task | task/task |
| taskbody | task/taskbody |
| step / cmd | task/step / task/cmd |
| reference | reference/reference |
| refbody | reference/refbody |
| refsyn | reference/refsyn |
| properties table | reference/properties |
| troubleshooting | troubleshooting/troubleshooting |
| troubleSolution | troubleshooting/troubleSolution |
| map / topicref | map/map / map/topicref |
XSLT patterns reference
See assets/xslt-patterns.xsl for ready-to-use templates.
DITA-OT plugin override guidance
To override a built-in DITA-OT template in a plugin:
- Set
plugin.xml to declare a xsl/xslhtml extension point
- Import
xsl/dita2htmlImpl.xsl in your stylesheet
- Write a higher-priority template:
<xsl:template match="..." priority="10">
See references/DITA-OT-PLUGIN.md for full plugin scaffolding steps.
Common edge cases
contains(@class, ' task/cmd ') — note the surrounding spaces in the string literal; they are required to avoid partial matches- Processing instruction
<?dita-ot ...?> nodes: use processing-instruction('dita-ot') in your XPath
@outputclass is the DITA hook for custom CSS classes — pass it through with <xsl:attribute name="class" select="@outputclass"/>
