Now we're going to see how AxKit works, by transforming an XML file containing data about Camelids (note the dubious Perl reference) into HTML.

First you will need a sample XML file. Open the text editor of your choice and type the code shown in Example E-1.

Example E-1. firstxml.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<dromedaries>
  <species name="Camel">
    <humps>1 or 2</humps>
    <disposition>Cranky</disposition>
  </species>
  <species name="Llama">
    <humps>1</humps>
    <disposition>Aloof</disposition>
  </species>
  <species name="Alpaca">
    <humps>(see Llama)</humps>
    <disposition>Friendly</disposition>
  </species>
</dromedaries>

Save this file in your web server document root (e.g., /home/httpd/httpd_perl/htdocs/) as firstxml.xml.

Now we need a stylesheet to transform the XML to HTML. For this first example we are going to use XPathScript, an XML transformation language specific to AxKit. Later we will give a brief introduction to XSLT.

Create a new file and type the code shown in Example E-2.

Example E-2. firstxml.xps

<%
$t->{'humps'}{pre} = "<td>";
$t->{'humps'}{post} = "</td>";
$t->{'disposition'}{pre} = "<td>";
$t->{'disposition'}{post} = "</td>";
$t->{'species'}{pre} = "<tr><td>{\@name}</td>";
$t->{'species'}{post} = "</tr>";
%>
<html>
<head>
<title>Know Your Dromedaries</title>
</head>
<body>
  <table border="1">
    <tr><th>Species</th>
        <th>No. of Humps</th>
        <th>Disposition</th></tr>
    <%= apply_templates('/dromedaries/species') %>
  </table>
</body>
</html>

Save this file as firstxml.xps.

Now to get the original file, firstxml.xml, to be transformed on the server by text.xps, we need to somehow associate that file with the stylesheet. Under AxKit there are a number of ways to do that, with varying flexibility. The simplest way is to edit your firstxml.xml file and, immediately after the <?xml version="1.0"?> declaration, add the following:

<?xml-stylesheet href="firstxml.xps"
                 type="application/x-xpathscript"?>

Now assuming the files are both in the same directory under your httpd document root, you should be able to make a request for text.xml and see server-side transformed XML in your browser. Now try changing the source XML file, and watch AxKit detect the change next time you load the file in the browser.