XSL Multiple search and replace function

Question

I am attempting to use the XSL translate() function to create something like a search and replace function as follows:

Answer 1

The translate() function can only replace a single character with another single character (or with the empty character (delete)). Thus it cannot solve the problem of string replacement.

Here is a complete XSLT 1.0 solution to the multiple-replace problem:

    
    

    
        
            

            

        
        
            quick
            slow
        
        
            fox
            elephant
        
        
            brown
            white
        
    

    

    
        
        

        
            

            
                
                    
                
                
                    
                
            

            
                
            
        
    

when this transformation is applied on the following XML document:

The quick
brown fox

the wanted, correct result is produced:

The slow
white elephant

Explanation:

1. A named template that calls itself recursively is used.

2. All multiple replacement pattern --> replacement pairs are provided in a single external parameter, which for convenience here is specified inline as the global-level element .

3. The recursion takes every single character in the source string (from left to right) and finds the first pattern that starts with this character at this position in the string.

4. The replacement can be not only a string but also any node. In this specific case we are replacing every NL character with a
element.