<xsl:template match="book"> runs when the processor visits matching nodes. xsl:apply-templates continues traversal; xsl:value-of select="title" outputs text.
Going deeper
In production XML work, XSLT templates matters when documents, stylesheets, or apps must stay maintainable across teams and releases—not only in isolated demos.
Common pitfalls
Watch for copy-paste configs, skipping validation or tests, and mixing concerns (structure vs presentation vs behavior) in one layer.
Practice
- Apply one technique from this lesson in the playground.
- Write one interview-style sentence explaining when you would use xslt templates on a real project.