{h1: {em: Fancy sorting} with XSLT}

A quick guide on how to use {em: multiple}-sorting in XSLT to your advantage.

I was working on a custom page for a news site recently, the page had to list 3 news stories per category of the site, with a predefined order for some categories, with the rest following afterwards in alphabetical order.

So, perhaps you're thinking:

{pre.language-xsl:
<xsl:template match="news-categories">
	<xsl:apply-templates select="category[@handle = 'news']" mode="list" />
	<xsl:apply-templates select="category[@handle = 'opinions']" mode="list" />
	
	<!-- And then came the mob -->
	<xsl:apply-templates select="category[
		@handle != 'news'
		and @handle != 'opinions'
	]" mode="list">
		<xsl:sort select="@handle" order="ascending" />
	</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>}

Which would work, but would get kind of nasty if you need to add a third or fourth category. Instead, here's my solution:

{pre.language-xsl:
<xsl:template match="news-categories">
	<xsl:apply-templates select="category" mode="list">
		<xsl:sort select="@handle = 'news'" order="descending" />
		<xsl:sort select="@handle = 'opinions'" order="descending" />
		
		<!-- And then came the mob -->
		<xsl:sort select="@handle" order="ascending" />
	</xsl:apply-templates>
</xsl:template>}

Neat huh? It forces the categories you need to the top of the list, satisfying the clients whim without them even knowing.