In the past, I have set up logging by outputting and capturing xsl:message(s). I was wondering if XSLT 2.0 offered a better way of handling this scenario. My first thought would be to use xsl:result-document with template modes to capture a log file.

<xsl:template match="/">
<xsl:apply-templates/>
<xsl:result-document href="log.txt" format="text">
<xsl:apply-templates mode="log"/>
</xsl:result-document>
</xsl:template>

Does anyone see an advantage/disadvantage to either approach (using xsl:message vs xsl:result-document)?

xsl:result-document doesn't allow you to send several documents/messages to the same destination.

xsl:message is the right approach here, provided your XSLT processor provides some way to direct the message output to your choice of logging infrastructure.

__________________
Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/
Author, XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 Programmer\'s Reference

Thanks! I am using Saxon and will look into my options for directing the messages to a log file.