xslt-lab/site/content/xslt/functions/xsl-sequence.md

title, description, date, version, versionLabel, category, syntax, tags

title	description	date	version	versionLabel	category	syntax	tags
xsl:sequence	Returns a sequence of items; the XSLT 2.0 equivalent of xsl:value-of for typed values and node sequences.	2026-04-18T00:00:00Z	2.0	XSLT 2.0	element	<xsl:sequence select="expression"/>	xslt reference xslt2

Description

xsl:sequence evaluates an XPath expression and adds the resulting items — nodes, atomic values, or mixed sequences — directly to the result sequence of the current template or function. Unlike xsl:value-of, it preserves the type of each item: integers stay integers, nodes stay nodes, and sequences remain sequences.

It is the idiomatic way to return a value from an xsl:function, and the correct instruction to use when you want to pass typed data rather than a string representation.

Key differences from xsl:value-of:

	xsl:value-of	xsl:sequence
Output	Always a text node	Items of any type
Types preserved	No (stringified)	Yes
Nodes	Copies as text	Adds as reference or copy

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
select	XPath expression	Yes	The expression whose result is added to the output sequence.

Return value

The items produced by the select expression, added to the current output sequence. No wrapper node is created.

Examples

Returning a typed value from a function

Stylesheet:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="2.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
                xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
                xmlns:my="http://example.com/my">

  <xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes"/>

  <xsl:function name="my:double" as="xs:integer">
    <xsl:param name="n" as="xs:integer"/>
    <xsl:sequence select="$n * 2"/>
  </xsl:function>

  <xsl:template match="/">
    <result>
      <xsl:value-of select="my:double(21)"/>
    </result>
  </xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>

Output:

<result>42</result>

Returning a node sequence

Input XML:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<catalog>
  <item status="active">Alpha</item>
  <item status="inactive">Beta</item>
  <item status="active">Gamma</item>
</catalog>

Stylesheet:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="2.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
                xmlns:my="http://example.com/my">

  <xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes"/>

  <xsl:function name="my:active-items" as="element()*">
    <xsl:param name="items" as="element()*"/>
    <xsl:sequence select="$items[@status='active']"/>
  </xsl:function>

  <xsl:template match="/catalog">
    <active>
      <xsl:for-each select="my:active-items(item)">
        <entry><xsl:value-of select="."/></entry>
      </xsl:for-each>
    </active>
  </xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>

Output:

<active>
  <entry>Alpha</entry>
  <entry>Gamma</entry>
</active>

Notes

• xsl:sequence is the only correct way to return typed values (integers, dates, booleans) from xsl:function. Using xsl:value-of inside a function always produces a text node.
• When select returns nodes, they are added by reference to the sequence, not deep-copied. If you need independent copies, wrap with copy-of().
• xsl:sequence can appear in any context where items are allowed, including inside xsl:choose, xsl:if, and xsl:for-each.
• An empty xsl:sequence select="()" adds nothing — useful as a no-op branch in a conditional.

See also

• xsl:value-of
• xsl:result-document
• xsl:function