XSL patterns are constructed using the operators and patterns as shown below.
| Pattern | Description |
|---|---|
| / | Child operator. Selects children of the specified collection. / selects from the root node. |
| // | Searches the child node recursively. |
| . | Current context (path), ie. the current object. |
| * | Wilcard which selects all elements. For instance, * will find anything and A* will find all items beginning with A. |
| @ | Attribute prefix name. For instance, @continent will access <name continent="Africa">A very big continent</continent> will retrieve Africa and continent will retrieve A very big continent. |
| @* | Retrieves all attributes regardless of name. |
| : | Separates the namespace element prefix from the element or attribute name. |
| !* | Applies a method to a reference node. |
| ()* | Enforcement of precedence by grouping of operations. |
| [] | Filtering pattern. |
| []* | Collection indexing subscript operator. |
Precedence order is that as shown below.