xsl:template OR xsl:if

[rc...@clearstream.com]

I have an XSL in which I need to do a lot of small check to see if an
element is available.  This, only to show a colon, brackets, etc.  My
question, which is the best approach for this for performance (which
solution takes less time and resources with Xalan):

<xsl:if test="element">(<xsl:value-of select="element">)</xsl:if>

OR

<xsl:apply-templates select="element">

<xsl:template match="element">
(<xsl:value-of select="element">)


For me the second solution is the cleanest but I'm not sure if it is the
best.  Anyone got an idea?


Thanks,
R.


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