Sort not first

xsl:sort declares the order of the sequence its xsl:for-each or xsl:apply-templates iterates, so it must stand ahead of the content that iterates over it. One that follows an instruction is invalid: a processor rejects it, and some silently ignore it, so the output looks unsorted for no visible reason.

An xsl:with-param is not that content. Inside xsl:apply-templates the content model is (xsl:sort | xsl:with-param)*, so the two stand in any order and a parameter ahead of a sort is correct XSLT, whatever it looks like. xsl:for-each takes no parameters at all, which is where the rule bites.

Incorrect:

<xsl:for-each select="item">
  <xsl:value-of select="."/>
  <xsl:sort select="@name"/>
</xsl:for-each>

Correct:

<xsl:for-each select="item">
  <xsl:sort select="@name"/>
  <xsl:value-of select="."/>
</xsl:for-each>

Correct as well, and left alone:

<xsl:apply-templates select="item">
  <xsl:with-param name="depth" select="1"/>
  <xsl:sort select="@name"/>
</xsl:apply-templates>