How to get a specific node value with xpath when id is in element instead of attribute?

Question

With the xpath /levels/level[@id="3"]/value I can get the value of level where id=3 like this:

<levels> <level id="2"> <value>25</value> </level> <level id="3"> <value>33</value> </level> <level id="4"> <value>44</value> </level> </levels>

but the XML I am reading is formatted without attributes like this:

<levels> <level> <id>2</id> <value>25</value> </level> <level> <id>3</id> <value>33</value> </level> <level> <id>4</id> <value>44</value> </level> </levels>

What is the equivalent xpath for this second XML block which will get the value of level where id=3? (It is not guaranteed that id=3 will always be the second node.)

Your XML is not valid. It contains an extra unclosed <level> element — Garett
– Garett, Commented Apr 25, 2013 at 11:50

Garett · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-25 12:02:49Z

2

How about the following:

/levels/level[id/text() = "3"]/value

or

/levels/level[id/. = "3"]/value

edited Apr 25, 2013 at 12:02

answered Apr 25, 2013 at 11:44

Garett

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Dimitre Novatchev · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-25 14:35:20Z

1

Simpler/shorter:

/*/*[id = 3]/value

answered Apr 25, 2013 at 14:35

Dimitre Novatchev

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2 Comments

Garett Over a year ago

+1 Nice shorter example @Dimitre. I still like to use explicit path syntax, but that's just my preference.

Dimitre Novatchev Over a year ago

@Garett, You are welcome. Location steps with full paths are good for education purposes. Using the abbreviated syntax above isn't just "another syntax" -- its evaluation is slightly more efficient (as the element names aren't verified).

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