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In XPath 1.0 there's a function current() that comes in handy when I refer to a node somewhere else in the XML based on the node I'm in at the moment. My XML has a structure like this: 

<root> <book> <chapter> <section> <para> <image id="1">1.png</image> </para> </section> </chapter> </book> <objects> <Object> <ID>1</ID> </Object> </objects> </root>

When I process the para nodes in book, I sometimes use XPath expressions like this one to look up information in the objects nodes: 

Object[ID=current()/descendant::image[1]/@id]

When I switch my parser to XPath 2.0, this expression gives an error (function current is not available).

I've done some searching, but haven't been able to find a straight replacement for this function. Is there one?

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The current() function is defined in XSLT, not in XPath. It's available in XPath expressions within XSLT 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 stylesheets, but it's not available in free-standing XPath (in any version, except perhaps as a non-conformant extension).

In XPath 2.0 there's a workaround using variables:

Object[ID=current()/descendant::image[1]/@id]

becomes

for $x in descendant::image[1]/@id return Object[ID=$x]
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I'm using the XPath/XQuery builder in Oxygen 15.0. When I set that to use XPath 1.0, it accepts the query, when I set it to use XPath 2.0 the error appears. I'll do some more tests.
That's then an Oxygen issue.
@Hobbes - I'm also able to reproduce that behavior in oXygen 16.1. Maybe try searching/posting the oXygen forum.
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The current() function is only available in XSLT (all versions). It's not available in XPath (any version).

See the current() function description in the "Additional Functions" section of the spec.

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