XPath Get first element of subset

Question

I have XML like this:

<AAA> <BBB aaa="111" bbb="222"> <CCC/> <CCC xxx="555" yyy="666" zzz="777"/> </BBB> <BBB aaa="999"> <CCC xxx="qq"/> <DDD xxx="ww"/> <EEE xxx="oo"/> </BBB> <BBB> <DDD xxx="oo"/> </BBB> </AAA>

I want to get first <CCC> element. But with XPath expression //*/CCC[1] I have got two <CCC> elements. Each of them is the first elemet in <BBB></BBB> context. How to get first element in subset?

Good question, +1. See my answer for a complete, short and easy one-liner XPath expression that selects exactly the wanted element. :) — Dimitre Novatchev
– Dimitre Novatchev, Commented Apr 11, 2011 at 13:00
possible duplicate of Select first instance only with XPath? — user357812
– user357812, Commented Apr 11, 2011 at 16:36

Lasse Espeholt · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-10 21:29:53Z

44

This one should work for you:

(//*/CCC)[1]

edited Jan 10, 2014 at 21:29

answered Apr 11, 2011 at 12:57

Lasse Espeholt

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Dimitre Novatchev · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-11 12:58:28Z

15

I want to get first element. But with XPath expression //*/CCC[1] I have got two elements. Each of them is the first elemet in <BBB></BBB> context. How to get first element in subset?

This is a FAQ:

The [] operator has a higher precedence (binds stronger) than the // abbreviation.

Use:

(//CCC)[1]

This selects the first (in document order) CCC element in the XML document.

answered Apr 11, 2011 at 12:58

Dimitre Novatchev

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6 Comments

Dimitre Novatchev Over a year ago

So, what is it that causes that problem?

Dimitre Novatchev Over a year ago

@Priti, This is a rule, saying that CDATA is only a lexical representation of a (part of) the value of a text node. And this has nothing to do with the current question/answer. If you had got any useful XPath book, you wouldn't be asking such basic questions. Or if you ask this as a proper SO question, then many people would answer promptly.

Dimitre Novatchev Over a year ago

@Priti, I explain this here: stackoverflow.com/questions/4007413/…

Dimitre Novatchev Over a year ago

@Priti, This happens when you have specified <xsl:output method="xml/> (which is the default output method). If you specify <xsl:output method="text"/> the characters will be unescaped.

Arup Rakshit Over a year ago

Here is my question.

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