XPath Absolute Path

XPath is a query language used to select elements or attributes of an XML document. An absolute path in XPath starts with the root node and includes the complete path to the selected node. In this tutorial, we will learn about absolute path in XPath.

Syntax

The syntax for an absolute path in XPath is:

/RootNode/ChildNode[@attribute='value']/GrandChildNode 

In the above syntax, / represents the root node, RootNode is the name of the root node, ChildNode is the name of the child node, @attribute='value' is an optional attribute selector, and GrandChildNode is the name of the grandchild node.

Example

Consider the following XML document:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<catalog>
   <book id="bk101">
      <author>Gambardella, Matthew</author>
      <title>XML Developer's Guide</title>
      <genre>Computer</genre>
      <price>44.95</price>
      <publish_date>2000-10-01</publish_date>
      <description>An in-depth look at creating applications 
      with XML.</description>
   </book>
   <book id="bk102">
      <author>Ralls, Kim</author>
      <title>Midnight Rain</title>
      <genre>Fantasy</genre>
      <price>5.95</price>
      <publish_date>2000-12-16</publish_date>
      <description>A former architect battles corporate zombies, 
      an evil sorceress, and her own childhood to become queen 
      of the world.</description>
   </book>
</catalog>

Absolute Path Example 1

To select the author element of the first book element, the XPath absolute path would be:

/catalog/book[1]/author

Absolute Path Example 2

To select the price attribute of the second book element, the XPath absolute path would be:

/catalog/book[2]/@price

Output

The output of the XPath absolute path in the above examples would be:

Gambardella, Matthew

and

5.95

Explanation

In Example 1, the absolute path /catalog/book[1]/author selects the first book element using the [1] index selector, and then selects the author element.

In Example 2, the absolute path /catalog/book[2]/@price selects the second book element using the [2] index selector, and then selects its price attribute using the @ attribute selector.

Use

Absolute paths are useful when you need to select elements or attributes that are located at a fixed position within the XML document. They are also useful when the XML document has a simple structure, and relative paths are not required.

Important Points

• Absolute paths start with the root node /.
• The path includes the complete path to the selected node.
• Attribute selectors use the @ symbol before the attribute name.

Summary

In this tutorial, we learned about absolute path in XPath. We saw examples and output for selecting elements and attributes using an XPath absolute path. We also learned about the use and important points to keep in mind while using an absolute path.