What is Xpath? Examples of Xpath? Contd.

Xpath expressions can be Location Path (set of tree nodes), Boolean (true or false), Numeric (number) or a String (unicode string). Let’s see some very basic examples of Xpath.

If the path starts with a single slash / , it represents absolute path to the required element.

Example: To select the root element “Main” from an XML document.
<Main>
<Sub1>           </Sub1>
<Sub2>           </Sub2>
<Sub3>            </Sub3>
</Main>
Syntax:  /Main
Results:
<Main>
<Sub1> </Sub1>
<Sub2> </Sub2>
<Sub3> </Sub3>
</Main>

Another example

Example : Select only Sub1 element which is children of the root element Main
<Main>
<Sub1>           </Sub1>
<Sub2>           </Sub2>
<Sub3>            </Sub3>
</Main>
Syntax:  /Main/Sub1
Results:
<Sub1>           </Sub1>

If the path starts with double slashes // , then all elements in the document which fulfill following criteria will be selected.

Example : Select all elements with Sub2 which are children of the root element Main
<Main>
<Sub1>           </Sub1>
<Sub2>           </Sub2>
<Sub3>            </Sub3>
<Sub2>            </Sub2>
</Main>
Syntax:  //Sub2
Results:
<Sub2> </Sub2>
<Sub2> </Sub2>

If the path syntax contains * , then it selects all elements by preceding path. 

Example : Select all elements enclosed by element Sub3
<Main>
<Sub1>           </Sub1>
<Sub2>           </Sub2>
<Sub3>
<Sub30>            </Sub30>
<Sub31>            </Sub31>
</Sub3>
          <Sub2>            </Sub2>  
</Main>
Syntax:  /Main/Sub3/*
Results:
<Sub30> </Sub30>
<Sub31> </Sub31>

If the path syntax contains | which is also called as pipe, which is used for combining paths. 

Example : Select/Combine element Sub1 and Sub2
<Main>
          <Sub1>           </Sub1>
<Sub2>           </Sub2>
<Sub3>
<Sub30>            </Sub30>
<Sub31>            </Sub31>
</Sub3>
<Sub2>            </Sub2>
</Main>
Syntax: //Sub1 | //Sub2
Results:
<Sub1> </Sub1>
<Sub2> </Sub2>
<Sub2> </Sub2>

If the path syntax contains @ , then it selects attributes from the given path.

Example: Select all attributes specified by @href
<Main>
<documents><a href=”abc.doc”>DOC</a></documents>
<documents><a href=”abc.ppt”>PPT</a></documents>
<documents><a href=”abc.xlsx”>XLSX</a></documents>
<documents><a id=”id”>ID</a></documents>
</Main>
Syntax: //@href
Results:
href=”abc.doc”
href=”abc.ppt”
href=”abc.xlsx”

To test xpath, use the below link –

https://www.uccollabing.com/free-online-xpath-tester-evaluator-tool/

There are many Xpath examples which you can search over web and learn more on xpath syntax. Some helpful links below:
Some tutorials and examples
http://www.w3schools.com/xml/xpath_intro.asp
http://saxon.sourceforge.net/saxon6.5.3/expressions.html
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms256086(v=vs.110).aspx
Xpath Quick Reference : 
https://www.mulberrytech.com/quickref/XSLT_1quickref-v2.pdf
http://scraping.pro/res/xpath-cheat/xpath_css_dom_recipes.pdf
http://scraping.pro/res/xpath-cheat/xpath_css_dom_ref.pdf

In the next post, we would learn more on Xpath and see how we can use Xpath in UCCX (Cisco Unified Contact Center Express).

Hope this helps!

Avinash Karnani

I am working in an IT company and having 10+ years of experience into Cisco IP Telephony and Contact Center. I have worked on products like CUCM, CUC, UCCX, CME/CUE, IM&P, Voice Gateways, VG224, Gatekeepers, Attendant Console, Expressway, Mediasense, Asterisk, Microsoft Teams, Zoom etc. I am not an expert but i keep exploring whenever and wherever i can and share whatever i know. You can visit my LinkedIn profile by clicking on the icon below.

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