Comparing comboBox.Slectedvalue with XML file node value using Xpath in C#

Question

This is part of my XML file, and I have on my c# form a combo box that contains the names of the devices form the xml file which I've put there by using xpath navigator, plus a numeric up down, and finally a button I called Buy. what i wanna do is when I hit the button Buy I want the QUANTITY node value of the DEVICE node whos NAME node value equals to the combo box SelectedValue to increase by the number of the numeric up down value. In other words how can I select the QUANTITY node of a DEVICE element that has its NAME equal to the name in the combo box and the increase it by the value of the numeric up down of course using C#.

<INVENTORY>
<DEVICE ID="1">
    <NAME>Air Steerable Bagless Upright</NAME>
    <BRAND>Hoover</BRAND>
    <MODEL>UH72400</MODEL>
    <QUANTITY>23</QUANTITY>
    <BUYING_PRICE>189.99</BUYING_PRICE>
    <SELLING_PRICE>229.99</SELLING_PRICE>
</DEVICE>
<DEVICE ID="2">
    <NAME>Quietforce Bagged Canister</NAME>
    <BRAND>Hoover</BRAND>
    <MODEL>SH30050</MODEL>
    <QUANTITY>18</QUANTITY>
    <BUYING_PRICE>299.99</BUYING_PRICE>
    <SELLING_PRICE>334.99</SELLING_PRICE>
</DEVICE>
<DEVICE ID="3">
    <NAME>Corded Cyclonic Stick Vacuum</NAME>
    <BRAND>Hoover</BRAND>
    <MODEL>SH20030</MODEL>
    <QUANTITY>21</QUANTITY>
    <BUYING_PRICE>79.99</BUYING_PRICE>
    <SELLING_PRICE>109.99</SELLING_PRICE>
</DEVICE>

Is the content of the xml document loaded into custom types? Or are you only retrieving the names? — ChrisK, Nov 15 '13 at 21:51
I loaded the XML document into the form like this: XmlDocument inventory = new XmlDocument(); inventory.Load("Inventory.xml"); sorry but I'm kinda new to programming, but I'm trying to catch up. — Xavier1819, Nov 15 '13 at 22:01

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 15 '13 at 22:20

Well, I think an iterating approach is easier to understand in this case. What we want to do is find an XmlElement, that has a specified Name-element with the desired content.

It helps to think of the XmlDocument as a tree. This tree has different nodes. The topmost node is the Inventory. TheInventory`-Node has (in this case) three device subnodes. Every device subnode has subnodes as well (Name, Brand, etc.). With that in mind its easy to find the quantity. We iterate over the tree and check if the name element matches the search string. If it does, we get the value of the quantity element. Here is a small Console application illustrating a possible solution. Keep in mind that this solution can cause exceptions if the XML is not well-formed (for instance the NAME element is missing).

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        XmlDocument xdoc = new XmlDocument();

        string searchName = "Quietforce Bagged Canister";

        xdoc.LoadXml(@"<INVENTORY>
                        <DEVICE ID='1'>
                            <NAME>Air Steerable Bagless Upright</NAME>
                            <BRAND>Hoover</BRAND>
                            <MODEL>UH72400</MODEL>
                            <QUANTITY>23</QUANTITY>
                            <BUYING_PRICE>189.99</BUYING_PRICE>
                            <SELLING_PRICE>229.99</SELLING_PRICE>
                        </DEVICE>
                        <DEVICE ID='2'>
                            <NAME>Quietforce Bagged Canister</NAME>
                            <BRAND>Hoover</BRAND>
                            <MODEL>SH30050</MODEL>
                            <QUANTITY>18</QUANTITY>
                            <BUYING_PRICE>299.99</BUYING_PRICE>
                            <SELLING_PRICE>334.99</SELLING_PRICE>
                        </DEVICE>
                        <DEVICE ID='3'>
                            <NAME>Corded Cyclonic Stick Vacuum</NAME>
                            <BRAND>Hoover</BRAND>
                            <MODEL>SH20030</MODEL>
                            <QUANTITY>21</QUANTITY>
                            <BUYING_PRICE>79.99</BUYING_PRICE>
                            <SELLING_PRICE>109.99</SELLING_PRICE>
                        </DEVICE></INVENTORY>");

        //this is the INVENTORY element. You might need to customize that, in case the INVENTORY is not the root
        XmlNode rootElement = xdoc.FirstChild;

        //-1 means that no mathing item was found.
        int quantity = -1;

        //Here we iterate over every device element
        foreach(XmlNode device in rootElement.ChildNodes)
        {
            //TODO: Validate XML first. Missing Elements can cause exceptions

            //We can access the child elements of the decives with their element name
            if(String.Equals(device["NAME"].InnerText, searchName))
            {
                quantity = Int32.Parse(device["QUANTITY"].InnerText);
                break;
            }
        }

        Console.WriteLine(quantity.ToString());
        Console.ReadLine();
    }

You could obviously do this with XPath as well. See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9683054/xpath-to-select-element-based-on-childs-child-value — ChrisK, Nov 15 '13 at 22:25
I did the same as u but instead of xdoc.LoadXml(@"....") I did this xdoc.Load("Inventory.xml"), but for some reason the file isn't loading because the compiler is NOT even going inside the foreach loop....any ideas why is that happening?? — Xavier1819, Nov 16 '13 at 13:49
If it isn't going into the foreach loop, the rootElement most likely has no ChildNodes. You should set a breakpoint after the rootElement has been assigned, to see if the correct rootElement is selected. — ChrisK, Nov 16 '13 at 14:10
its assigning this value to the root when I load my file: rootElement {XmlDeclaration, Value="version=\"1.0\"encoding=\"utf-8\""} its the Encoding tag at the top...should I remove the Encoding stuff or is there a way around it?? — Xavier1819, Nov 16 '13 at 14:19
Never mind I got it I assigned this value to the XMLNode instance: XmlNode rootElement = inventory.FirstChild.NextSibling; and it worked!!! I'm getting good at C# woohoooo!!! anyway thanks so much bro. — Xavier1819, Nov 16 '13 at 14:22
Sure thing. Also make sure to mark something as answer, so that people with the same question can find an answer as well :) — ChrisK, Nov 16 '13 at 14:43
Ok Chris I was able to select that specific QUANTITY node that I want but how can I increase its value by the value of the Numeric Up Down that I have on my form??? — Xavier1819, Nov 16 '13 at 15:00

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 15 '13 at 22:35

If you prefer a LINQ to SQL approach something like this would work.

public string GetXML()
{
    return @"<root><DEVICE ID=""1"">
                    <NAME>Air Steerable Bagless Upright</NAME>
                    <BRAND>Hoover</BRAND>
                    <MODEL>UH72400</MODEL>
                    <QUANTITY>23</QUANTITY>
                    <BUYING_PRICE>189.99</BUYING_PRICE>
                    <SELLING_PRICE>229.99</SELLING_PRICE>
                </DEVICE>
                <DEVICE ID=""2"">
                    <NAME>Quietforce Bagged Canister</NAME>
                    <BRAND>Hoover</BRAND>
                    <MODEL>SH30050</MODEL>
                    <QUANTITY>18</QUANTITY>
                    <BUYING_PRICE>299.99</BUYING_PRICE>
                    <SELLING_PRICE>334.99</SELLING_PRICE>
                </DEVICE>
                <DEVICE ID=""3"">
                    <NAME>Corded Cyclonic Stick Vacuum</NAME>
                    <BRAND>Hoover</BRAND>
                    <MODEL>SH20030</MODEL>
                    <QUANTITY>21</QUANTITY>
                    <BUYING_PRICE>79.99</BUYING_PRICE>
                    <SELLING_PRICE>109.99</SELLING_PRICE>
                </DEVICE></root>";

}

private void comboBox1_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    ///this would be your up down control

    var xml = XDocument.Parse(GetXML());
    var device = xml.Descendants("DEVICE").Where(d => d.Descendants("NAME").First().Value == "Air Steerable Bagless Upright");
    var quantity = Convert.ToInt16(device.Descendants("QUANTITY").First().Value);
    quantity++;
    device.Descendants("QUANTITY").First().Value = quantity.ToString();
    xml.Save(@"c:\temp\temp.xml");
}

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 19 '13 at 14:29

private void button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)//Button Buy clicking method
        {
            XmlDocument inventory = new XmlDocument();
            inventory.Load("Inventory.xml");
            string vacuumName = (string)vacuumsBox.SelectedItem;//vacuumBox is a comboBox that contains the vacuums names
            XmlNode rootElement = inventory.FirstChild.NextSibling;//first child is the xml encoding type tag not the root

            int quantity, newQuantity = 0;
            foreach (XmlNode device in rootElement.ChildNodes)
            {
                if (String.Equals(device["NAME"].InnerText, vacuumName))
                {
                    int number = Convert.ToInt32(vacuumsNumber.Value);//vacuumNumber is the name of the numeric up down
                    quantity = Int32.Parse(device["QUANTITY"].InnerText);
                    newQuantity = quantity + number;
                    device["QUANTITY"].InnerText = newQuantity.ToString();//Updating the QUANTITY node value.
                    inventory.Save("Inventory.xml");
                    continue;
                }
            }

Comparing comboBox.Slectedvalue with XML file node value using Xpath in C#

3 Answers3