How to use xpath to get a specific xsd element?

Question

I am trying to find a specific xsd element of specific parent xsd elements using xpath but could not find a solution.

<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
  <xs:element name="XYZ">
    <xs:complexType>
      <xs:sequence>
        <xs:element name="XX" minOccurs="0">
          <xs:complexType>
            <xs:sequence>
              <xs:element name="AA">
                <xs:complexType>
                  <xs:attribute type="xs:string" name="testA" use="required" />
                  <xs:attribute type="xs:string" name="testB" use="required" />
                </xs:complexType>
              </xs:element>
            </xs:sequence>
          </xs:complexType>
        </xs:element>
        <xs:element name="YY" minOccurs="0" />
        <xs:element name="ZZ">
          <xs:complexType>
            <xs:sequence>
              <xs:element name="AA" />
            </xs:sequence>
          </xs:complexType>
        </xs:element>
      </xs:sequence>
    </xs:complexType>
  </xs:element>
</xs:schema>

I tried the following xpath:

/xs:element[@name='XYZ']/xs:element[@name='XX']/xs:element[@name='AA']

but the result is an empty list.

I hope somebody can help me.

please add the actual xsd data on which you apply the xpath expression. — collapsar, Oct 25 '19 at 11:34
What hosting language are you using to execute the XPath, and how did you account for the XSD namespace? — kjhughes, Oct 25 '19 at 12:31
Ich verwende die javax#XpathFactory. I am just trying to find a specific element from a given treeitemlist (XYZ, XX, AA). Sorry if i misunderstood your question. — Shorty123, Oct 25 '19 at 12:41
Maybe not good enough. So your answer is that i should look into xml namespaces again? Or that it is not possible to have two elements with the same name ('AA'). — Shorty123, Oct 25 '19 at 13:11
You have `xs:complexType` and `xs:sequence` elements between your `xs:element`... — Alejandro, Oct 25 '19 at 13:38
Okay the problem is i can Not use the real xsd. So i prepared this quick example. My Hope was that this is enough to Show what i would Like to achieve with the xpath Statement: to get the right AA element by using the name Attributes of the Elements. — Shorty123, Oct 25 '19 at 13:56
Yes, I'm guiding you to be sure you understand [how XPath deals with XML namespaces](https://stackoverflow.com/q/40796231/290085). Be sure to mind @Alejandro's point too. — kjhughes, Oct 25 '19 at 15:20
`//xs:element[@name="XYZ"]//xs:element[@name="XX"]//xs:element[@name="AA"]` should give the desired result - you just need to use `//` to handle arbitrary depth of ancestors. [XPath Examples](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/dotnet/netframework-4.0/ms256086(v=vs.100)?redirectedfrom=MSDN) is an indispensable guide. — Filburt, Oct 31 '19 at 21:36

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 01 '19 at 10:54

//xs:element[@name="XYZ"]//xs:element[@name="XX"]//xs:element[@name="AA"]

should give the desired result - you just need to use // to handle arbitrary depth of ancestors.

From XPath Examples:

bookstore//title

All <title> elements one or more levels deep in the <bookstore> element (arbitrary descendants).

bookstore//book/excerpt//emph

All <emph> elements anywhere inside <excerpt> children of <book> elements, anywhere inside the <bookstore> element.

How to use xpath to get a specific xsd element?

1 Answers1