XPath String

In XPath, strings are used to represent textual content within XML or HTML elements. They can be used in XPath expressions to perform various operations, such as filtering nodes, comparing values, and extracting data. XPath treats all textual content, including element text and attribute values, as strings.

Here are some examples of how strings are used in XPath:

1. Selecting Elements with Specific Text:

//title[text() = 'Harry Potter']

This XPath expression selects all <title> elements that contain the exact text “Harry Potter.”

2. Selecting Elements with Text Containing a Substring:

//book[contains(title, 'Potter')]

This XPath expression selects all <book> elements that have a child element named “title” containing the substring “Potter” in their text.

3. Selecting Elements with Text Starting or Ending with a Particular String:

//book[starts-with(title, 'The')]

This XPath expression selects all <book> elements that have a child element named “title” starting with the text “The.”

//book[ends-with(title, 'Goblet')]

This XPath expression selects all <book> elements that have a child element named “title” ending with the text “Goblet.”

4. Comparing Strings:

//book[title = 'The Lord of the Rings']

This XPath expression selects all <book> elements that have a child element named “title” with the exact text “The Lord of the Rings.”

5. Using String Functions:
   XPath provides various string functions, such as concat(), substring(), string-length(), and more, which allow you to manipulate and work with strings in XPath expressions.

It’s essential to be mindful of text values when using strings in XPath, as whitespace and case sensitivity can impact the results. Additionally, some XPath implementations may have slight differences in how they handle strings, so it’s a good practice to test XPath expressions thoroughly to ensure they produce the desired results.