• Chapter 1: Getting Started with Stylus Studio®
• Chapter 2: Editing and Querying XML
• Chapter 3: Converting Non-XML Files to XML
• Chapter 4: Working with XSLT
• Chapter 5: Creating XSLT Using the XSLT Mapper
• Chapter 6: Debugging Stylesheets
• Chapter 7: Defining XML Schemas
• Chapter 8: Defining Document Type Definitions
• Chapter 9: Writing XPath Expressions
  • About the XPath Processor
  • Using the XPath Query Editor
  • Sample Data for Examples and Practice
  • Getting Started with Queries
  • Specifying the Nodes to Evaluate
  • Handling Strings and Text
  • Specifying Boolean Expressions and Functions
  • Specifying Number Operations and Functions
  • Comparing Values
  • Finding a Particular Node
    • About Node Positions
    • Determining the Position Number of a Node
    • Positions in Relation to Parent Nodes
    • Finding Nodes Relative to the Last Node in a Set
    • Finding Multiple Nodes
    • Examples of Specifying Positions
    • Finding the First Node That Meets a Condition
    • Finding an Element with a Particular ID
    • Obtaining Particular Types of Nodes By Using Node Tests
  • Obtaining a Union
  • Obtaining Information About a Node or a Node Set
  • Using XPath Expressions in Stylesheets
  • Accessing Other Documents During Query Execution
  • XPath Quick Reference
• Chapter 10: Working with XQuery in Stylus Studio
• Chapter 11: Composing Web Service Calls
• Chapter 12: Accessing Relational Data as XML
• Chapter 13: Building XML Pipelines
• Chapter 14: Publishing XML Data
• Chapter 15: Integrating with Third-Party File Systems
• Chapter 16: Extending Stylus Studio
• Chapter 17: The Stylus Studio Java API
• Chapter 18: Stylus Studio GUI Reference

Home > Online Product Documentation > Table of Contents > About Node Positions

About Node Positions

The node positions for a node set start with 1. Evaluation of the position number is always based on document order. For example, the following query returns the first author element in the current context:

author[1] 
               

            

The next query finds the author elements (in the current context) that contain a first-name element. The query returns the third such author element.

(author[first-name])[position()=3] 
               

            

When you specify an integer in brackets, it is equivalent to calling the position() function. For example, the following queries both return the third y child element of each x child element in the current context:

x/y[3]
               
x/y[position()=3]
               

            

Tip: If you do not know the position of the node you want, a call to the position() function might help you. See Determining the Position Number of a Node.

The return value of the position() function depends on the specified axis. For example, suppose the axis is one of the reverse axes, such as preceding, ancestor, or preceding-sibling. The position() function returns the nth one in reverse document order that falls in the specified axis.