Re: how to select elements in a given namespace?

Hi Robert,

> if i want to select all nodes in a given namespace ("auth"), it
> appears i can use:
>
>   //namespace::auth

That will select all the *namespace*nodes* named "auth". Namespace
nodes are nodes that represent a prefix-namespace binding. Such a
namespace node will exist on every element within the scope of the
xmlns:auth="..." namespace declaration.

If you want to select all the elements in the namespace associated
with the prefix 'auth', use:

  //auth:*

All attributes in that namespace with:

  //@auth:*

Note that the 'auth' namespace must be declared in the stylesheet
(or in whatever context you're selecting the nodes). A stylesheet will
not automatically pick up on the fact that the namespace is declared
in the XML document.

> so what is the XPath expression to match, say, the <last-name>
> elements within this namespace?

XPath expressions don't match elements, they select them. If you want
to select the last-name element in the 'auth' namespace, use:

  //auth:last-name

or, better:

  /auth:author/auth:last-name

To *match* the auth:last-name element with an XSLT pattern, you can
use:

  auth:last-name

Note that in your example, the <last-name> element is not in the
namespace associated with the 'auth' prefix since it does not have a
prefix and there is no default namespace declaration. In your example,
only the <auth:author> element is in the 'auth' namespace.
  
Cheers,

Jeni

---
Jeni Tennison
http://www.jenitennison.com/


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