how to select elements in a given namespace?

  [xpathtester is steadfastly refusing to be helpful since it does
not highlight selected nodes based on attributes or namespaces.]

  from tidwell's book, if i have an excerpt from an XML file:

  <auth:author xmlns:auth=...>
   <last-name>...
   <first-name>...
   <nationality>...
   <year-of-birth>...
   <year-of-death>...
  </auth:author>

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

  //namespace::auth

and while xpathtester refuses to highlight the matches, it does at least
tell me there were 6 of them.  i'm assuming that these matches are the
auth:author element itself, and the 5 children, right?

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

  i've tried a number of variations, and nothing has successfully matched.
i'm open to suggestions.  i've used predicates involving local-name() and
all kinds of things.

rday


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