XPath

XPath stands for XML Path Language. It uses a non-XML syntax to provide a flexible way of addressing (pointing to) different parts of an XML document. It can also be used to test addressed nodes within a document to determine whether they match a pattern or not.

XPath is mainly used in XSLT, but can also be used as a much more powerful way of navigating through the DOM of any XML-like language document using {{DOMxRef("XPathExpression")}} , such as HTML and SVG, instead of relying on the {{DOMxRef("Document.getElementById()")}}  or {{DOMxRef("Document.querySelectorAll()")}}  methods, the {{DOMxRef("Node.childNodes")}}  properties, and other DOM Core features.

XPath uses a path notation (as in URLs) for navigating through the hierarchical structure of an XML document. It uses a non-XML syntax so that it can be used in URIs and XML attribute values.

Guides

• Introduction to using XPath in JavaScript
  • : Describes a non-XSLT use of XPath.
• XPath snippets
  • : These are JavaScript utility functions, that can be used in your own code, based on DOM Level 3 XPath APIs.

Reference

• XPath:Axes
  • : List and definition of the axes defined in the XPath specification. Axes are used to describe the relationships between nodes.
• XPath:Functions
  • : List and description of the core XPath functions and XSLT-specific additions to XPath.

See also

• XSLT, XML, DOM
• Transforming XML with XSLT
• Comparison of CSS Selectors and XPath
• What is XSLT? introduces XSLT and XPath, including background, context, structure, concepts, and terminology - xml.com (2000)
• XPath tester online XPath Builder/Debugger