Read XML file which contains namespace PowerShell

Question

All, I am trying to read the Role information from Azure Cloud Service Definition xml file orAzure Cloud Service Configure xml file.

But found XPath does't work for them. Both two xml file contain namespace. By default the namespace doesn't have alias name. and If I add the alias name to it .Visual studio will alert me it is not allowed .

Say your have the Definition like below. and the XmlPath is /ServiceDefinition/WebRole/@vmsize. I tested it in a XPath online tools. and it also can't get the right value for me.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ServiceDefinition name="test" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/ServiceHosting/2008/10/ServiceDefinition" schemaVersion="2012-10.1.8">
  <WebRole name="test" vmsize="Small">
    <Sites>
      <Site name="Web">
        <Bindings>
          <Binding name="Endpoint1" endpointName="HttpsEndpoint" />
          <Binding name="Endpoint2" endpointName="HttpEndpoint" />
        </Bindings>
      </Site>
    </Sites>
    <Endpoints>
      <InputEndpoint name="HttpsEndpoint" protocol="https" port="443" certificate="Certificate1" />
      <InputEndpoint name="HttpEndpoint" protocol="http" port="80" />
    </Endpoints>
    <Imports>
      <Import moduleName="Diagnostics" />
      <Import moduleName="RemoteAccess" />
      <Import moduleName="RemoteForwarder" />
    </Imports>
    <Certificates>
      <Certificate name="Certificate1" storeLocation="LocalMachine" storeName="My" />
    </Certificates>
    <ConfigurationSettings>
      <Setting name="LogLevel" />
    </ConfigurationSettings>
  </WebRole>
</ServiceDefinition>

Is there any way to make this XPath work?

user189198 · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-02 02:24:48Z

16

When you use the Select-Xml cmdlet with the -XPath parameter, you also need to specify the namespace. See this article for more information:

http://huddledmasses.org/xpath-and-namespaces-in-powershell/

Here is a complete, working example

$XmlDocument = [xml]@'
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ServiceDefinition name="test" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/ServiceHosting/2008/10/ServiceDefinition" schemaVersion="2012-10.1.8">
  <WebRole name="test" vmsize="Small">
    <Sites>
      <Site name="Web">
        <Bindings>
          <Binding name="Endpoint1" endpointName="HttpsEndpoint" />
          <Binding name="Endpoint2" endpointName="HttpEndpoint" />
        </Bindings>
      </Site>
    </Sites>
    <Endpoints>
      <InputEndpoint name="HttpsEndpoint" protocol="https" port="443" certificate="Certificate1" />
      <InputEndpoint name="HttpEndpoint" protocol="http" port="80" />
    </Endpoints>
    <Imports>
      <Import moduleName="Diagnostics" />
      <Import moduleName="RemoteAccess" />
      <Import moduleName="RemoteForwarder" />
    </Imports>
    <Certificates>
      <Certificate name="Certificate1" storeLocation="LocalMachine" storeName="My" />
    </Certificates>
    <ConfigurationSettings>
      <Setting name="LogLevel" />
    </ConfigurationSettings>
  </WebRole>
</ServiceDefinition>
'@;

$XmlNamespace = @{ azure = 'http://schemas.microsoft.com/ServiceHosting/2008/10/ServiceDefinition'; };

Select-Xml -Xml $XmlDocument -XPath '/azure:ServiceDefinition/azure:WebRole/@vmsize' -Namespace $XmlNamespace;

answered Jan 2, 2014 at 2:24

user189198

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6 Comments

Joe.wang Over a year ago

+1 Thanks, I see. So the issue is my XPath is not correct. Right?

user189198 Over a year ago

The XPath had to be slightly modified, yes, but also you have to define the XML namespaces inside of your XML document, in a HashTable. That is what I did in the $XmlNamespace variable in my example script.

Joe.wang Over a year ago

I also worry about if the namespace "schemas.microsoft.com/ServiceHosting/2008/10/ServiceDefinition" would be changed after the Azure SDK upgraded. because I don't want to hard-code the XPath. thanks.

user189198 Over a year ago

You'll have to change the XML namespace in your script if it changes. I doubt that it will change, however. These things seem to be fairly static.

Joe.wang Over a year ago

Thanks, I see, I will pass the namespace string to my script through a parameter.

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