How to get text at specific value in XML using XSLT

Question

I have an XML file with the following content:

<option>
      <test attr="a">text1</test>
      <test attr="b">text2</test>
      <test attr="c">text3</test>
</option>

How can I now extract text2 using xslt? Everything I try gives me text1.

For example:

<xsl:if test="option/test/@attr='a'">
<xsl:value-of select="option/test"/>
</xsl:if>

Matt Hogan-Jones · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-28 16:56:53Z

1

This XPath should get you the text2 value:

option/test[@attr='b']

It effectively says "select the test element that has an attr attribute with a value of 'b'".

So you could use it like this:

<xsl:value-of select="option/test[@attr='b']"/>

without the need for the xsl:if.

edited Jan 28, 2014 at 16:56

answered Jan 28, 2014 at 14:24

Matt Hogan-Jones

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4 Comments

keshlam Over a year ago

That will find <test> elements anywhere in the document, not just those which are children of the <option> element. Generally, // is overkill unless you really do want a global search.

Matt Hogan-Jones Over a year ago

@keshlam while that is very true, and a good point, considering that the OP states this is the content of their XML I felt that it was allowable in this case. It's the predicate that is the point I am trying to get across, hence the explanation.

Matthew Green Over a year ago

Since the OP doesn't know how to use a predicate I think it would be safe to assume they wouldn't know the issues with using the double slashes either. In that case I would either clearly state what that is doing or use a more efficient XPath. We don't want them to learn bad habits.

Matt Hogan-Jones Over a year ago

@MatthewGreen Very fair point - I've edited my answer accordingly.

keshlam · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-28 14:27:24Z

1

You need to use a predicate to specify "the test whose attr has the value 'a'".

 option/test[@attr='a']

You also need to be aware of the difference between relative and absolute xpaths, and know what context you're invoking the path from -- you are using relative paths which will work only if your current node is the option's parent.

answered Jan 28, 2014 at 14:27

keshlam

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2 Comments

Matt Hogan-Jones Over a year ago

Your XPath will select the element with text1, not the element with text2 as required by the OP.

keshlam Over a year ago

The OP's question referred to both 'a' and text2. Rather that waste time reconciling that, I flipped a coin and trusted that if I was wrong the relevant change was obvious.

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