Using XPath in C#.NET

Question

I am planning to use XPath to query an XML file. Can you please point me to a link which states the advantages of using XPath? Will the use of XPath improve performance?

I am using .NET Framework 2.0. At present I am iterating through the node.

XmlReaderSettings settings = new XmlReaderSettings();
settings.IgnoreWhitespace = true;
XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create("mydata.xml", settings);
XmlReader inner;
while (reader.Read())
{
if (reader.Name == "xyz" && reader.NodeType == XmlNodeType.Element)
{
    inner = reader.ReadSubtree();
    inner.Skip();
    inner.Read();
    ......... //some changes to node
    inner.Close();
}
}
reader.Close();

The advantages of using XPath as compared to what? Would you otherwise iterate and search through nodes using the DOM, would you use LINQ to xml? What are you comparing XPath with? — Hamish Smith
– Hamish Smith, Commented Sep 10, 2009 at 22:14
At present I iterate through the node using a while of for loop. Thanks. — kobra
– kobra, Commented Sep 10, 2009 at 22:16
Sorry about the confusion, I will add a code sample to clarify. Thanks — kobra
– kobra, Commented Sep 10, 2009 at 22:20

RSolberg · Accepted Answer · 2009-09-10 22:37:45Z

3

I've heard great things about LINQ to XML. It appears to perform even better than xPath according to the blog.dreamlabsolutions.com link below.

Code Sample on LINQ to XML Query from blogs.block4.net:

var query = from c in xmlFile.Elements("book")
            where (string)c.Attribute("checked-out").Value == "false"            
            select c;

foreach (var book in query)
{
   Console.WriteLine("\”{0}\” is available", book.Element("title").Value);
}

Further Reading:
* xml.com
* weblogs.asp.net
* blog.dreamlabsolutions.com

answered Sep 10, 2009 at 22:37

RSolberg

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5 Comments

kobra Over a year ago

Thanks a lot for your answer. Is it possible or advisable to use LINQ in .NET Framework 2.0. Thanks

RSolberg Over a year ago

Yes. System.Data.Linq is the assembly

TrueWill Over a year ago

LINQ can make your code much more readable/maintainable (not to mention easier to write). If performance is adequate, I'd opt for maintainability.

kobra Over a year ago

Thanks a lot for your help. I would have voted for you @RSolberg, but at present don't have 15 reputations.

kobra Over a year ago

Thanks @RSolberg, I have voted for your answer. Thanks for the help.

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