Convert multiple nodes in xml to List<string> (C#)

Question

I have the following xml file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?>
<termsAndConditions>
  <logo>
    logo1.gif
  </logo>
  <link>
    https://www.mysite.co.uk/Terms%20and%20Conditions.pdf
  </link>
  <paragraphs>
    <text>
      I accept that all the information I have provided is truthful and accurate and I understand that all the information I have provided will be checked and verified. I acknowledge that I have read and accepted all the Terms and Conditions of the site’s Parking Regulations, for full details click here.
    </text>
    <text>
      Paragraph 2
    </text>
    <text>
       Paragraph 3
    </text>
    <text>
       Paragraph 4
    </text>
  </paragraphs>
</termsAndConditions>

Now I can convert a node to a string using the following:

XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
doc.Load("\\termConditionsExample.xml");
XmlNode node = doc.DocumentElement.SelectSingleNode("/termsAndConditions/logo");
string myString = node.InnerText;

But how can I do this for the "paragraphs/text" in the xml file to turn them into a List type? I have tried using the different DocumentElement mwthods such as one below, but it does not work:

List<string> paragraphs = new List<string>();
            foreach(var temp in doc.DocumentElement.ChildNodes)
            {
                paragraphs.Add(temp.ToString());
            }

I know this one does not take any arguments so is wrong. I just don't know which one to use...

Is there a reason you're not using serialization / de-serialization would allow you to do this trivially? — C. Knight
– C. Knight, Commented Dec 7, 2015 at 16:32
@C.Knight I am new to this. Let me look up de-serialization and see if that helps me. Cheers! — Alan Schapira
– Alan Schapira, Commented Dec 7, 2015 at 16:34

StriplingWarrior · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-07 16:42:30Z

3

I find LINQ-to-XML to be easier to work with for things like this (e.g. XDocument instead of XmlDocument).

var xdoc = XDocument.Load("\\termConditionsExample.xml");
IEnumerable<string> textValues = xdoc.Descendants("text").Select(e => e.Value);

Xml Deserialization may also be an appropriate approach, as C. Knight mentions in comments.

answered Dec 7, 2015 at 16:42

StriplingWarrior

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1 Comment

Alan Schapira Over a year ago

I am comfortable with LINQ so this was the best method for me!

René Vogt · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-07 16:45:31Z

0

You could use XmlDocument.SelectNodes and XmlNode.InnerText:

foreach (XmlNode node in doc.SelectNodes("/termsAndConditions/paragraphs/text"))
  paragraphs.Add(node.InnerText.Trim());

answered Dec 7, 2015 at 16:45

René Vogt

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Comments

Yacoub Massad · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-07 16:53:03Z

0

Here is how you can use XPath with the XDocument class:

XDocument document = XDocument.Load(filename);

var result =
    document
        .XPathSelectElements("termsAndConditions/paragraphs/text")
        .Select(x => x.Value.Trim())
        .ToList();

It allows you to select the text elements that are in the specified path only (not all the text elements in the whole xml file).

Make sure you import the System.Xml.XPath namespace like this:

using System.Xml.XPath;

answered Dec 7, 2015 at 16:53

Yacoub Massad

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