How to call a node from a xml file within asp.net web page

Question

I am trying to use the value of <Directory> in my following piece of code:

 Public Function GetFile() As String
    Dim di As New DirectoryInfo(< Directory >)
    Dim files As FileSystemInfo() = di.GetFileSystemInfos()
    Dim newestFile = files.OrderByDescending(Function(f) f.CreationTime).First
    Return newestFile.FullName
End Function

Is there any way i can call the value stored in the xml file in my code?

Which XML file are you talking about?

John Saunders
– John Saunders

2012-02-22 23:45:05 +00:00
Commented Feb 22, 2012 at 23:45 — John Saunders
– John Saunders, Commented Feb 22, 2012 at 23:45

Andrew Cooper · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-22 00:51:45Z

4

Andy's answer is good, but in VB it's even easier.

Dim xmlDoc As XDocument
Dim dir as String
xmlDoc = XDocument.Load("XMLFile1.xml")
dir = xmlDoc.<ServerList>.<Server>.<Directory>.First().Value;

Or even easier if the XML file will never have more than one <Directory> element that you care about:

dir = xmlDoc...<Directory>.First().Value;

To answer your comment on Andy's answer:

dir = (From server as XElement in xmlDoc...<Server>
      Where server.<ServerName>.First().Value = requiredServer
      Select server.<Directory>.First().Value)(0);

edited Feb 22, 2012 at 0:51

answered Feb 22, 2012 at 0:42

Andrew Cooper

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2 Comments

A Smith Over a year ago

Could i use this code in a similar way if i wanted to populate an asp drop-down-list with the server names in the xml file?

Andrew Cooper Over a year ago

Absolutely - From server as XElement in xmlDoc...<Server> Select server.<ServerName>.First().Value will give you an IEnumerable(Of String) containing the server names.

Andy Baker · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-22 00:34:30Z

3

As you are clearly familiar with Linq, you can operate on the Xml using System.Xml.Linq.

Apologies, this is in c#.

var xDoc = XDocument.Load("XMLFile1.xml");
var dir = xDoc.Element("ServerList").Elements("Server").Elements("Directory").First().Value;

If you have the Xml stored in a string replace XDocument.Load with XDocument.Parse.

Obviously you'll have to defend against parse errors, file missing and schema inconsistencies in your production code.

answered Feb 22, 2012 at 0:34

Andy Baker

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2 Comments

A Smith Over a year ago

Thanks for the answer, works perfectly. However, if i allowed the user to select what server they wanted, and wrote their choice to a variable, how would i select the correct xml node then?

Andy Baker Over a year ago

Add a where clause, similar to this var dir = xDoc.Element("ServerList").Elements("Server").Where(svr => svr.Element("ServerName").Value == "T2").Elements("Directory").First().Value;

coseguera · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-22 00:33:54Z

1

You can use this http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301225

answered Feb 22, 2012 at 0:33

coseguera

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1 Comment

Andrew Cooper Over a year ago

Linq to XML is MUCH easier than this.

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