XPath: Get parent node from child node

202
votes

I need get the parent node for child node title 50

At the moment I am using only

//*[title="50"]

How could I get its parent? Result should be the store node.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<d:data xmlns:d="defiant-namespace" d:mi="23">
    <store d:mi="22">
        <book price="12.99" d:price="Number" d:mi="4">
            <title d:constr="String" d:mi="1">Sword of Honour</title>
            <category d:constr="String" d:mi="2">fiction</category>
            <author d:constr="String" d:mi="3">Evelyn Waugh</author>
        </book>
        <book price="8.99" d:price="Number" d:mi="9">
            <title d:constr="String" d:mi="5">Moby Dick</title>
            <category d:constr="String" d:mi="6">fiction</category>
            <author d:constr="String" d:mi="7">Herman Melville</author>
            <isbn d:constr="String" d:mi="8">0-553-21311-3</isbn>
        </book>
        <book price="8.95" d:price="Number" d:mi="13">
            <title d:constr="String" d:mi="10">50</title>
            <category d:constr="String" d:mi="11">reference</category>
            <author d:constr="String" d:mi="12">Nigel Rees</author>
        </book>
        <book price="22.99" d:price="Number" d:mi="18">
            <title d:constr="String" d:mi="14">The Lord of the Rings</title>
            <category d:constr="String" d:mi="15">fiction</category>
            <author d:constr="String" d:mi="16">J. R. R. Tolkien</author>
            <isbn d:constr="String" d:mi="17">0-395-19395-8</isbn>
        </book>
        <bicycle price="19.95" d:price="Number" d:mi="21">
            <brand d:constr="String" d:mi="19">Cannondale</brand>
            <color d:constr="String" d:mi="20">red</color>
        </bicycle>
    </store>
</d:data>
5
xmlxpath

5 Answers

365
votes

Use the parent axes with the parent node's name.

//*[title="50"]/parent::store

This XPath will only select the parent node if it is a store.

But you can also use one of these

//*[title="50"]/parent::*
//*[title="50"]/..

These xpaths will select any parent node. So if the document changes you will always select a node, even if it is not the node you expect.

EDIT

What happens in the given example where the parent is a bicycle but the parent of the parent is a store?

Does it ascent?

No, it only selects the store if it is a parent of the node that matches //*[title="50"].

If not, is there a method to ascent in such cases and return None if there is no such parent?

Yes, you can use ancestor axes

//*[title="50"]/ancestor::store

This will select all ancestors of the node matching //*[title="50"] that are ` stores. E.g.

<data xmlns:d="defiant-namespace" d:mi="23">
    <store mi="1">
        <store mi="22">
            <book price="8.95" d:price="Number" d:mi="13">
                <title d:constr="String" d:mi="10">50</title>
                <category d:constr="String" d:mi="11">reference</category>
                <author d:constr="String" d:mi="12">Nigel Rees</author>
            </book>
        </store>
    </store>
</data>

XPath selection result

38
votes

Just as an alternative, you can use ancestor.

//*[title="50"]/ancestor::store

It's more powerful than parent since it can get even the grandparent or great great grandparent

14
votes

You can use the two dots at the end of expression, too. See this example:

//*[title="50"]/..
8
votes

New, improved answer to an old, frequently asked question...

How could I get its parent? Result should be the store node.

Use a predicate rather than the parent:: or ancestor:: axis

Most answers here select the title and then traverse up to the targeted parent or ancestor (store) element. A simpler, direct approach is to select parent or ancestor element directly in the first place, obviating the need to traverse to a parent:: or ancestor:: axes:

//*[book/title = "50"]

Should the intervening elements vary in name:

//*[*/title = "50"]

Or, in name and depth:

//*[.//title = "50"]
0
votes

This works in my case. I hope you can extract meaning out of it.

//div[text()='building1' and @class='wrap']/ancestor::tr/td/div/div[@class='x-grid-row-checker']