System.Xml.XmlNode.SelectNodes Method

Selects a list of nodes matching the XPath expression.

Syntax

public XmlNodeList SelectNodes (string xpath)

Parameters

xpath
The XPath expression.

Returns

An System.Xml.XmlNodeList containing a collection of nodes matching the XPath query.

Remarks

If the XPath expression requires namespace resolution, you must use the SelectNodes overload which takes an System.Xml.XmlNamespaceManager as its argument. The XmlNamespaceManager is used to resolve namespaces.

Note:

If the XPath expression does not include a prefix, it is assumed that the namespace URI is the empty namespace. If your XML includes a default namespace, you must still use the XmlNamespaceManager and add a prefix and namespace URI to it; otherwise, you will not get any nodes selected. For more information, see Select Nodes Using XPath Navigation.

Note:

A common issue when formulating XPath expressions is how to include a single quote (') or double quote (") in the expression. If you have to search for a value that includes a single quote, you must enclose the string in double quotes. If you need to search for a value that includes a double quote, you must enclose the string in single quotes.

For example, suppose you have the following XML:

Example

 <bookstore>
   <book>
     <title>&apos;Emma&apos;</title>
   </book>
 </bookstore>

The following Visual Basic code selects an element that contains single quotes:

Example

 nodeList = root.SelectNodes("//book[contains(title,""'Emma'"")]")

This method is a Microsoft extension to the Document Object Model (DOM).

The System.Xml.XmlNodeList object returned by this method will be valid while the underlying document remains unchanged. If the underlying document changes, unexpected results may be returned (no exception will be thrown).

Requirements

Namespace: System.Xml
Assembly: System.Xml (in System.Xml.dll)
Assembly Versions: 1.0.5000.0, 2.0.0.0, 4.0.0.0