SelectNodes vs. GetElementsByTagName

[Guest]

Hello All:

Does anyone know the differnce between the GetElementsByTagName method and
the SelectNodes method? I know that they take different arguments. They
also both return a NodeList. I'm wondering when would I use one vs. the
other.

TIA,

 

[Karl Seguin]

SelectNodes takes an XPath, which provides considerably more flexibility
than the simpler GetElemetsByTagName. If you simply need all elements,
reguardless of attribute values, or parent's, which have a specific tag,
then use GetElementsByTagName, otherwise, you don' thave much of a choice
but to use SelectNodes.

Not an XPath expert, but I believe that:

NodeList nodes = document.GetElementsByTagName("title");

is the same as

NodeList nodes = document.SelectNodes("//title");

but with SelectNodes, you can do stuff like:

NodeList nodes =
document.SelectNodes("/Invetory/Books/Title[@type='childrens']"); which you
obviously can't do with the first one..

Karl

 

[Guest]

Thanks Karl.
--
Joe

VB.NET/C#/ASP.NET/ASP/VB/C++/Web and DB development/VBA Automation

SelectNodes takes an XPath, which provides considerably more flexibility
than the simpler GetElemetsByTagName. If you simply need all elements,
reguardless of attribute values, or parent's, which have a specific tag,
then use GetElementsByTagName, otherwise, you don' thave much of a choice
but to use SelectNodes.

Not an XPath expert, but I believe that:

NodeList nodes = document.GetElementsByTagName("title");

is the same as

NodeList nodes = document.SelectNodes("//title");

but with SelectNodes, you can do stuff like:

NodeList nodes =
document.SelectNodes("/Invetory/Books/Title[@type='childrens']"); which you
obviously can't do with the first one..

Karl