Re: [xsl] XPath problem with namespace attribute

["Matthew Hailstone" <matthew.hailstone@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks for the replies on this. Let me sum up then:

There is no way to create an XPath query for an empty defined
namespace as in the original XML.
(The reason I'm looking for such is that I am working with a vendor
that uses the "xmlns" "attribute"(but not really attribute), but does
not specify the namespace prefix.

So, I will need to get the vendor to:
1. Specify a namespace prefix
2. Change the "xmlns" ""attribute"" to something other than "xmlns"
3. Remove the "xmlns" and value from the element altogether

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Matthew

On Fri, Sep 5, 2008 at 9:58 AM, Michael Kay <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> The xmlns declaration (in XPath terms it's a namespace binding, not an
> attribute) changes the name of the elements Three, Four, and Five. That
> means you can't select them under their original names. You need to select
> them under their namespaced names, which you do by binding a prefix to the
> namespace and using that prefix in your path expression:
>
> /One/Two/n:Three/n:Four/n:Five
>
> Just as a bit of advice, you really should assume that a bug in your
> implementation is the least probable explanation when you get unexpected
> results. Google for "XPath default namespace" and you will find zillions of
> references to this usability gotcha.
>
> Michael Kay
> http://www.saxonica.com/
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Matthew Hailstone [mailto:matthew.hailstone@xxxxxxxxx]
>> Sent: 05 September 2008 16:50
>> To: xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [xsl] XPath problem with namespace attribute
>>
>> All,
>>
>> I hope it is ok to post this XPath comment to this list.
>>
>> It seems there is a bug in the XPath result when an empty
>> namespace attribute is used:
>>
>> XML:
>> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
>> <One>
>>   <Two>
>>     <Three xmlns="http://www.hailstone.org/";>
>>       <Four>
>>           <Five/>
>>       </Four>
>>     </Three>
>>   </Two>
>> </One>
>>
>> XPath:
>> /One/Two/Three/Four/Five
>>
>> Expected Result:
>> The element "Five" should be returned.
>>
>> Result:
>> Nothing is returned.
>>
>> Modifications of element "Three" that fix the problem:
>>
>> ...
>> <Three xmlns:something="http://www.hailstone.org";>
>> ...
>>
>> ...
>> <Three normalattribute="http://www.hailstone.org";>
>> ...
>>
>> Is this a bug in the XPath implementation?
>> Is there something something special about the "xmlns"
>> attribute that I don't know?
>>
>> Thoughts?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Matthew