Java

Removing / Deleting Child Nodes from XML

See more XML Examples

Demonstrates various methods for removing child nodes from an XML document.

The input XML, available at http://www.chilkatsoft.com/data/fruit.xml, is this:

<root>
    <fruit color="red">apple</fruit>
    <fruit color="green">pear</fruit>
    <veg color="orange">carrot</veg>
    <meat animal="cow">beef</meat>
    <xyz>
        <fruit color="blue">blueberry</fruit>
        <veg color="green">broccoli</veg>
    </xyz>
    <fruit color="purple">grape</fruit>
    <cheese color="yellow">cheddar</cheese>
</root>

Java

import com.chilkatsoft.*;

public class ChilkatExample {

  static {
    try {
        System.loadLibrary("chilkat");
    } catch (UnsatisfiedLinkError e) {
      System.err.println("Native code library failed to load.\n" + e);
      System.exit(1);
    }
  }

  public static void main(String argv[])
  {
    boolean success = false;

    CkXml xml = new CkXml();
    CkXml xyz;

    // The sample input XML is available at http://www.chilkatsoft.com/data/fruit.xml
    success = xml.LoadXmlFile("fruit.xml");
    if (success != true) {
        System.out.println(xml.lastErrorText());
        return;
        }

    // The RemoveChild method removes (discards) all direct
    // children having the specified tag:
    xml.RemoveChild("fruit");

    // Show the resulting XML:
    System.out.println("Result with all direct children having a tag equal to \"fruit\" removed:");
    System.out.println(xml.getXml());

    // The XML with the "fruit" direct children removed is shown below:
    // Notice that the "fruit" node beneath "xyz" was not removed.
    // This correct because it was not a direct child of the calling node.

    // <root>
    //     <veg color="orange">carrot</veg>
    //     <meat animal="cow">beef</meat>
    //     <xyz>
    //         <fruit color="blue">blueberry</fruit>
    //         <veg color="green">broccoli</veg>
    //     </xyz>
    //     <cheese color="yellow">cheddar</cheese>
    // </root>

    // --------------------------------------------------------------------------
    // Restore the original XML:
    success = xml.LoadXmlFile("fruit.xml");

    // The RemoveChildWithContent method removes the child
    // having the exact content specified, regardless of the tag.  
    // For example:
    xml.RemoveChildWithContent("pear");

    // Show the resulting XML:
    System.out.println("Result with the node containing \"pear\" removed:");
    System.out.println(xml.getXml());

    // --------------------------------------------------------------------------
    // Restore the original XML:
    success = xml.LoadXmlFile("fruit.xml");

    // The RemoveChildByIndex method removes the Nth direct
    // child.  Indexing begins at 0.  The "xyz" child is at index 4:
    xml.RemoveChildByIndex(4);

    // Show the resulting XML:
    // Notice that the entire "xyz" subtree is removed.
    System.out.println("Result with the node at index 4 removed:");
    System.out.println(xml.getXml());

    // --------------------------------------------------------------------------
    // Restore the original XML:
    success = xml.LoadXmlFile("fruit.xml");

    // Navigate to the node with tag "xyz"
    xyz = xml.FindChild("xyz");

    // Remove the "xyz" subtree making it it's own XML document
    // with the "xyz" node at the root:
    xyz.RemoveFromTree();

    // Show both XML documents:
    System.out.println(xyz.getXml());
    System.out.println(xml.getXml());

    // Also, the TreeId property is an integer value assigned
    // to nodes in an XML document.  All nodes belonging to
    // the same XML document will have the same TreeId.
    // Notice that the "xyz" node now has a different TreeId:
    System.out.println("xyz TreeId = " + xyz.get_TreeId());
    System.out.println("xml TreeId = " + xml.get_TreeId());
  }
}