How to write queries with complex filtering (LINQ to XML)
Sometimes you want to write LINQ to XML queries with complex filters. For example, you might have to find all elements that have a child element with a particular name and value. This article gives an example of writing a query with complex filtering.
Example: Find with a nested query in the Where
clause
This example shows how to find all PurchaseOrder
elements that have:
- A child
Address
element whoseType
attribute equals "Shipping". - A child
State
element that equals "NY".
It uses a nested query in the Where
clause, and the Any
operator returns true
if the collection has any elements in it. The example uses XML document Sample XML file: Multiple purchase orders.
For more information about the Any
operator, see Quantifier Operations (C#) and Quantifier Operations (Visual Basic).
XElement root = XElement.Load("PurchaseOrders.xml");
IEnumerable<XElement> purchaseOrders =
from el in root.Elements("PurchaseOrder")
where
(from add in el.Elements("Address")
where
(string)add.Attribute("Type") == "Shipping" &&
(string)add.Element("State") == "NY"
select add)
.Any()
select el;
foreach (XElement el in purchaseOrders)
Console.WriteLine((string)el.Attribute("PurchaseOrderNumber"));
Dim root As XElement = XElement.Load("PurchaseOrders.xml")
Dim purchaseOrders As IEnumerable(Of XElement) = _
From el In root.<PurchaseOrder> _
Where _
(From add In el.<Address> _
Where _
add.@Type = "Shipping" And _
add.<State>.Value = "NY" _
Select add) _
.Any() _
Select el
For Each el As XElement In purchaseOrders
Console.WriteLine(el.@PurchaseOrderNumber)
Next
This example produces the following output:
99505
Example: Find in XML that's in a namespace
The following example shows the same query as above, but for XML that's in a namespace. For more information, see Namespaces overview.
This example uses XML document Sample XML file: Multiple purchase orders in a namespace.
XElement root = XElement.Load("PurchaseOrdersInNamespace.xml");
XNamespace aw = "http://www.adventure-works.com";
IEnumerable<XElement> purchaseOrders =
from el in root.Elements(aw + "PurchaseOrder")
where
(from add in el.Elements(aw + "Address")
where
(string)add.Attribute(aw + "Type") == "Shipping" &&
(string)add.Element(aw + "State") == "NY"
select add)
.Any()
select el;
foreach (XElement el in purchaseOrders)
Console.WriteLine((string)el.Attribute(aw + "PurchaseOrderNumber"));
Imports <xmlns:aw='http://www.adventure-works.com'>
Module Module1
Sub Main()
Dim root As XElement = XElement.Load("PurchaseOrdersInNamespace.xml")
Dim purchaseOrders As IEnumerable(Of XElement) = _
From el In root.<aw:PurchaseOrder> _
Where _
(From add In el.<aw:Address> _
Where _
add.@aw:Type = "Shipping" And _
add.<aw:State>.Value = "NY" _
Select add) _
.Any() _
Select el
For Each el As XElement In purchaseOrders
Console.WriteLine(el.@aw:PurchaseOrderNumber)
Next
End Sub
End Module
This example produces the following output:
99505