XML stumper :(

Umm, try this one on for size...


Given and XML document (MSXML say), if when iterating thru the Document, how can one find the character (starting character) position of any given Node with in the Document (source xml), white space and all?


For example, if the document looks something like this:

Code:

---

<node1>
---tab--- <node2>
---tab--- ---tab--- <node3/>
---tab--- </node2>
</node1>

---

and while iterating thru the DOM you come across node2, who's xml is

Code:

---

<node2>
---tab--- <node3/>
</node2>

---

how do you find the character position of the "<" in "<node2>" within the entire document ?

A simple Find won't work because if you search for the node2 xml (with one tab) in the doc xml, you won't find it because node2 in the doc contains two tabs.



Anyone got any ideas?




td.

A DOM parser shouldn't care about whitespace, so you'd really need to parse it as raw text.

I really didn't want to have to right my own (has to include CDATA etc), umm...


Saying the DOM parser shouldn't care about white space is correct, but it can preserve it, and in this case, white space is included (presented) with each node. So internaly, there must be some reference (index) of a given node to it's owner doc.

Question is, how to get at it?




td.

Well d'ya know what you could do right... you could load the entire file into a String variable, use Replace() to replace all the tabs with "", then you'd have a nice flat file :)

plendy, are you joking?




td.

Nah Im serious. Foget about it being an XML document, but rather just any text document. And you just want to find the position of a particular string of text in the file...

the whole point of the exercise is to find the relaitve position in the full (tabs 'n' all) document.



td.

Right so then unless I'm totally missing the plot here ;

VB Code:

Open "c:\a.xml" For Input As #1
        MsgBox "Starting position of node : " & InStr(Input(LOF(1), 1), "<node2>")
    Close #1

Mate, what on earth are you on about?

use this example

Code:

---


<node1>
---tab--- <node2> <node3/>
---tab--- ---tab--- <node4/>
---tab--- </node2>AndHereIsSomeCDATA</node1>

---

So, how can we tell the original character position of say <node3> or the CDATA element?



td.