[RESOLVED] XElement remove ProcessingInstruction problem / solution

We have a requirement to convert some large XML files from one messy format to a cleaner version. In the process of doing that I discovered an issue with XElement.

This sequence doesn't work all the time. Trust me. If one of the files was small I'd attach it, but they aren't.

Code:

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        Dim MyXElement As XElement
        MyXElement = XElement.Load("Messy file.xml")
        Dim ndList As List(Of XNode) = MyXElement.DescendantNodesAndSelf.ToList
        For x As Integer = ndList.Count - 1 To 0 Step -1
            If ndList(x).NodeType = Xml.XmlNodeType.ProcessingInstruction Then
                ndList.RemoveAt(x)
            End If
        Next

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After extensive searching I received an 'AI Overview' that provided a solution that has worked with 2,000 files.

The answer is to use XDocument.

Code:

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        Dim s As String = someXE.ToString 'convert XElement to string
        ' Create XDocument from string
        Dim xdoc As XDocument = XDocument.Parse(s)
        ' Find the processing instructions
        Dim piL As List(Of XProcessingInstruction)
        piL = xdoc.DescendantNodes().OfType(Of XProcessingInstruction)().ToList
        ' Remove the processing instructions
        For Each pi As XProcessingInstruction In piL
            pi.Remove()
        Next
        'the Root of xdoc is a XElement without XProcessingInstruction

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Hopefully the search bots will find this post, no one should have to go through what I did to find this answer.

When I phrased the question correctly the AI provided this along with the answer,

Quote:

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When working with XElement in VB.NET, removing a processing instruction can be tricky because processing instructions (<?xml ... ?>) are not part of the content of an XElement — they are part of the XML document (i.e., XDocument) or sometimes part of an XContainer like the parent of an element.

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I'll mark this resolved.