ElementPath

5.1.1 · active · verified Thu Apr 09

ElementPath is a comprehensive Python library providing XPath 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1 parsers and selectors. It works seamlessly with both Python's built-in `ElementTree` and the more performant `lxml` library. Currently at version 5.1.1, it maintains a regular release cadence, typically releasing new versions monthly or bi-monthly, often including bug fixes, performance improvements, and Python version compatibility updates.

Warnings

breaking Python 3.8 and 3.9 compatibility was dropped in recent major versions. `elementpath` v5.0.0 dropped support for Python 3.8, and v5.1.0 dropped support for Python 3.9.
Fix: Ensure your Python environment is running Python 3.10 or newer. Upgrade your Python interpreter if you encounter `ImportError` or other compatibility issues.
breaking The internal XML parser was replaced. `SafeXMLParser` was removed and replaced with `SafeExpatParser` in version 5.0.0. This is an internal change but could affect users who relied on direct access to or configuration of the previous parser.
Fix: Review any code that directly interacts with `elementpath`'s internal parsing mechanisms. Most users relying on the high-level `select` or `Selector` APIs should not be affected.
breaking Internal node tree structure changed significantly with the introduction of `XPathNodeTree` as the backbone for node representation. This impacts advanced users extending the library or introspecting its internal data structures.
Fix: If you have custom node handling or extensions, you may need to update your code to align with the new `XPathNodeTree` structure. Consult the official documentation for details on the new node model.
gotcha XPath expressions often require explicit handling of XML namespaces. If your XML document uses namespaces and your XPath expressions don't account for them, you might get no results or incorrect ones.
Fix: Provide a namespace map when calling `select` or `Selector`. For example: `select(root, '/ns:root/ns:item', namespaces={'ns': 'http://example.com/ns'})`.

Install

pip install elementpath Install stable version

Imports

select
```
from elementpath import select
```
The primary function for selecting nodes using an XPath expression.
Selector
```
from elementpath import Selector
```
Used for creating reusable XPath selector objects, especially for complex or frequently used expressions.
XPathContext
```
from elementpath.xpath_context import XPathContext
```
For advanced usage involving custom contexts, variables, or functions.

Quickstart

This example demonstrates how to parse an XML string using `ElementTree` and then use `elementpath.select` to query elements with an XPath expression. It prints the text content of all 'item' elements found.

import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
from elementpath import select

xml_string = """
<root>
    <item id="1">First item</item>
    <item id="2">Second item</item>
    <item id="3">Third item</item>
</root>
"""

# Parse the XML string using ElementTree
root = ET.fromstring(xml_string)

# Select all 'item' elements under 'root'
items = select(root, '/root/item')

# Extract text from selected items
results = [item.text for item in items]

print(results)
# Expected output: ['First item', 'Second item', 'Third item']

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