XML Component

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The XML component can be used to both parse and create XML documents.

Syntax

nsoftware.IPWorks.Xml

Remarks

The XML component can operate as either a parser or writer of XML.

Parsing XML

The XML component parses XML documents and verifies that they are well-formed. The results are provided through a set of events complying with the SAX2 specification.

In addition, the document structure may be queried through an XPath mechanism that supports a subset of the XPath specification.

The parser is optimized for read applications, with a very fast engine that builds internal DOM structures with close to zero heap allocations. Additionally, BuildDOM can be set to False which reduces the overhead of creating the DOM and offers a fast forward-only parsing implementation which fires events to provide the parsed data.

When parsing a document events will fire to provide information about the parsed data. After Parse returns the document may be navigated by setting XPath if BuildDOM is True (default). If BuildDOM is False parsed data is only accessible through the events.

Events are fired only when qualifying conditions (such as, for example, the beginning of a new element) are met. In the meantime, text will be buffered internally. The following events will fire during parsing:

• Characters
• Comment
• EndElement
• EndPrefixMapping
• EvalEntity
• IgnorableWhitespace
• Meta
• PI
• SpecialSection
• StartElement
• StartPrefixMapping

If BuildDOM is True (default), XPath may be set after this method returns. XPath implements a subset of the XML XPath specification, allowing you to point to specific elements in the XML documents.

The path is a series of one or more element accessors separated by '/'. The path can be absolute (starting with '/') or relative to the current XPath location.

The following are possible values for an element accessor:

BuildDOM must be set to True prior to parsing the document for the XPath functionality to be available.

Example (Setting XPath):

Input Properties

The component will determine the source of the input based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

• SetInputStream
• InputFile
• InputData

If parsing multiple documents call Reset between documents to reset the parser.

An additional "relaxed" mode allows for lexical parsing of non-XML documents (e.g. HTML). This is enabled by setting Validate to False. In this case, events will be fired as elements, entities, etc. are encountered, but the structure of the document will not be checked for "well-formedness", and the internal DOM structure will not be built.

Writing XML

To use the component first decide whether or not to write to file, a stream, or to OutputData.

Output Properties

The component will determine the destination of the output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

• SetOutputStream
• OutputFile
• OutputData: The output data are written to this property if no other destination is specified.

To begin writing the XML document first optionally set XMLDeclaration. If this is not set the component will use a default XML declaration at the beginning of the document.

Next begin adding elements to your document. Calling StartElement will open an element with the specified name. To create a nested structure continue calling StartElement to open more child elements. To write a value within an element call PutString. To close the element that was last opened call EndElement. Each time EndElement is called the element at the current level is closed. Alternatively, calling PutElement will write the element specified with the value specified and will also close the element.

To write an attribute of the current element, after calling StartElement call PutAttr. Call PutAttr multiple times to add multiple attributes.

Writing comments or CDATA can be done at any time with the PutComment and PutCData methods.

To close your XML document call Save. You can call Save from any location and it will close any remaining open elements automatically.

Property List

The following is the full list of the properties of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

The following is the full list of the methods of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

The following is the full list of the events fired by the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

The following is a list of config settings for the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

BuildDOM Property (XML Component)

When True, an internal object model of the XML document is created.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool BuildDOM { get; set; }

Public Property BuildDOM As Boolean

Default Value

True

Remarks

Set BuildDOM to True when you need to browse the current document through XPath.

Validate is automatically set to True when BuildDOM is set to True.

InputData Property (XML Component)

The XML data to parse.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string InputData { get; set; }

Public Property InputData As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the XML to be processed. Set this property before calling Parse.

This may be set to a complete XML document, or partial data. When setting partial data call Parse after each chunk of data is set. For instance:

//Parse the following in chunks: <test>1</test> xml.InputData = "<test>" xml.Parse(); xml.InputData = "1<test>" xml.Parse();

Input Properties

The component will determine the source of the input based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

• SetInputStream
• InputFile
• InputData

InputFile Property (XML Component)

The file to process.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string InputFile { get; set; }

Public Property InputFile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the file to be processed. Set this property to the full or relative path to the file which will be processed.

After setting this property call Parse to parse the document.

Input Properties

The component will determine the source of the input based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

• SetInputStream
• InputFile
• InputData

Namespaces Property (XML Component)

Collection of namespaces in the current namespace stack.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLNamespaceList Namespaces { get; }

Public Property Namespaces As XMLNamespaceList

Remarks

This property contains a collection of XML namespaces, which are standards for providing uniquely named elements and attributes in an XML instance.

This collection is indexed from 0 to count -1.

This property is not available at design time.

OutputData Property (XML Component)

The output XML after processing.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string OutputData { get; set; }

Public Property OutputData As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property will be populated with the output from the operation if OutputFile and SetOutputStream are not set.

OutputFile Property (XML Component)

The path to a local file where the output will be written.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string OutputFile { get; set; }

Public Property OutputFile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the file to which the output will be written. This may be set to an absolute or relative path.

Output Properties

The component will determine the destination of the output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

• SetOutputStream
• OutputFile
• OutputData: The output data are written to this property if no other destination is specified.

Overwrite Property (XML Component)

Indicates whether or not the component should overwrite files.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool Overwrite { get; set; }

Public Property Overwrite As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property indicates whether or not the component will overwrite OutputFile. If Overwrite is False, an error will be thrown whenever OutputFile exists before an operation. The default value is False.

Validate Property (XML Component)

This property controls whether documents are validated during parsing.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool Validate { get; set; }

Public Property Validate As Boolean

Default Value

True

Remarks

When true (default) the document will be validated during parsing. To disable validation set Validate to false. Disabling validation may be useful in cases where data can still be parsed even if the document is not well-formed.

XAttributes Property (XML Component)

A collection of attributes of the current element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLAttributeList XAttributes { get; }

Public Property XAttributes As XMLAttributeList

Remarks

This collection consists of all attributes of the current XML element. The component parses each attribute into a collection of XMLAttribute types.

This collection is indexed from 0 to count -1.

This property is not available at design time.

XChildren Property (XML Component)

Collection of child elements of the currently selected XML element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLElementList XChildren { get; }

Public Property XChildren As XMLElementList

Remarks

This property contains a collection of child elements of the currently selected XML element. The elements are provided in the collection in the same order they are found in the XML document.

This collection is indexed from 0 to count -1.

This property is not available at design time.

XComments Property (XML Component)

A collection of comments of the current element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLCommentList XComments { get; }

Public Property XComments As XMLCommentList

Remarks

This collection consists of all comments of the element at the current XPath. The component parses each comment into a collection of XMLComment types.

This collection is indexed from 0 to count -1.

This functionality is not yet implemented.

This property is not available at design time.

XElement Property (XML Component)

The name of the current element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string XElement { get; set; }

Public Property XElement As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

The current element is specified via the XPath property.

XMLDeclaration Property (XML Component)

Specifies details of the XML declaration.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLDeclaration XMLDeclaration { get; set; }

Public Property XMLDeclaration As XMLDeclaration

Remarks

This property holds details of the XML declaration for the document being written.

This is only applicable when writing XML.

XNamespace Property (XML Component)

The namespace of the current element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string XNamespace { get; set; }

Public Property XNamespace As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

The current element is specified via the XPath property.

XParent Property (XML Component)

The parent of the current element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string XParent { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property XParent As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

The current element is specified via the XPath property.

This property is read-only.

XPath Property (XML Component)

Provides a way to point to a specific element in the document.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string XPath { get; set; }

Public Property XPath As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

XPath implements a subset of the XML XPath specification, allowing you to point to specific elements in the XML documents.

The path is a series of one or more element accessors separated by '/'. The path can be absolute (starting with '/') or relative to the current XPath location.

The following are possible values for an element accessor:

BuildDOM must be set to True prior to parsing the document for the XPath functionality to be available.

Example (Setting XPath):

XPrefix Property (XML Component)

The prefix of the current element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string XPrefix { get; set; }

Public Property XPrefix As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

The current element is specified via the XPath property.

XSubTree Property (XML Component)

A snapshot of the current element in the document.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string XSubTree { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property XSubTree As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

The current element is specified via the XPath property. In order for this property to work you must have the CacheContent set to true.

This property is read-only.

XText Property (XML Component)

The text of the current element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string XText { get; set; }

Public Property XText As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

The current element is specified via the XPath property.

Config Method (XML Component)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Config(string configurationString);

Async Version
public async Task<string> Config(string configurationString);
public async Task<string> Config(string configurationString, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As String

Async Version
Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As Task(Of String)
Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of String)

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every component. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the component.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

EndElement Method (XML Component)

Writes the closing tag of an open XML element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void EndElement();

Async Version
public async Task EndElement();
public async Task EndElement(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub EndElement()

Async Version
Public Sub EndElement() As Task
Public Sub EndElement(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

Writes the closing tag of the XML element most recently opened using StartElement.

If no elements are opened, the call throws an exception

Flush Method (XML Component)

Flushes the parser and checks its end state.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Flush();

Async Version
public async Task Flush();
public async Task Flush(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Flush()

Async Version
Public Sub Flush() As Task
Public Sub Flush(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

When Flush is called, the parser flushes all its buffers, firing events as necessary, and then checks its end state. If Validate is true, the parser verifies that all open elements were closed, returning an error if not.

GetAttr Method (XML Component)

Returns the value of the specified attribute.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string GetAttr(string attrName);

Async Version
public async Task<string> GetAttr(string attrName);
public async Task<string> GetAttr(string attrName, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function GetAttr(ByVal AttrName As String) As String

Async Version
Public Function GetAttr(ByVal AttrName As String) As Task(Of String)
Public Function GetAttr(ByVal AttrName As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of String)

Remarks

This method returns the value of the attribute specified by the AttrName parameter.

If the attribute does not exist an empty string is returned. The behavior when an attribute does not exit is controlled by ErrorOnEmptyAttr.

Please refer to the XAttributes collection for more information.

HasXPath Method (XML Component)

Determines whether a specific element exists in the document.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool HasXPath(string XPath);

Async Version
public async Task<bool> HasXPath(string XPath);
public async Task<bool> HasXPath(string XPath, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function HasXPath(ByVal XPath As String) As Boolean

Async Version
Public Function HasXPath(ByVal XPath As String) As Task(Of Boolean)
Public Function HasXPath(ByVal XPath As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of Boolean)

Remarks

This method determines whether a particular XPath exists within the document. This may be used to check if a path exists before setting it via XPath.

This method returns True if the xpath exists, False if not.

See XPath for details on the XPath syntax.

LoadDOM Method (XML Component)

Loads the DOM from a file.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void LoadDOM(string fileName);

Async Version
public async Task LoadDOM(string fileName);
public async Task LoadDOM(string fileName, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub LoadDOM(ByVal FileName As String)

Async Version
Public Sub LoadDOM(ByVal FileName As String) As Task
Public Sub LoadDOM(ByVal FileName As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

The LoadDOM method loads a DOM structure previously saved by SaveDOM from the file specified in FileName.

Please refer to the SaveDOM method for more information.

LoadSchema Method (XML Component)

Load the XML schema.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void LoadSchema(string schema);

Async Version
public async Task LoadSchema(string schema);
public async Task LoadSchema(string schema, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub LoadSchema(ByVal Schema As String)

Async Version
Public Sub LoadSchema(ByVal Schema As String) As Task
Public Sub LoadSchema(ByVal Schema As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This functionality is not yet implemented.

This method loads the schema specified in the Schema parameter. The Schema may be specified as either a string or the path to a file on disk.

The component will validate the input data during parsing to verify it adheres to the schema.

Parse Method (XML Component)

This method parses the specified XML data.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Parse();

Async Version
public async Task Parse();
public async Task Parse(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Parse()

Async Version
Public Sub Parse() As Task
Public Sub Parse(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method parses the specified XML data.

When parsing a document events will fire to provide information about the parsed data. After Parse returns the document may be navigated by setting XPath if BuildDOM is True (default). If BuildDOM is False parsed data is only accessible through the events.

Events are fired only when qualifying conditions (such as, for example, the beginning of a new element) are met. In the meantime, text will be buffered internally. The following events will fire during parsing:

• Characters
• Comment
• EndElement
• EndPrefixMapping
• EvalEntity
• IgnorableWhitespace
• Meta
• PI
• SpecialSection
• StartElement
• StartPrefixMapping

If BuildDOM is True (default), XPath may be set after this method returns. XPath implements a subset of the XML XPath specification, allowing you to point to specific elements in the XML documents.

The path is a series of one or more element accessors separated by '/'. The path can be absolute (starting with '/') or relative to the current XPath location.

The following are possible values for an element accessor:

BuildDOM must be set to True prior to parsing the document for the XPath functionality to be available.

Example (Setting XPath):

Input Properties

The component will determine the source of the input based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

• SetInputStream
• InputFile
• InputData

If parsing multiple documents call Reset between documents to reset the parser.

PutAttr Method (XML Component)

Writes an XML attribute.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void PutAttr(string name, string namespaceURI, string value);

Async Version
public async Task PutAttr(string name, string namespaceURI, string value);
public async Task PutAttr(string name, string namespaceURI, string value, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub PutAttr(ByVal Name As String, ByVal NamespaceURI As String, ByVal Value As String)

Async Version
Public Sub PutAttr(ByVal Name As String, ByVal NamespaceURI As String, ByVal Value As String) As Task
Public Sub PutAttr(ByVal Name As String, ByVal NamespaceURI As String, ByVal Value As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

Writes an XML attribute on the currently opened XML element. It must be called right after calling StartElement and before any calls to PutString, PutComment or PutRaw.

If Name is a local name without a prefix, the component will automatically introduce a new xmlns="NamespaceURI" attribute if necessary.

If Name is in the form prefix:local, then component will automatically introduce a new xmlns:prefix="NamespaceURI" as necessary.

Certain attribute names will be handled in special ways by this method. If Name is "xmlns" or uses the "xmlns" prefix, the attribute will be interpreted as a namespace declaration, regardless of the value of NamespaceURI. Similarly, any attribute using the "xml" prefix will be interpreted as a special attribute (like "xml:lang") and NamespaceURI will be ignored.

PutCData Method (XML Component)

Writes an XML CDATA block.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void PutCData(string text);

Async Version
public async Task PutCData(string text);
public async Task PutCData(string text, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub PutCData(ByVal Text As String)

Async Version
Public Sub PutCData(ByVal Text As String) As Task
Public Sub PutCData(ByVal Text As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

Writes a new XML CDATA block with the specified text inside the current element.

PutComment Method (XML Component)

Writes an XML comment block.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void PutComment(string text);

Async Version
public async Task PutComment(string text);
public async Task PutComment(string text, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub PutComment(ByVal Text As String)

Async Version
Public Sub PutComment(ByVal Text As String) As Task
Public Sub PutComment(ByVal Text As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

Writes a new XML comment block with the specified text.

PutElement Method (XML Component)

Writes a simple XML element with a value.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void PutElement(string name, string namespaceURI, string value);

Async Version
public async Task PutElement(string name, string namespaceURI, string value);
public async Task PutElement(string name, string namespaceURI, string value, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub PutElement(ByVal Name As String, ByVal NamespaceURI As String, ByVal Value As String)

Async Version
Public Sub PutElement(ByVal Name As String, ByVal NamespaceURI As String, ByVal Value As String) As Task
Public Sub PutElement(ByVal Name As String, ByVal NamespaceURI As String, ByVal Value As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

Writes a simple XML element with no attributes and the specified value between the opening and closing tags.

If Name is a local name without a prefix, the component will automatically introduce a new xmlns="NamespaceURI" attribute if necessary.

If Name is in the form prefix:local, then component will automatically introduce a new xmlns:prefix="NamespaceURI" as necessary.

When calling PutElement or StartElement, if a NamespaceURI is not specified an empty namespace will be defined for the element. If a namespace should be associated with the element, a NamespaceURI value must be provided. When creating the XML, the component will determine if the namespace already exists to avoid duplicate definitions of the same namespace. For example, to create this XML:

<book xmlns='urn:loc.gov:books'
      xmlns:isbn='urn:ISBN:0-395-36341-6'>
    <title>Cheaper by the Dozen</title>
    <isbn:number>1568491379</isbn:number>
</book>

PutRaw Method (XML Component)

Writes a raw XML fragment.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void PutRaw(string text);

Async Version
public async Task PutRaw(string text);
public async Task PutRaw(string text, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub PutRaw(ByVal Text As String)

Async Version
Public Sub PutRaw(ByVal Text As String) As Task
Public Sub PutRaw(ByVal Text As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

Writes a raw XML fragment to the output, without escaping and without verification. If an XML element opening tag has been written, before the raw fragment, the fragment will be written as a child of the current element.

Use of this method should be carefully considered as it can easily lead to malformed XML content.

PutString Method (XML Component)

Writes text inside an XML element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void PutString(string text);

Async Version
public async Task PutString(string text);
public async Task PutString(string text, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub PutString(ByVal Text As String)

Async Version
Public Sub PutString(ByVal Text As String) As Task
Public Sub PutString(ByVal Text As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method will XML escape the value provided and write the resulting escaped text between the opening and closing tags of an XML element.

RemoveAttr Method (XML Component)

Remove a attribute.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void RemoveAttr(string attrName);

Async Version
public async Task RemoveAttr(string attrName);
public async Task RemoveAttr(string attrName, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub RemoveAttr(ByVal AttrName As String)

Async Version
Public Sub RemoveAttr(ByVal AttrName As String) As Task
Public Sub RemoveAttr(ByVal AttrName As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method removes an attribute at the specified XPath

This functionality is not yet implemented.

RemoveChildren Method (XML Component)

Removes the children of the elment as the specified XPath.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void RemoveChildren();

Async Version
public async Task RemoveChildren();
public async Task RemoveChildren(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub RemoveChildren()

Async Version
Public Sub RemoveChildren() As Task
Public Sub RemoveChildren(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method removes the children of the element specified by XPath.

When called the component will remove the children of the element from the internal representation of the XML (the DOM). The element itself remains, with no children. This may be used at any time after Parse returns, or from within the EndElement event as a document is parsed in order to remove sections of a document that will not be needed later. By removing unnecessary elements from the DOM memory consumption is reduced and overall performance is improved.

RemoveChildren Example:

Given the XML

<food>
	<fruits>
		<apple>
			<color>red</color>
		</apple>
		<banana>
			<color>yellow</color>
		</banana>
	</fruits>
</food>

This code removes the children of the apple element while leaving the apple element in place.

xml.XPath = "/food/fruits/apple"; xml.RemoveChildren();

The XML stored in the DOM is now:

<food>
	<fruits>
		<apple>
		</apple>
		<banana>
			<color>yellow</color>
		</banana>
	</fruits>
</food>

RemoveElement Method (XML Component)

Removes the elment as the specified XPath.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void RemoveElement();

Async Version
public async Task RemoveElement();
public async Task RemoveElement(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub RemoveElement()

Async Version
Public Sub RemoveElement() As Task
Public Sub RemoveElement(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method removes the element specified by XPath.

When called the component will remove the element and its children from the internal representation of the XML (the DOM). This may be used at any time after Parse returns, or from within the EndElement event as a document is parsed in order to remove sections of a document that will not be needed later. By removing unnecessary elements from the DOM memory consumption is reduced and overall performance is improved.

RemoveElement Example:

Given the XML

<food>
	<fruits>
		<apple>
			<color>red</color>
		</apple>
		<banana>
			<color>yellow</color>
		</banana>
	</fruits>
</food>

This code removes the apple element and its children.

xml.XPath = "/food/fruits/apple"; xml.RemoveElement();

The XML stored in the DOM is now:

<food>
	<fruits>
		<banana>
			<color>yellow</color>
		</banana>
	</fruits>
</food>

Reset Method (XML Component)

Resets the parser.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Reset();

Async Version
public async Task Reset();
public async Task Reset(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Reset()

Async Version
Public Sub Reset() As Task
Public Sub Reset(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

When called, the parser flushes all its buffers, firing events as necessary, and then initializes itself to its default state.

Reset must also be used as signal to the parser that the current stream of text has terminated.

Save Method (XML Component)

Closes the component writing stream.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Save();

Async Version
public async Task Save();
public async Task Save(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Save()

Async Version
Public Sub Save() As Task
Public Sub Save(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method will close any open XML elements, and then close the OutputFile or output stream if necessary.

SaveDOM Method (XML Component)

Saves the DOM to a file.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SaveDOM(string fileName);

Async Version
public async Task SaveDOM(string fileName);
public async Task SaveDOM(string fileName, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SaveDOM(ByVal FileName As String)

Async Version
Public Sub SaveDOM(ByVal FileName As String) As Task
Public Sub SaveDOM(ByVal FileName As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

The SaveDOM method saves the current DOM structure to the file specified in FileName. This enables the component to later load the DOM without incurring any parsing overhead.

Please refer to the LoadDOM method for more information.

SetInputStream Method (XML Component)

Sets the stream from which the component will read data to parse.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SetInputStream(System.IO.Stream inputStream);

Async Version
public async Task SetInputStream(System.IO.Stream inputStream);
public async Task SetInputStream(System.IO.Stream inputStream, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SetInputStream(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream)

Async Version
Public Sub SetInputStream(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream) As Task
Public Sub SetInputStream(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method specifies a stream from which data will be read when Parse is called.

Input Properties

The component will determine the source of the input based on which properties are set.

The order in which the input properties are checked is as follows:

• SetInputStream
• InputFile
• InputData

SetOutputStream Method (XML Component)

The stream to which the component will write the XML.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SetOutputStream(System.IO.Stream outputStream);

Async Version
public async Task SetOutputStream(System.IO.Stream outputStream);
public async Task SetOutputStream(System.IO.Stream outputStream, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SetOutputStream(ByVal OutputStream As System.IO.Stream)

Async Version
Public Sub SetOutputStream(ByVal OutputStream As System.IO.Stream) As Task
Public Sub SetOutputStream(ByVal OutputStream As System.IO.Stream, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method sets the stream to which output will be written when writing data.

Output Properties

The component will determine the destination of the output based on which properties are set.

The order in which the output properties are checked is as follows:

• SetOutputStream
• OutputFile
• OutputData: The output data are written to this property if no other destination is specified.

StartElement Method (XML Component)

Writes the opening tag of an XML element.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void StartElement(string name, string namespaceURI);

Async Version
public async Task StartElement(string name, string namespaceURI);
public async Task StartElement(string name, string namespaceURI, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub StartElement(ByVal Name As String, ByVal NamespaceURI As String)

Async Version
Public Sub StartElement(ByVal Name As String, ByVal NamespaceURI As String) As Task
Public Sub StartElement(ByVal Name As String, ByVal NamespaceURI As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

Writes the opening tag of a new XML element. If an XML element is already opened, then this element is written as a child.

If Name is a local name without a prefix, the component will automatically introduce a new xmlns="NamespaceURI" attribute if necessary.

If Name is in the form prefix:local, then component will automatically introduce a new xmlns:prefix="NamespaceURI" as necessary.

When calling PutElement or StartElement, if a NamespaceURI is not specified an empty namespace will be defined for the element. If a namespace should be associated with the element, a NamespaceURI value must be provided. When creating the XML, the component will determine if the namespace already exists to avoid duplicate definitions of the same namespace. For example, to create this XML:

<book xmlns='urn:loc.gov:books'
      xmlns:isbn='urn:ISBN:0-395-36341-6'>
    <title>Cheaper by the Dozen</title>
    <isbn:number>1568491379</isbn:number>
</book>

TryXPath Method (XML Component)

Navigates to the specified XPath if it exists.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool TryXPath(string xpath);

Async Version
public async Task<bool> TryXPath(string xpath);
public async Task<bool> TryXPath(string xpath, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function TryXPath(ByVal xpath As String) As Boolean

Async Version
Public Function TryXPath(ByVal xpath As String) As Task(Of Boolean)
Public Function TryXPath(ByVal xpath As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of Boolean)

Remarks

This method will attempt to navigate to the specified XPath parameter if it exists within the document.

If the XPath exists the XPath property will be updated and this method returns True.

If the XPath does not exist the XPath property is not updated and this method returns False.

Characters Event (XML Component)

Fired for plain text segments of the input stream.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnCharactersHandler OnCharacters;

public delegate void OnCharactersHandler(object sender, XmlCharactersEventArgs e);

public class XmlCharactersEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Text { get; }
}

Public Event OnCharacters As OnCharactersHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnCharactersHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlCharactersEventArgs)

Public Class XmlCharactersEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Text As String
End Class

Remarks

The Characters event provides the plain text content of the XML document (i.e. the text inside the tags). The text is provided through the Text parameter.

The text includes white space as well as end of line characters, except for ignorable whitespace which is fired through the IgnorableWhitespace event.

Comment Event (XML Component)

Fired when a comment section is encountered.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnCommentHandler OnComment;

public delegate void OnCommentHandler(object sender, XmlCommentEventArgs e);

public class XmlCommentEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Text { get; }
}

Public Event OnComment As OnCommentHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnCommentHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlCommentEventArgs)

Public Class XmlCommentEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Text As String
End Class

Remarks

The Comment event is fired whenever a comment section (<!-- ..text... -->) is found in the document.

The full text of the comment is provided by the Text parameter.

EndElement Event (XML Component)

Fired when an end-element tag is encountered.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnEndElementHandler OnEndElement;

public delegate void OnEndElementHandler(object sender, XmlEndElementEventArgs e);

public class XmlEndElementEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Namespace { get; }
  public string Element { get; }
  public string QName { get; }
  public bool IsEmpty { get; }
}

Public Event OnEndElement As OnEndElementHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnEndElementHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlEndElementEventArgs)

Public Class XmlEndElementEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Namespace As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Element As String
  Public ReadOnly Property QName As String
  Public ReadOnly Property IsEmpty As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

The EndElement event is fired when an end-element tag is found in the document.

The element name is provided by the Element parameter.

The IsEmpty parameter is true when the event corresponds with an empty element declaration.

EndPrefixMapping Event (XML Component)

Fired when leaving the scope of a namespace declaration.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnEndPrefixMappingHandler OnEndPrefixMapping;

public delegate void OnEndPrefixMappingHandler(object sender, XmlEndPrefixMappingEventArgs e);

public class XmlEndPrefixMappingEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Prefix { get; }
}

Public Event OnEndPrefixMapping As OnEndPrefixMappingHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnEndPrefixMappingHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlEndPrefixMappingEventArgs)

Public Class XmlEndPrefixMappingEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Prefix As String
End Class

Remarks

The StartPrefixMapping event is fired when entering the scope of a namespace declaration.

Error Event (XML Component)

Information about errors during data delivery.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnErrorHandler OnError;

public delegate void OnErrorHandler(object sender, XmlErrorEventArgs e);

public class XmlErrorEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int ErrorCode { get; }
  public string Description { get; }
}

Public Event OnError As OnErrorHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnErrorHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlErrorEventArgs)

Public Class XmlErrorEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property ErrorCode As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property Description As String
End Class

Remarks

The Error event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing. Normally the component throws an exception.

ErrorCode contains an error code and Description contains a textual description of the error. For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Codes section.

EvalEntity Event (XML Component)

Fired every time an entity needs to be evaluated.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnEvalEntityHandler OnEvalEntity;

public delegate void OnEvalEntityHandler(object sender, XmlEvalEntityEventArgs e);

public class XmlEvalEntityEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Entity { get; }
  public string Value { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnEvalEntity As OnEvalEntityHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnEvalEntityHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlEvalEntityEventArgs)

Public Class XmlEvalEntityEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Entity As String
  Public Property Value As String
End Class

Remarks

The Value parameter contains a suggested value for the entity (normally the entity name itself). You may set Value to a value of your choice, which will be later passed into the text stream.

IgnorableWhitespace Event (XML Component)

Fired when a section of ignorable whitespace is encountered.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnIgnorableWhitespaceHandler OnIgnorableWhitespace;

public delegate void OnIgnorableWhitespaceHandler(object sender, XmlIgnorableWhitespaceEventArgs e);

public class XmlIgnorableWhitespaceEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Text { get; }
}

Public Event OnIgnorableWhitespace As OnIgnorableWhitespaceHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnIgnorableWhitespaceHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlIgnorableWhitespaceEventArgs)

Public Class XmlIgnorableWhitespaceEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Text As String
End Class

Remarks

The ignorable whitespace section is provided by the Text parameter.

Meta Event (XML Component)

Fired when a meta section is encountered.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnMetaHandler OnMeta;

public delegate void OnMetaHandler(object sender, XmlMetaEventArgs e);

public class XmlMetaEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Text { get; }
}

Public Event OnMeta As OnMetaHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnMetaHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlMetaEventArgs)

Public Class XmlMetaEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Text As String
End Class

Remarks

The Meta event is fired whenever a meta information section (<! ..text... >) is found in the document.

The full text of the meta section is provided by the Text parameter.

PI Event (XML Component)

Fired when a processing instruction section is encountered.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnPIHandler OnPI;

public delegate void OnPIHandler(object sender, XmlPIEventArgs e);

public class XmlPIEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Text { get; }
}

Public Event OnPI As OnPIHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnPIHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlPIEventArgs)

Public Class XmlPIEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Text As String
End Class

Remarks

The PI event is fired whenever a processing instruction section (<? ..text... ?>) is found in the document.

The full text of the processing instruction is provided by the Text parameter.

SpecialSection Event (XML Component)

Fired when a special section is encountered.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnSpecialSectionHandler OnSpecialSection;

public delegate void OnSpecialSectionHandler(object sender, XmlSpecialSectionEventArgs e);

public class XmlSpecialSectionEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string SectionId { get; }
  public string Text { get; }
}

Public Event OnSpecialSection As OnSpecialSectionHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnSpecialSectionHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlSpecialSectionEventArgs)

Public Class XmlSpecialSectionEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property SectionId As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Text As String
End Class

Remarks

The SpecialSection event is fired whenever a special section (such as <![ CDATA [ ..text... ]]>) is found in the document.

The full text of the special section is provided by the Text parameter, while the SectionId parameter provides the section identifier (e.g. "CDATA").

StartElement Event (XML Component)

Fired when a begin-element tag is encountered in the document.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnStartElementHandler OnStartElement;

public delegate void OnStartElementHandler(object sender, XmlStartElementEventArgs e);

public class XmlStartElementEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Namespace { get; }
  public string Element { get; }
  public string QName { get; }
  public bool IsEmpty { get; }
}

Public Event OnStartElement As OnStartElementHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnStartElementHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlStartElementEventArgs)

Public Class XmlStartElementEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Namespace As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Element As String
  Public ReadOnly Property QName As String
  Public ReadOnly Property IsEmpty As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

The StartElement event is fired when a begin-element tag is found in the document.

The element name is provided through the Element parameter. The attribute names and values (if any) are provided through the XAttributes collection.

The IsEmpty parameter is true when the event corresponds with an empty element declaration.

StartPrefixMapping Event (XML Component)

Fired when entering the scope of a namespace declaration.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnStartPrefixMappingHandler OnStartPrefixMapping;

public delegate void OnStartPrefixMappingHandler(object sender, XmlStartPrefixMappingEventArgs e);

public class XmlStartPrefixMappingEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Prefix { get; }
  public string URI { get; }
}

Public Event OnStartPrefixMapping As OnStartPrefixMappingHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnStartPrefixMappingHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlStartPrefixMappingEventArgs)

Public Class XmlStartPrefixMappingEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Prefix As String
  Public ReadOnly Property URI As String
End Class

Remarks

The EndPrefixMapping event is fired when leaving the scope of a namespace declaration.

XML Event (XML Component)

Fires as XML is written.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnXMLHandler OnXML;

public delegate void OnXMLHandler(object sender, XmlXMLEventArgs e);

public class XmlXMLEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Text { get; }
}

Public Event OnXML As OnXMLHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnXMLHandler(sender As Object, e As XmlXMLEventArgs)

Public Class XmlXMLEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Text As String
End Class

Remarks

This event fires when XML is output. The Text parameter holds the data being written.

This functionality is not yet implemented.

XMLAttribute Type

An XML attribute from the current XML element.

Remarks

This type describes an XML attribute from the current element. It includes fields to denote information about the attribute being defined.

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLAttribute();

Public XMLAttribute()

XMLComment Type

A comment within the document.

Remarks

This type holds a comment within the XML document.

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLComment();

Public XMLComment()

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLComment(string text);

Public XMLComment(ByVal Text As String)

XMLDeclaration Type

The XML declaration present at the beginning of a document.

Remarks

This type contains details about the XML declaration which may be set before writing a document. This is only applicable when writing documents.

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLDeclaration();

Public XMLDeclaration()

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLDeclaration(string version, string encoding, bool standalone);

Public XMLDeclaration(ByVal Version As String, ByVal Encoding As String, ByVal Standalone As Boolean)

XMLElement Type

An element contained within the XML document.

Remarks

This type describes an XML element. The fields for this type describe the element Name, Prefix, and Namespace of the given element.

The elements are inserted into the array in the same order they are found in the document.

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLElement();

Public XMLElement()

XMLNamespace Type

An XML namespace from the current namespace stack.

Remarks

This type describes an XML namespace from the current stack. It includes fields to denote the Prefix and the URI of the namespace being defined.

The default namespace exists at index 0. The Prefix field at index 0 is "xmlns", and the Name field contains the default namespace.

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLNamespace();

Public XMLNamespace()

• C#
• VB.NET

public XMLNamespace(string name, string prefix);

Public XMLNamespace(ByVal Name As String, ByVal Prefix As String)

Config Settings (XML Component)

XML Config Settings

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes" ?>
...

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (XML Component)

XML Errors