Manipulate XML Content the Ximple Way  : Page 7

Example 4: Erasing Fields
This last example erases the fields of the second "CD" element, highlighted in the output XML. Notice that this approach works much better than removing the second element, because you can later fill in new values.

Input XML

Output XML

<CATALOG>   <CD>     <TITLE>Empire Burlesque      </TITLE>     <ARTIST>Bob Dylan     </ARTIST>     <COUNTRY>USA    </COUNTRY>     <COMPANY>Columbia      </COMPANY>     <PRICE>10.9    </PRICE>     <YEAR>1985    </YEAR>   </CD>   <CD>     <TITLE>Still Got the Blues   </TITLE>     <ARTIST>Gary More     </ARTIST>     <COUNTRY>UK     </COUNTRY>     <COMPANY>Virgin </COMPANY>     <PRICE>10.2    </PRICE>     <YEAR>1990    </YEAR>   </CD> </CATALOG>

<CATALOG>   <CD>     <TITLE>Empire Burlesque      </TITLE>     <ARTIST>Bob Dylan     </ARTIST>     <COUNTRY>USA    </COUNTRY>     <COMPANY>Columbia      </COMPANY>     <PRICE>10.9    </PRICE>     <YEAR>1985    </YEAR>   </CD>   <CD>     <TITLE>                      </TITLE>     <ARTIST>              </ARTIST>     <COUNTRY>       </COUNTRY>     <COMPANY>              </COMPANY>     <PRICE>        </PRICE>     <YEAR>        </YEAR>   </CD> </CATALOG>

And here's the code:

   import com.ximpleware.*; 
   import java.io.*; 
   public class erase { 
      public static void main(String[] args) 
         throws Exception{ 
   
         VTDGen vg = new VTDGen(); 
         AutoPilot ap = new AutoPilot(); 
         ap.selectXPath("/CATALOG/CD[PRICE=10.2]/*/text()"); 
         if (vg.parseFile("old_cd.xml",false)){ 
            VTDNav vn = vg.getNav(); 
            ap.bind(vn); 
            int i; 
            byte[] ba = "".getBytes(); 
            while((i=ap.evalXPath())!=-1){ 
               vn.overWrite(i,ba); 
            } 
            FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream("new_cd.xml"); 
            fos.write(vn.getXML().getBytes()); 
            fos.close(); 
         } 
      } 
   } 

At this point, you've seen how VTD-XML functions as a slicer, an editor, and an incremental modifier to help manipulate your XML documents intelligently. Most of the features discussed in this article are available to you only through VTD-XML. As XML assumes an increasingly larger role in enterprise computing, it's also simplifying the enterprise IT infrastructure by breaking down silos. Many of XML's much-discussed performance issues are not caused by XML per se, but instead by excessive, un-moderated use of OO design methodology. The power of non-extractive, "document-centric" XML processing takes a balanced approach and aims to fundamentally resolve those problems. But that is just a new beginning; the best is yet to come. By judiciously combining the various new tools and features, you can discover new approaches and develop new ways of thinking that is tailored toward a services-oriented, "smart-data" world.

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