JAXP DOM - I can get children fine, just not nested children!

Question

Hi,
I have a problem with JAXP dom. I cannot get the nested children associated.
Here is my code:
try {
DOMParser parser = new DOMParser();
String url = "file:/myxml.xml";
parser.parse(url);
Document doc = parser.getDocument();
//Get the filename
NodeList FileNameNodeList = doc.getElementsByTagName("filename");
//Get the duration
NodeList DurationNodeList = doc.getElementsByTagName("duration");
//Get the headline
NodeList HeadLineNodeList = doc.getElementsByTagName("headline");
//Get the description
NodeList DescriptionNodeList = doc.getElementsByTagName("description");
//Get the keywords
NodeList KeyWordsNodeList = doc.getElementsByTagName("keywords");
//Get the link order
//Read all values for every "File Name"
for(int i=0; i<FileNameNodeList.getLength(); i++){          
//Get the values
Node FileNameNode = FileNameNodeList.item(i);
Node DurationNode = DurationNodeList.item(i);
Node HeadLineNode = HeadLineNodeList.item(i);
Node DescriptionNode = DescriptionNodeList.item(i);
Node KeyWordsNode = KeyWordsNodeList.item(i);
//File name
if(FileNameNode.getFirstChild() != null){
Message += "<br><b>Filename:</b> " + FileNameNode.getFirstChild().getNodeValue();
//Duration
if(DurationNode.getFirstChild() != null){
Message += "<b>Duration:</b> " + DurationNode.getFirstChild().getNodeValue();
//Head line
if(HeadLineNode.getFirstChild() != null){
Message += "<b>Head Line:</b> " + HeadLineNode.getFirstChild().getNodeValue();
//Description
if(DescriptionNode.getFirstChild() != null){
Message += "<b>Description:</b> " + DescriptionNode.getFirstChild().getNodeValue();
//Key words
if(KeyWordsNode.getFirstChild() != null){
Message += "<b>Key Words:</b> " + KeyWordsNode.getFirstChild().getNodeValue();
//Build the string
String MessageTemp = Message;
Message = "<font size=-1>" + MessageTemp + "</font>";
return Message;
} catch (Exception ex) {
System.out.println(ex);
return Message + ex.toString();
Here is part of my XML File:
- <article storyorder="1" pubdate="11/6/02 3:28:27 AM" source="MSNBC Video" topnews="1">
<filename>vh</filename>
<duration>00:01:58</duration>
<headline>MSNBC&#146;s Video Headlines</headline>
<description>The latest news from MSNBC.com</description>
<keywords>headlines, news headlines</keywords>
<photographer />
<aspect>4:3</aspect>
- <linkinfo>
- <link order="1">
<linkurl>http://www.msnbc.com/news/828323.asp</linkurl>
<linktext>Republicans win control of Congress</linktext>
</link>
- <link order="2">
<linkurl>http://www.msnbc.com/news/828325.asp</linkurl>
<linktext>Republicans widen House majority</linktext>
</link>
- <link order="3">
<linkurl>http://www.msnbc.com/news/828326.asp</linkurl>
<linktext>Democrats retake some statehouses</linktext>
</link>
</linkinfo>
- <categories>
- <category id="News">
- <topics>
<topic>International</topic>
<topic>US</topic>
</topics>
</category>
</categories>
</article>
I can get filename, duration, etc. But I cannot get the multiple link URLs associated with the filename. How can I get that?
Thanks

Answer 1

Call getDocumentElement() on the document to obtain the root node. Then call getChildNodes() on the root node to get its children, each individual child can be accessed by looping, as follows :
// Get the Document object.
Node node = document.getDocumentElement();
NodeList childNodes = node.getChildNodes();
for(int i = 0; i < childNodes.getLength(); i++) {
    Node childNode = childNodes.item(i);
    // Perform some action on the node, or get its children to burrow
    // further down the DOM tree.
}If you know how many levels you need to go down then you'll need that many nested for loops but recursion is a far more elegant solution.