Replacing Element with text using Java iwth XPath

Question

Hi
I have to relpace elements which are with name <Link>,with
string <?abc id='10' city='xxx' ?>
<root>
<title>Dummy title</title>
<content type='html'>
<Link id='100,101'/> Dummy <a href='www.google.com'>content</a> that the <a href='www.yahoo.com'>cross</a> linking tool will manipulate
</content>
<content type='html'>
<Link id='200,201'/> Dummy <a href='www.google.com'>content</a> that the <a href='www.yahoo.com'>cross</a> linking tool will manipulate
</content>
<content type='html'>
<Link id='300,301'/> Dummy <a href='www.google.com'>content</a> that the <a href='www.yahoo.com'>cross</a> linking tool will manipulate
</content>
<removed>500</removed_ids>
</root>expected out put is file is
code]<root>
<title>Dummy title</title>
<content type='html'>
<?abc id='100,101' city='xxx' ?>Dummy content that the cross linking tool will manipulate
</content>
<content type='html'>
<?abc id='200,201' city='xxx' ?>Dummy content that the cross linking tool will manipulate
</content>
<content type='html'>
<?abc id='300,310' city='xxx' ?> Dummy content that the cross linking tool will manipulate
</content>
<removed>500</removed_ids>
</root>
java code is
DocumentBuilder builder = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance().newDocumentBuilder();
    Document document = builder.parse(new File("C:\\LinkProcess.xml"));
    XPath xpath = XPathFactory.newInstance().newXPath();
    String expression = "//Link";
    NodeList  nodelist = (NodeList) xpath.evaluate(expression, document, XPathConstants.NODESET);
    for(int i=0;i<nodelist.getLength();i++){
    Element element = (Element)nodelist.item(i);
    String id = element.getAttribute("id");
    System.out.println("id = "+id);
    Text text = document.createTextNode("<?dctm id ='100'?>");
    document.insertBefore(text,element);
    System.out.println("remove is success");
    }document.insertBefore(text,element); statement throwing exception as
org.w3c.dom.DOMException: HIERARCHY_REQUEST_ERR: An attempt was made to insert a node where it is not permitted.
and i would like to remove element named <removed>
can you help in this
Thanks & Regards
vittal

Answer 1

1. This element makes your XML document malformed:<removed>500</removed_ids>The name of the start tag and the closing tag must always be identical.
http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#sec-starttags
2. The type of the nodes with which you would like to replace your <Link> elements is called "ProcessingInstruction". Processing instructions are to be handled somewhat differently from elements.
3. The string "><?dctm id ='100'?>" is misspelled. Additionally, it is meant to be a processing instruction so it should not be created as a text node.
4. You use a node list to replace elements by means of a loop. A loop is only useful when there is a system to the data to be processed, which is not the case with your processing instructions:<?abc id='100,101' city='xxx'?>
<?abc id='200,201' city='xxx'?>
<?abc id='300,310' city='xxx'?>From the fact that you use a loop, I presume that the third node is meant to be <?abc id='300,301' city='xxx' ?>. If so, you can use this code:DocumentBuilder builder = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance().newDocumentBuilder();
Document document = builder.parse(new File("C:\\LinkProcess.xml"));
XPath xpath = XPathFactory.newInstance().newXPath();
String expression = "//Link";
NodeList  nodelist = (NodeList) xpath.evaluate(expression, document, XPathConstants.NODESET);
float n;
String piData;
ProcessingInstruction pi;
for(int i=0;i<nodelist.getLength();i++){
  Element element = (Element)nodelist.item(i);
  n = (i+1)*100+((i+1)*100+1)/1000F;
  piData = "id='" + n + "' city='xxx'";
  pi = document.createProcessingInstruction("abc", piData);
  element.getParentNode().replaceChild(pi, element);
  System.out.println("Element <Link...> has been replaced with <?abc " + piData + "?>");
}This code is not ideal, but I hope is easy to understand and you will be able to change it to suit your needs.
5. To remove an element use the removeChild() method of the Node interface. If your XML document contains "ignorable" white spaces, it's best to use an XPath expression again ("root/removed") to set reference to the node to be removed rather than locate it by position (e.g. using the getLastChild() method).