Xml Pascal Reference Documentation
Xml
Current Version: 11.5.0
Chilkat.Xml
Load XML from strings, files, byte data, or other Chilkat objects, then
save or emit formatted XML when processing is complete.
Move through parent, child, sibling, and selected elements while working
directly with the XML document structure.
Add, update, remove, or rename elements; set text content; and read,
add, modify, or delete attributes.
Locate elements by tag name, content, path, attribute value, or custom
search patterns.
Work with namespace-aware XML, declarations, CDATA, child ordering,
sorting, and subtree insertion or removal.
Store binary data as Base64 and optionally compress or encrypt element
content when XML carries encoded payloads.
For an extended overview, see
Xml Class Overview.
Load, navigate, search, edit, transform, and save in-memory XML trees.
Chilkat.Xml is the primary Chilkat class for in-memory XML tree
manipulation. It supports loading and saving XML, navigating between elements,
reading and writing text content, managing attributes, working with
namespaces, adding and removing subtrees, searching by tag, content, or
attribute, sorting child records, scrubbing XML, handling CDATA and XML
declarations, storing binary data as Base64, and optionally compressing or
encrypting element content.
Load and save XML
Navigate XML trees
Edit elements and attributes
Search and select
Namespaces and structure
Binary and protected content
Xml object reference for the selected
element, while methods ending in 2 update the caller's internal
reference to point to a different element. This distinction is central when
navigating and editing XML trees because it determines whether the current
object stays where it is or moves to another element.
Chilkat.Xml for tree-oriented XML
manipulation, and use Chilkat.XmlDSig,
Chilkat.XmlDSigGen, or related classes when the task is XML
digital signing or signature verification.
Create / Free
uses
Chilkat.Xml;
var
obj: TXml;
begin
obj := TXml.Create;
try
if not obj.IsValid then
raise Exception.Create('Failed to create a TXml instance.');
// ... use obj ...
finally
obj.Free;
end;
end;
Allocates the underlying CkXml object and returns a new TXml instance. Simply adding Chilkat.Xml to the unit's uses clause is enough to locate and bind to the Chilkat shared library (DLL / .so / .dylib) at runtime — no separate load step is required. Check obj.IsValid after calling Create; it is False if the underlying library could not be found/loaded or the object could not be allocated (for example, when unlicensed).
Every TXml created by calling Create should eventually be released by calling .Free (inherited from TObject). The destructor automatically disposes the underlying CkXml handle. A native (unmanaged) memory leak occurs if the object is never freed.
Properties
Cdata
Controls how this element's text content is emitted. When set to True, the element content is written inside a CDATA section instead of being emitted as ordinary character data with XML escaping.
< or &. It does not change the logical text value of the element; it only changes how that text is represented in the serialized XML.Content
Gets or sets the text content stored directly on this XML element. Child elements are not included in this value.
For example, both of the following elements have This is the content as their Content:
<tag1>This is the content</tag1> <tag2><child1>abc</child1><child2>abc</child2>This is the content</tag2>
ContentInt
Gets or sets this element's content as a 32-bit integer. Setting the property converts the integer to its decimal text representation; getting the property interprets the element's text content as an integer.
Content when the value may exceed the range of a 32-bit integer or when the exact lexical representation must be preserved.DebugLogFilePath
If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.
Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.
Possible causes of hangs include:
- A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
- A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
- An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.
DocType
Gets or sets the document type declaration associated with the XML document.
The value represents the document-level DOCTYPE declaration, for example <!DOCTYPE note SYSTEM "note.dtd">.
EmitBom
Controls whether a byte order mark (BOM, also called a preamble) is written when XML is saved to a file. The default is False.
This setting is relevant to encodings for which a BOM can be emitted, such as UTF-8 and UTF-16. It does not affect XML returned as a language string by methods such as GetXml.
EmitCompact
Controls whether XML emitted by GetXml and GetXmlSb is compact. When True, unnecessary formatting whitespace and line breaks are omitted. The default is False for backward compatibility.
EmitXmlDecl
Controls whether the XML declaration is included when XML is emitted. The default is True. When set to False, output methods such as GetXml and SaveXml omit the declaration.
An XML declaration is the leading construct such as <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>.
Encoding
Gets or sets the encoding value used in the XML declaration. The default is utf-8. This is a document-level setting and may be accessed from any element in the tree.
When XML is loaded, Chilkat sets this property from the encoding declared by the input XML when one is present. If no encoding is declared, the property is reset to utf-8.
Encoding changes the declared/output encoding used when XML is serialized; it does not reinterpret or transcode the already-stored Unicode text inside the in-memory tree.I
Provides a substitution value for [i] in Chilkat tag paths and ChilkatPath expressions. When a path contains [i], the current value of this property is substituted for I.
I, J, and K properties make it convenient to reuse a path expression inside nested loops without constructing a new path string for every index.IsBase64
Returns True if this element's content consists only of characters allowed in standard Base64 text, with whitespace ignored. Standard Base64 uses A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /, and optional trailing = padding.
J
Provides a substitution value for [j] in Chilkat tag paths and ChilkatPath expressions. When a path contains [j], the current value of this property is substituted for J.
I, J, and K properties make it convenient to reuse a path expression inside nested loops without constructing a new path string for every index.K
Provides a substitution value for [k] in Chilkat tag paths and ChilkatPath expressions. When a path contains [k], the current value of this property is substituted for K.
I, J, and K properties make it convenient to reuse a path expression inside nested loops without constructing a new path string for every index.LastErrorHtml
Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastErrorText
Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
LastErrorXml
Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastMethodSuccess
Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: True means success, False means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.
NumAttributes
Returns the number of attributes on this element.
For example, <tag attr1="value1" attr2="value2">...</tag> has two attributes. Attribute indexes used by methods such as GetAttributeName and GetAttributeValue are zero-based.
NumChildren
Returns the number of direct child elements of this element. Descendants below those children are not included in the count.
SortCaseInsensitive
Controls case sensitivity for the XML sorting methods. Set to True for case-insensitive string comparisons or False for case-sensitive comparisons.
Standalone
Controls the standalone pseudo-attribute in the XML declaration. This is a document-level setting and may be accessed from any element in the tree.
Setting this property to True causes the declaration to include standalone="yes".
Tag
Gets or sets the element name for this element, including any namespace prefix. For example, the tag for <soapenv:Body> is soapenv:Body.
Use TagNsPrefix and TagUnprefixed when the prefix and local portion are needed separately.
TagNsPrefix
Gets or sets the namespace prefix portion of this element's tag. For soapenv:Envelope, the namespace prefix is soapenv.
xmlns attributes in the XML.TagPath
Returns the Chilkat tag path needed to reach this element from the document root. If this object currently references the root element, the returned path is the empty string.
| between element names. It is not an XPath expression.TagUnprefixed
Gets or sets the unprefixed portion of this element's tag. For soapenv:Envelope, the unprefixed tag is Envelope.
Use TagNsPrefix to access the prefix separately.
TreeId
Returns the identifier of the XML tree to which this element belongs. Elements in the same XML document have the same TreeId.
Xml objects can reference different elements in the same underlying tree. Comparing TreeId values is a convenient way to determine whether two element references belong to that same tree.UncommonOptions
Provides a catch-all string for uncommon XML behaviors. The default is the empty string, which is appropriate for normal use.
Leave this property empty unless Chilkat documentation or support identifies a specific option needed for a specialized interoperability case.
topVerboseLogging
If set to True, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is False. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.
Version
Methods
AccumulateTagContent
const skipTags: string): string;
Traverses the subtree rooted at the calling element and concatenates the text content of all elements whose tag equals tag.
skipTags is a vertical-bar-delimited list of tag names whose entire subtrees are excluded from the accumulation. For example, script|style skips elements rooted at either of those tags.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
AddAttribute
const value: string): Boolean;
Adds an attribute named name with the specified string value to the calling element.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
AddOrUpdateAttribute or UpdateAttribute when the desired behavior is to update an existing attribute value instead of requiring a new attribute.Returns True for success, False for failure.
AddAttributeInt
value: Integer): Boolean;
Adds an attribute named name whose value is the decimal representation of value.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topAddChildTree
function AddChildTree(tree: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Adds the entire XML subtree referenced by tree as a new direct child of the calling element.
If tree already belongs to another XML document, the subtree is transferred to the destination tree rather than copied as an unrelated duplicate.
TreeId can be used to determine which tree an element reference belongs to.Returns True for success, False for failure.
AddOrUpdateAttribute
const value: string);
Sets the string value of an attribute on the calling element. If an attribute named name already exists, its value is replaced; otherwise the attribute is added.
AddOrUpdateAttributeI
value: Integer);
Sets an integer-valued attribute on the calling element. If an attribute named name already exists, its value is replaced with the decimal representation of value; otherwise the attribute is added.
AddStyleSheet
Adds an XML stylesheet processing instruction to the document. Pass the complete processing-instruction text, for example:
<?xml-stylesheet href="mystyle.css" title="Compact" type="text/css"?>
AddToAttribute
amount: Integer);
Treats the named attribute value as an integer, adds amount, and stores the resulting integer back in the attribute.
If the attribute does not yet exist, this method behaves like AddOrUpdateAttributeI and creates it with amount as the value.
AddToChildContent
amount: Integer);
Finds the child identified by tag, interprets its content as an integer, adds amount, and stores the resulting integer as the child's new content.
AddToContent
Interprets this element's content as an integer, adds amount, and stores the resulting integer as the new content.
AppendToContent
Appends str to the existing text content of the calling element without replacing its child elements.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topChildContentMatches
const pattern: string;
caseSensitive: Boolean): Boolean;
Returns True if the child identified by tagPath has content matching pattern; otherwise returns False. caseSensitive controls whether letter case is significant.
The pattern may contain * wildcards, where each asterisk matches zero or more characters.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.ChilkatPath
Evaluates a Chilkat-specific path command that can navigate from the current element, return element content or an attribute value, or move the caller's internal element reference.
This syntax is not XPath. Commands are separated by vertical bars and the expression ends with a return command:
command|command|command|...|returnCommand
Navigation commands include:
TagName— first direct child having that tag.TagName[n]— the indexed direct child having that tag...— parent.++/--— next / previous sibling.TagName{Content}— first direct child with that tag and exact content./T/TagName— traverse the subtree and find the first element with that tag./C/TagName,ContentPattern— traverse for a tag whose content matches a wildcard pattern./C/ContentPattern— traverse for any tag whose content matches a wildcard pattern./A/TagName,AttrName,AttrValuePattern— traverse for a tag having a matching attribute value.
The final return command is:
*— return the current element's content.(AttrName)— return an attribute value.$— move thisXmlobject to the selected element and return an empty string.
I, J, and K properties can be used with [i], [j], and [k] in path expressions.Returns True for success, False for failure.
Clear
Clears the calling element by removing all child elements, attributes, and text content, and resets its tag name to unnamed.
The element itself remains in the tree; this method clears its contents rather than removing the element from its parent.
topContentMatches
caseSensitive: Boolean): Boolean;
Returns True if this element's content matches pattern; otherwise returns False. caseSensitive controls whether letter case is significant.
The pattern may contain * wildcards, where each asterisk matches zero or more characters.
Copy
procedure Copy(node: TChilkatBase);
Copies the Tag, Content, and attributes from node to the calling element.
AddChildTree or SwapTree when child structure is part of the operation.CopyRef
procedure CopyRef(copyFromNode: TChilkatBase);
Changes this Xml object so that it references the same underlying XML element as copyFromNode. The caller's previous element reference is discarded.
CopyRef does not copy XML data. After the call, both Xml objects refer to the same element, so edits through either reference affect the same tree element.DecodeEntities
Decodes HTML character entities found in str and returns the decoded text. This is a utility operation; it does not modify the XML tree unless the returned string is assigned to an element.
For example, an HTML entity such as & is decoded to &.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
DecryptContent
Decrypts element content previously produced by EncryptContent, using the same password, and restores the original plaintext content.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
EncryptContent. It is not a general XML Encryption (XML-Enc) implementation.Returns True for success, False for failure.
EncryptContent
Encrypts the calling element's text content using Chilkat's password-based 128-bit AES-CBC format and replaces the plaintext content with Base64-encoded encrypted data.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
DecryptContent with the same password to restore the content.Returns True for success, False for failure.
ExtractChildByIndex
function ExtractChildByIndex(index: Integer): TChilkatBase;
Removes the direct child at zero-based index from the calling element and returns an Xml object for the detached child subtree.
RemoveChildByIndex, extraction gives the caller a reference to the removed subtree so it can be retained, inspected, or attached elsewhere.Returns nil on failure
ExtractChildByName
function ExtractChildByName(const tagPath: string;
const attrName: string;
const attrValue: string): TChilkatBase;
Finds, removes, and returns the first child selected by tagPath and the optional attribute criteria.
If attrName and attrValue are empty, the first child matching the tag/path is extracted. If attrName is provided, the child must have that attribute. If attrValue is also provided, the attribute value must match exactly.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.Returns nil on failure
FindChild
function FindChild(const tagPath: string): TChilkatBase;
Returns an Xml object referencing the child selected by tagPath. The calling object remains positioned on its current element.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns nil on failure
FindChild2
Moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to the child selected by tagPath. Returns True when the child is found and the move succeeds; otherwise returns False.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
FindNextRecord
function FindNextRecord(const tagPath: string;
const contentPattern: string): TChilkatBase;
Finds the next direct child record for which the descendant identified by tagPath has content matching contentPattern. This is intended for iterating record-like child elements.
The content pattern may contain * wildcards.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.Returns nil on failure
FindOrAddNewChild
function FindOrAddNewChild(const tagPath: string): TChilkatBase;
Returns the child selected by tagPath if it already exists. If it does not exist, creates the required child path with empty content and returns the resulting child element.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath. Use NewChild instead when duplicate children with the same tag are intentional.Returns nil on failure
FirstChild
function FirstChild: TChilkatBase;
Returns an Xml object referencing the first direct child of the calling element.
A common forward-iteration pattern is FirstChild followed by repeated calls to NextSibling.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns nil on failure
FirstChild2
Moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to its first direct child. Returns True if a first child exists; otherwise returns False.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetAttributeName
Returns the name of the attribute at zero-based index. Use NumAttributes to determine the valid index range.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetAttributeValue
Returns the value of the attribute at zero-based index. Use NumAttributes to determine the valid index range.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetAttributeValueInt
Returns the value of the attribute at zero-based index, interpreted as a 32-bit integer.
GetAttrValue
Returns the value of the attribute named name on the calling element.
Use HasAttribute when the application must distinguish a missing attribute from an attribute whose value is empty.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetAttrValueInt
Returns the value of the attribute named name interpreted as a 32-bit integer. Returns 0 if the attribute does not exist.
0, call HasAttribute first when that distinction matters.GetChild
function GetChild(index: Integer): TChilkatBase;
Returns an Xml object referencing the direct child at zero-based index. The calling object remains positioned on its current element.
Use NumChildren to determine the valid child range.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns nil on failure
GetChild2
Moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to the direct child at zero-based index. Returns True on success and False if the child cannot be selected.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetChildAttrValue
const attrName: string): string;
Returns the value of attribute attrName on the descendant element selected by tagPath.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.Returns True for success, False for failure.
topGetChildBoolValue
Returns the integer content of the child selected by tagPath as a Boolean value: content equal to 0 yields False; a non-zero integer yields True.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.GetChildContent
Returns the text content of the child selected by tagPath.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.Content; nested child elements are not serialized into this string.Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetChildContentByIndex
Returns the text content of the direct child at zero-based index. Use NumChildren to determine the valid range.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetChildContentSb
function GetChildContentSb(const tagPath: string;
sb: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Finds the element selected by tagPath and appends that element's text content to sb.
The existing contents of the StringBuilder are preserved.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetChildExact
function GetChildExact(const tag: string;
const content: string): TChilkatBase;
Returns the first direct child whose tag equals tag and whose text content exactly equals content.
The calling object remains positioned on its current element.
Returns nil on failure
GetChildIntValue
Returns the content of the child selected by tagPath, interpreted as a 32-bit integer.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.GetChildContent and parse the returned text separately when values may exceed the range of a 32-bit integer.GetChildTag
Returns the tag name of the direct child at zero-based index. Use NumChildren to determine the valid index range.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topGetChildTagByIndex
Returns the tag name of the direct child at zero-based index. Use NumChildren to determine the valid index range.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetChildWithAttr
function GetChildWithAttr(const tagPath: string;
const attrName: string;
const attrValue: string): TChilkatBase;
Returns the child selected by tagPath that also has an attribute named attrName whose value exactly equals attrValue.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.Returns nil on failure
GetChildWithContent
function GetChildWithContent(const content: string): TChilkatBase;
Returns the first direct child whose text content exactly equals content. The child tag may be any value.
Returns nil on failure
GetChildWithTag
function GetChildWithTag(const tagPath: string): TChilkatBase;
Returns an Xml object referencing the child selected by tagPath. The calling object remains positioned on its current element.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns nil on failure
GetChildWithTag2
Moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to the child selected by tagPath. Returns True when the child is found and the move succeeds; otherwise returns False.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
topGetNthChildWithTag
function GetNthChildWithTag(const tag: string;
n: Integer): TChilkatBase;
Returns the zero-based nth direct child whose tag exactly equals tag. Children with other tag names are ignored when counting matches.
Use NumChildrenHavingTag to determine how many matching children are available.
Returns nil on failure
GetNthChildWithTag2
n: Integer): Boolean;
Moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to the zero-based nth direct child whose tag equals tag. Returns True on success and False when no such child exists.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetParent
function GetParent: TChilkatBase;
Returns an Xml object referencing this element's parent. Returns no parent when the current element is the document root.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns nil on failure
GetParent2
Moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to its parent. Returns True if a parent exists; otherwise returns False when already at the root.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
GetRoot
function GetRoot: TChilkatBase;
Returns an Xml object referencing the root element of the XML tree that contains the current element. The calling object remains positioned on its current element.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns nil on failure
GetRoot2
Moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to the root element of its XML tree.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.GetSelf
function GetSelf: TChilkatBase;
Returns a new Xml object that references the same underlying XML element as the calling object.
Returns nil on failure
GetXml
Serializes the XML tree or subtree rooted at the current element and returns the XML text.
When called while positioned on the document root, the XML declaration is included if EmitXmlDecl is True. When called on a non-root element, only that subtree is emitted and the document declaration is not included.
EmitCompact, Encoding, Standalone, and related document/output properties affect serialization as applicable.
Encoding declaration describes serialized XML encoding, while actual byte encoding matters when XML is written to a file or byte-oriented destination.Returns True for success, False for failure.
topGetXmlBd
function GetXmlBd(bd: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Serializes the XML tree or subtree rooted at the current element and appends the encoded XML bytes to bd.
The existing contents of the BinData object are preserved. The XML output encoding is governed by the XML document's output settings, including Encoding.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topGetXmlSb
function GetXmlSb(sb: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Serializes the XML tree or subtree rooted at the current element and appends the resulting XML text to sb.
The existing contents of sb are preserved. Output properties such as EmitCompact and EmitXmlDecl apply as appropriate.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topHasAttribute
Returns True if the calling element has an attribute named name; otherwise returns False.
HasAttrWithValue
const value: string): Boolean;
Returns True if the calling element has an attribute named name whose value exactly equals value; otherwise returns False.
HasChildWithContent
Returns True if any direct child has text content exactly equal to content; otherwise returns False.
HasChildWithTag
Returns True if the child selected by tagPath exists; otherwise returns False.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.HasChildWithTagAndContent
const content: string): Boolean;
Returns True if the child selected by tagPath exists and its text content exactly equals content; otherwise returns False.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.InsertChildTreeAfter
procedure InsertChildTreeAfter(index: Integer;
tree: TChilkatBase);
Inserts the entire subtree referenced by tree as a direct child immediately after the existing child at zero-based index.
If tree belongs to another XML document, the subtree is transferred to the destination tree.
InsertChildTreeBefore
procedure InsertChildTreeBefore(index: Integer;
tree: TChilkatBase);
Inserts the entire subtree referenced by tree as a direct child immediately before the existing child at zero-based index.
If tree belongs to another XML document, the subtree is transferred to the destination tree.
LastChild
function LastChild: TChilkatBase;
Returns an Xml object referencing the last direct child of the calling element.
A common reverse-iteration pattern is LastChild followed by repeated calls to PreviousSibling.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns nil on failure
LastChild2
Moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to its last direct child. Returns True if a last child exists; otherwise returns False.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
LoadBd
function LoadBd(bd: TChilkatBase;
autoTrim: Boolean): Boolean;
Parses XML from the bytes contained in bd and replaces the calling object's current XML tree with the loaded document.
If autoTrim is True, leading and trailing whitespace is removed from each leaf element's text content during loading.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topLoadSb
function LoadSb(sb: TChilkatBase;
autoTrim: Boolean): Boolean;
Parses XML from the current contents of sb and replaces the calling object's current XML tree with the loaded document.
If autoTrim is True, leading and trailing whitespace is removed from each leaf element's text content while loading.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
LoadXml
Parses the XML text in xmlData and replaces the calling object's current XML tree content with the loaded document root. Returns True if parsing succeeds.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topLoadXml2
autoTrim: Boolean): Boolean;
Parses the XML text in xmlData and replaces the current XML tree, like LoadXml. The autoTrim argument additionally controls whether leading and trailing whitespace is removed from each leaf element's text content while loading.
autoTrim to False when leading or trailing text whitespace is significant to the application.Returns True for success, False for failure.
LoadXmlFile
Reads and parses an XML document from fileName, replacing the calling object's current XML tree with the loaded document root. Returns True on success.
The file's XML declaration and byte encoding are used as part of normal XML parsing.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
LoadXmlFile2
autoTrim: Boolean): Boolean;
Reads and parses an XML document from fileName, replacing the current XML tree. The autoTrim argument controls whether leading and trailing whitespace is removed from each leaf element's text content.
autoTrim to False when leading or trailing text whitespace must be preserved exactly.Returns True for success, False for failure.
NewChild
function NewChild(const tagPath: string;
const content: string): TChilkatBase;
Creates and returns a new child at tagPath with the specified text content. A new child is created even when a child with the same tag already exists.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath. Intermediate elements in a multi-part path are created as needed. Use FindOrAddNewChild when duplicate final children should be avoided.Returns nil on failure
NewChild2
const content: string);
Creates a new child at tagPath with the specified text content, but does not return a separate Xml object for the new element.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath. Intermediate elements in a multi-part path are created as needed.NewChildAfter
function NewChildAfter(index: Integer;
const tag: string;
const content: string): TChilkatBase;
Creates a new direct child with the specified tag and content, inserts it immediately after the child at zero-based index, and returns the new child element.
Returns nil on failure
NewChildBefore
function NewChildBefore(index: Integer;
const tag: string;
const content: string): TChilkatBase;
Creates a new direct child with the specified tag and content, inserts it immediately before the child at zero-based index, and returns the new child element.
Returns nil on failure
NewChildInt2
value: Integer);
Creates a new child at tagPath whose content is the decimal representation of value. No separate child object is returned.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath. Intermediate elements in a multi-part path are created as needed.NextInTraversal2
function NextInTraversal2(sbState: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Moves the calling Xml object to the next element in a depth-first traversal of the tree and updates sbState with the traversal state.
Pass an empty StringBuilder when beginning a traversal, then reuse the same sbState for each subsequent call.
NextInTraversal method that returns another Xml object.NextSibling
function NextSibling: TChilkatBase;
Returns an Xml object referencing the current element's next sibling, or no object when there is no next sibling.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns nil on failure
NextSibling2
Moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to its next sibling. Returns True if one exists; otherwise returns False.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
NumChildrenAt
Returns the number of direct children of the element selected by tagPath. Returns -1 if the path does not identify an existing element.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.NumChildrenHavingTag
Returns the number of direct children whose tag exactly equals tag. Descendants below those children are not included.
PreviousSibling
function PreviousSibling: TChilkatBase;
Returns an Xml object referencing the current element's previous sibling, or no object when there is no previous sibling.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns nil on failure
PreviousSibling2
Moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to its previous sibling. Returns True if one exists; otherwise returns False.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
PruneAttribute
Recursively traverses the subtree rooted at the calling element and removes every occurrence of the attribute named attrName.
Returns the number of attributes removed.
topPruneTag
Recursively traverses the subtree rooted at the calling element and removes every element whose tag equals tag. Each removed element's entire descendant subtree is removed with it.
Returns the number of matching tag occurrences removed.
RemoveAllAttributes
Removes every attribute from the calling element. Returns True on success.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topRemoveAllChildren
Removes all direct child elements and their subtrees from the calling element. The calling element's own tag, attributes, and text content are retained.
topRemoveAttribute
Removes the attribute named name from the calling element. Returns True when the operation succeeds.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topRemoveChild
Removes all child elements selected by tagPath beneath the calling element.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.ExtractChild... method when the removed element must be retained.RemoveChildByIndex
Removes the direct child at zero-based index, including that child's entire subtree.
RemoveChildWithContent
Removes all direct children whose text content exactly equals content, including each removed child's subtree.
RemoveFromTree
Detaches the calling element and its entire subtree from its parent. The detached element becomes the root of its own independent XML tree.
Xml object referencing the detached subtree.RemoveStyleSheet
const attrValue: string): Integer;
Removes XML stylesheet processing instructions whose attribute named attrName has the value attrValue.
Returns the number of matching stylesheet declarations removed, or -1 if an error occurs.
SaveBinaryContent
unzipFlag: Boolean;
decryptFlag: Boolean;
const password: string): Boolean;
Decodes the binary content stored in this element and writes the resulting bytes to filename. Set unzipFlag and decryptFlag to reverse the transformations originally applied, and supply the corresponding password when decrypting.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topSaveXml
Serializes the XML tree or subtree rooted at the current element and writes it to fileName.
Document/output properties such as Encoding, EmitBom, EmitXmlDecl, and EmitCompact affect the generated output as applicable.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topScrub
Recursively normalizes the XML subtree rooted at the calling element according to the comma-separated keywords in directives.
Supported directives are:
AttrTrimEnds— remove leading and trailing whitespace from attribute values.AttrTrimInside— replace tabs, CR, and LF with spaces and collapse repeated spaces inside attribute values.ContentTrimEnds— remove leading and trailing whitespace from element content.ContentTrimInside— normalize internal tabs/line breaks/spaces in element content.LowercaseAttrs— convert attribute names to lowercase.LowercaseTags— convert tag names to lowercase.RemoveCtrl— remove US-ASCII control characters with values 0-31 except TAB, CR, and LF.
SearchAllForContent
// Return value is a TXml object.
function SearchAllForContent(afterPtr: TChilkatBase;
const contentPattern: string): TChilkatBase;
Returns the first element whose text content matches contentPattern, regardless of tag name.
The search is breadth-first within the subtree rooted at the caller. The afterPtr argument identifies the element after which matching should begin, allowing repeated calls to continue an iteration. To begin at the first candidate, use nil where the language binding permits it; ActiveX callers should pass a reference to the caller's element instead.
Wildcard patterns are case-sensitive and may contain *, where each asterisk matches zero or more characters.
afterPtr on the next call to continue to the next match. Continue until no further element is returned.Returns nil on failure
SearchAllForContent2
function SearchAllForContent2(afterPtr: TChilkatBase;
const contentPattern: string): Boolean;
Performs the same breadth-first content search as SearchAllForContent, but moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to the matching element instead of returning a separate element object.
The search is breadth-first within the subtree rooted at the caller. The afterPtr argument identifies the element after which matching should begin, allowing repeated calls to continue an iteration. To begin at the first candidate, use nil where the language binding permits it; ActiveX callers should pass a reference to the caller's element instead.
Wildcard patterns are case-sensitive and may contain *, where each asterisk matches zero or more characters.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
topSearchForAttribute
// Return value is a TXml object.
function SearchForAttribute(afterPtr: TChilkatBase;
const tag: string;
const attr: string;
const valuePattern: string): TChilkatBase;
Returns the first element whose tag equals tag, that has an attribute named attr, and whose attribute value matches valuePattern.
The search is breadth-first within the subtree rooted at the caller. The afterPtr argument identifies the element after which matching should begin, allowing repeated calls to continue an iteration. To begin at the first candidate, use nil where the language binding permits it; ActiveX callers should pass a reference to the caller's element instead.
Wildcard patterns are case-sensitive and may contain *, where each asterisk matches zero or more characters.
afterPtr to continue searching after that element.Returns nil on failure
SearchForAttribute2
function SearchForAttribute2(afterPtr: TChilkatBase;
const tag: string;
const attr: string;
const valuePattern: string): Boolean;
Performs the same breadth-first tag/attribute search as SearchForAttribute, but moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to the matching element instead of returning a separate object.
The search is breadth-first within the subtree rooted at the caller. The afterPtr argument identifies the element after which matching should begin, allowing repeated calls to continue an iteration. To begin at the first candidate, use nil where the language binding permits it; ActiveX callers should pass a reference to the caller's element instead.
Wildcard patterns are case-sensitive and may contain *, where each asterisk matches zero or more characters.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
topSearchForContent
// Return value is a TXml object.
function SearchForContent(afterPtr: TChilkatBase;
const tag: string;
const contentPattern: string): TChilkatBase;
Returns the first element whose tag equals tag and whose text content matches contentPattern.
The search is breadth-first within the subtree rooted at the caller. The afterPtr argument identifies the element after which matching should begin, allowing repeated calls to continue an iteration. To begin at the first candidate, use nil where the language binding permits it; ActiveX callers should pass a reference to the caller's element instead.
Wildcard patterns are case-sensitive and may contain *, where each asterisk matches zero or more characters.
afterPtr to continue searching after that element.Returns nil on failure
SearchForContent2
function SearchForContent2(afterPtr: TChilkatBase;
const tag: string;
const contentPattern: string): Boolean;
Performs the same breadth-first tag/content search as SearchForContent, but moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to the matching element.
The search is breadth-first within the subtree rooted at the caller. The afterPtr argument identifies the element after which matching should begin, allowing repeated calls to continue an iteration. To begin at the first candidate, use nil where the language binding permits it; ActiveX callers should pass a reference to the caller's element instead.
Wildcard patterns are case-sensitive and may contain *, where each asterisk matches zero or more characters.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
SearchForTag
// Return value is a TXml object.
function SearchForTag(afterPtr: TChilkatBase;
const tag: string): TChilkatBase;
Returns the first element whose tag exactly equals tag.
The search is breadth-first within the subtree rooted at the caller. afterPtr identifies the element after which searching begins. To begin at the first candidate, use nil where the language binding permits it; ActiveX callers should pass a reference to the caller's element.
afterPtr to find the next matching tag. Continue until no further element is returned.Returns nil on failure
SearchForTag2
function SearchForTag2(afterPtr: TChilkatBase;
const tag: string): Boolean;
Performs the same breadth-first tag search as SearchForTag, but moves the calling Xml object's internal reference to the matching element instead of returning a separate object.
Use afterPtr in the same way as with SearchForTag to begin or continue the search.
Xml object return another object referencing an element in the same underlying tree. Methods whose names end in 2 instead move the caller's internal reference.Returns True for success, False for failure.
SetBinaryContentBd
function SetBinaryContentBd(data: TChilkatBase;
zipFlag: Boolean;
encryptFlag: Boolean;
const password: string): Boolean;
Stores the bytes in data as binary content on this element, with optional ZIP compression and optional password-based AES encryption. The stored binary representation is emitted as Base64 text when XML is serialized.
If zipFlag is True, the bytes are compressed first. If encryptFlag is True, the data is encrypted using Chilkat's 128-bit Rijndael/AES format and password.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topSetBinaryContentFromFile
zipFlag: Boolean;
encryptFlag: Boolean;
const password: string): Boolean;
Reads the bytes from filename and stores them as this element's binary content, with optional ZIP compression and optional password-based encryption. The resulting stored data is represented as Base64 when XML text is generated.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topSortByAttribute
ascending: Boolean);
Sorts the calling element's direct children by the string value of attribute attrName. Set ascending to True for ascending order or False for descending order.
SortCaseInsensitive controls case sensitivity for string sorting.
SortByAttributeInt
ascending: Boolean);
Sorts the calling element's direct children numerically by the value of attribute attrName, interpreting each sort value as an integer rather than comparing the text lexicographically.
Set ascending to True for ascending order or False for descending order.
SortByContent
Sorts the calling element's direct children by their text content. Set ascending to True for ascending order or False for descending order.
SortCaseInsensitive controls case sensitivity for the string comparison.
SortByTag
Sorts the calling element's direct children by tag name. Set ascending to True for ascending order or False for descending order.
SortCaseInsensitive controls case sensitivity for the tag-name comparison.
SortRecordsByAttribute
const attrName: string;
ascending: Boolean);
Treats each direct child as a record and sorts those records by the value of attribute attrName on the record's child identified by sortTag.
Set ascending to True for ascending order or False for descending order. String comparisons honor SortCaseInsensitive.
SortRecordsByContent
ascending: Boolean);
Treats each direct child as a record and sorts those records by the text content of the record's child named sortTag.
Set ascending to True for ascending order or False for descending order. String comparisons honor SortCaseInsensitive.
SortRecordsByContentInt
ascending: Boolean);
Treats each direct child as a record and sorts those records numerically by the integer content of the record's child named sortTag.
Numeric comparison is used instead of lexicographic string comparison. Set ascending to True for ascending order or False for descending order.
SwapNode
function SwapNode(node: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Swaps the calling element's tag, text content, and attributes with those of node.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
SwapTree when child subtrees should also be exchanged.Returns True for success, False for failure.
topSwapTree
function SwapTree(tree: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Swaps the calling element's complete tree state with tree, including tag, text content, attributes, and children.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topTagContent
Searches the subtree rooted at the calling element for the first element whose tag equals tagName and returns that element's text content.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topTagEquals
Returns True if the calling element's complete tag name, including any namespace prefix, exactly equals tag; otherwise returns False.
TagIndex
Returns the zero-based child index of the element selected by tagPath. Returns -1 when no matching element is found at that path.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.GetChild, RemoveChildByIndex, and the insertion methods.TagNsEquals
Returns True if this element's namespace-prefix portion exactly equals ns; otherwise returns False.
For example, the namespace prefix of soapenv:Body is soapenv.
TagUnpEquals
Returns True if this element's unprefixed tag exactly equals unprefixedTag; otherwise returns False.
For example, the unprefixed tag of soapenv:Body is Body.
UnzipContent
Reverses ZipContent: decodes and decompresses the calling element's compressed content and replaces the stored Base64-compressed representation with the original content.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
UnzipTree
Reverses ZipTree: decompresses the stored representation and reconstructs the calling element's previously compressed subtree.
The element's tag and attributes, which are not replaced by ZipTree, remain associated with the restored tree.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
UpdateAt
autoCreate: Boolean;
const value: string): Boolean;
Sets the text content of the element selected by tagPath to value.
If autoCreate is True, missing elements along the path are created as needed. If it is False, the update requires the target path to already exist.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.UpdateAttrAt
autoCreate: Boolean;
const attrName: string;
const attrValue: string): Boolean;
Sets attribute attrName to attrValue on the element selected by tagPath. The attribute is added when it does not already exist.
If autoCreate is True, missing elements along the path are created as needed. If it is False, the target path must already exist.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.UpdateAttribute
const attrValue: string): Boolean;
Sets attribute attrName to attrValue. If the attribute already exists its value is replaced; otherwise the attribute is added.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
UpdateAttributeInt
value: Integer): Boolean;
Sets attribute attrName to the decimal representation of integer value. Use UpdateAttribute for string values.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topUpdateChildContent
const value: string);
Sets the text content of the child selected by tagPath to value. Missing elements along the path are automatically created as needed.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.UpdateChildContentInt
value: Integer);
Sets the content of the child selected by tagPath to the decimal representation of integer value.
|-separated child-navigation syntax, for example tagA|tagB|tagC. It is not XPath.ZipContent
ZIP-compresses this element's text content and replaces the original content with Base64-encoded compressed data.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
UnzipContent to restore the original content.Returns True for success, False for failure.
ZipTree
ZIP-compresses the calling element's content together with its entire child subtree and replaces that structure with Base64-encoded compressed data.
The calling element's tag and attributes are not changed. Call UnzipTree to reconstruct the compressed subtree.
Returns True on success and False on failure.
Returns True for success, False for failure.