XPointer Example

## XLink Basic

XLink HOME XLink Intro XLink Syntax XLink Example XPointer Example XLink Summary

## XLink References

XLink Reference

# XPointer Example

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Let's try to learn some basic XPointer syntax by looking at an example.

## XPointer Example

In this example, we will show you how to use XPointer in conjunction with XLink to point to a specific part of another document.

We will start by looking at the target XML document (the document we are going to link to).

## The Target XML Document

The target XML document is called "dogbreeds.xml" and it lists a few different dog breeds:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<dogbreeds>
<dog breed="Rottweiler" id="Rottweiler">
<picture url="http://dog.com/rottweiler.gif" />
<history>The Rottweiler's ancestors were probably Roman
drover dogs.....</history>
<temperament>Confident, bold, alert and imposing, the Rottweiler
is a popular choice for its ability to protect....</temperament>
</dog>
<dog breed="FCRetriever" id="FCRetriever">
<picture url="http://dog.com/fcretriever.gif" />
<history>One of the earliest uses of retrieving dogs was to
help fishermen retrieve fish from the water....</history>
<temperament>The flat-coated retriever is a sweet, exuberant,
lively dog that loves to play and retrieve....</temperament>
</dog>
</dogbreeds>

View the "dogbreeds.xml" file in your browser

Note that the XML document above uses id attributes on each element we may want to link to!

## The Linking XML Document

Instead of linking to the entire document (as with XLink), XPointer allows you to link to specific parts of the document. To link to a specific part of a page, add a number sign (#) and an XPointer expression after the URL in the xlink:href attributes.

The expression: #xpointer(id("Rottweiler")) refers to the element in the target document, with the id value of "Rottweiler".

So the xlink:href attribute would look like this: xlink:href="http://dog.com/dogbreeds.xml#xpointer(id('Rottweiler'))"

However, XPointer allows a shorthand form when linking to an element with an id. You can use the value of the id directly, like this: xlink:href="http://dog.com/dogbreeds.xml#Rottweiler"

The following XML document refers to information of the dog breed for each of my dogs :-), all through XLink and XPointer references:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<mydogs xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
<mydog xlink:type="simple"
xlink:href="http://dog.com/dogbreeds.xml#Rottweiler">
<description xlink:type="simple"
xlink:href="http://myweb.com/mydogs/anton.gif">
Anton is my favorite dog. He has won a lot of.....
</description>
</mydog>
<mydog xlink:type="simple"
xlink:href="http://dog.com/dogbreeds.xml#FCRetriever">
<description xlink:type="simple"
xlink:href="http://myweb.com/mydogs/pluto.gif">
Pluto is the sweetest dog on earth......
</description>
</mydog>
</mydogs>
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