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TiXmlHandle Class Reference

TiXmlHandle Class Reference

A TiXmlHandle is a class that wraps a node pointer with null checks; this is an incredibly useful thing. More...

#include <tinyxml.h>

Public Member Functions

 TiXmlHandle (TiXmlNode *_node)
 Create a handle from any node (at any depth of the tree.) This can be a null pointer.
 TiXmlHandle (const TiXmlHandle &ref)
 Copy constructor.
TiXmlHandle FirstChild () const
 Return a handle to the first child node.
TiXmlHandle FirstChild (const char *value) const
 Return a handle to the first child node with the given name.
TiXmlHandle FirstChildElement () const
 Return a handle to the first child element.
TiXmlHandle FirstChildElement (const char *value) const
 Return a handle to the first child element with the given name.
TiXmlHandle Child (const char *value, int index) const
 Return a handle to the "index" child with the given name.
TiXmlHandle Child (int index) const
 Return a handle to the "index" child.
TiXmlHandle ChildElement (const char *value, int index) const
 Return a handle to the "index" child element with the given name.
TiXmlHandle ChildElement (int index) const
 Return a handle to the "index" child element.
TiXmlNodeToNode () const
 Return the handle as a TiXmlNode.
TiXmlElementToElement () const
 Return the handle as a TiXmlElement.
TiXmlTextToText () const
 Return the handle as a TiXmlText.
TiXmlUnknownToUnknown () const
 Return the handle as a TiXmlUnknown.
TiXmlNodeNode () const
TiXmlElementElement () const
TiXmlTextText () const
TiXmlUnknownUnknown () const

Detailed Description

A TiXmlHandle is a class that wraps a node pointer with null checks; this is an incredibly useful thing.

Note that TiXmlHandle is not part of the TinyXml DOM structure. It is a separate utility class.

Take an example:

    <Document>
        <Element attributeA = "valueA">
            <Child attributeB = "value1" />
            <Child attributeB = "value2" />
        </Element>
    <Document>
    

Assuming you want the value of "attributeB" in the 2nd "Child" element, it's very easy to write a *lot* of code that looks like:

    TiXmlElement* root = document.FirstChildElement( "Document" );
    if ( root )
    {
        TiXmlElement* element = root->FirstChildElement( "Element" );
        if ( element )
        {
            TiXmlElement* child = element->FirstChildElement( "Child" );
            if ( child )
            {
                TiXmlElement* child2 = child->NextSiblingElement( "Child" );
                if ( child2 )
                {
                    // Finally do something useful.
    

And that doesn't even cover "else" cases. TiXmlHandle addresses the verbosity of such code. A TiXmlHandle checks for null pointers so it is perfectly safe and correct to use:

    TiXmlHandle docHandle( &document );
    TiXmlElement* child2 = docHandle.FirstChild( "Document" ).FirstChild( "Element" ).Child( "Child", 1 ).ToElement();
    if ( child2 )
    {
        // do something useful
    

Which is MUCH more concise and useful.

It is also safe to copy handles - internally they are nothing more than node pointers.

    TiXmlHandle handleCopy = handle;
    

What they should not be used for is iteration:

    int i=0; 
    while ( true )
    {
        TiXmlElement* child = docHandle.FirstChild( "Document" ).FirstChild( "Element" ).Child( "Child", i ).ToElement();
        if ( !child )
            break;
        // do something
        ++i;
    }
    

It seems reasonable, but it is in fact two embedded while loops. The Child method is a linear walk to find the element, so this code would iterate much more than it needs to. Instead, prefer:

    TiXmlElement* child = docHandle.FirstChild( "Document" ).FirstChild( "Element" ).FirstChild( "Child" ).ToElement();

    for( child; child; child=child->NextSiblingElement() )
    {
        // do something
    }
    

Definition at line 1633 of file tinyxml.h.


Constructor & Destructor Documentation

TiXmlHandle ( TiXmlNode _node )

Create a handle from any node (at any depth of the tree.) This can be a null pointer.

Definition at line 1637 of file tinyxml.h.

TiXmlHandle ( const TiXmlHandle ref )

Copy constructor.

Definition at line 1639 of file tinyxml.h.


Member Function Documentation

TiXmlHandle Child ( const char *  value,
int  index 
) const

Return a handle to the "index" child with the given name.

The first child is 0, the second 1, etc.

Definition at line 1651 of file tinyxml.cpp.

TiXmlHandle Child ( int  index ) const

Return a handle to the "index" child.

The first child is 0, the second 1, etc.

Definition at line 1632 of file tinyxml.cpp.

TiXmlHandle ChildElement ( const char *  value,
int  index 
) const

Return a handle to the "index" child element with the given name.

The first child element is 0, the second 1, etc. Note that only TiXmlElements are indexed: other types are not counted.

Definition at line 1689 of file tinyxml.cpp.

TiXmlHandle ChildElement ( int  index ) const

Return a handle to the "index" child element.

The first child element is 0, the second 1, etc. Note that only TiXmlElements are indexed: other types are not counted.

Definition at line 1670 of file tinyxml.cpp.

TiXmlElement* Element (  ) const

Return the handle as a TiXmlElement. This may return null.

Definition at line 1698 of file tinyxml.h.

TiXmlHandle FirstChild ( const char *  value ) const

Return a handle to the first child node with the given name.

Definition at line 1596 of file tinyxml.cpp.

TiXmlHandle FirstChild (  ) const

Return a handle to the first child node.

Definition at line 1584 of file tinyxml.cpp.

TiXmlHandle FirstChildElement (  ) const

Return a handle to the first child element.

Definition at line 1608 of file tinyxml.cpp.

TiXmlHandle FirstChildElement ( const char *  value ) const

Return a handle to the first child element with the given name.

Definition at line 1620 of file tinyxml.cpp.

TiXmlNode* Node (  ) const

Return the handle as a TiXmlNode. This may return null.

Definition at line 1694 of file tinyxml.h.

TiXmlText* Text (  ) const

This may return null.

Definition at line 1702 of file tinyxml.h.

TiXmlElement* ToElement (  ) const

Return the handle as a TiXmlElement.

This may return null.

Definition at line 1683 of file tinyxml.h.

TiXmlNode* ToNode (  ) const

Return the handle as a TiXmlNode.

This may return null.

Definition at line 1680 of file tinyxml.h.

TiXmlText* ToText (  ) const

Return the handle as a TiXmlText.

This may return null.

Definition at line 1686 of file tinyxml.h.

TiXmlUnknown* ToUnknown (  ) const

Return the handle as a TiXmlUnknown.

This may return null.

Definition at line 1689 of file tinyxml.h.

TiXmlUnknown* Unknown (  ) const

This may return null.

Definition at line 1706 of file tinyxml.h.