GetNthCdataContents ( xmlToSearch ; n )

Gets the contents of the nth CDATA instance within an XML blob.

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Cristos Lianides-Chin - Show more from this author
Codence
https://www.codence.com

Sample input:

GetNthCdataContents ( "T001832015-07-29 11:50:31]]> T001842015-07-29 11:50:31]]>" ; 2 )

Sample output:

T001842015-07-29 11:50:31

Function definition: (Copy & paste into FileMaker's Edit Custom Function window)

/*
	GetNthCdataContents ( xmlToSearch ; n )

PURPOSE:
	Gets the contents of the nth CDATA instance within an XML blob.

RETURNS:
	Text string, of the data contained between the opening and closing CDATA tags.

EXAMPLE:
	CALL: 
		GetNthCdataContents ( "<DATA><![CDATA[<idStaff>T00183</idStaff><modified>2015-07-29 11:50:31</modified>]]></DATA> <DATA><![CDATA[<idStaff>T00184</idStaff><modified>2015-07-29 11:50:31</modified>]]></DATA>" ; 2 )
	RESPONSE:
		"<idStaff>T00184</idStaff><modified>2015-07-29 11:50:31</modified>"

CHANGELOG:
	## 2015-10-01 8:20:38 PM EDT cristos@inresonance.com
	- adjusted to better-handle out-of-bounds numbers. (Thanks to Bruce, Redmond WA, for pointing it out. | http://www.briandunning.com/cf/1817)
	## 2015-09-30 11:18 EST cristos@inresonance.com
	- Created
*/


Let (
/* First, get the bounds of the CDATA element's opening and closing tags. */
[	~n = n
;	~xml = xmlToSearch

;	~cdataPos0Text = "<![CDATA["
;	~cdataPos1Text = "]]>"


;	~minN = 1
;	~maxN = PatternCount ( ~xml ; ~cdataPos0Text )


;	~cdataPos0Length = Length ( ~cdataPos0Text )
;	~cdataPos0 = Position ( ~xml ; ~cdataPos0Text ; 0 ; ~n ) 
;	~cdataPos1 = Position ( ~xml ; ~cdataPos1Text ; ~cdataPos0 ; 1 )

/* Then get the bounds of the value inside the CDATA bounds. */
;	~valuePos0 = ~cdataPos0 + ~cdataPos0Length
;	~valuePos1 = ~cdataPos1
;	~valueLength = ~valuePos1 - ~valuePos0

/* Last, get the value itself. */
;	~value = Case
	(	~n < ~minN
		or ~n > ~maxN
	;		"?"
		/* ELSE */
	;		Middle ( ~xml ; ~valuePos0 ; ~valueLength )
	)
]
;	~value
)

GetNthCdataContents ( xmlToSearch ; n )

PURPOSE:
Gets the contents of the nth CDATA instance within an XML blob.

RETURNS:
Text string, of the data contained between the opening and closing CDATA tags.

EXAMPLE:
CALL:
GetNthCdataContents ( "T001832015-07-29 11:50:31]]> T001842015-07-29 11:50:31]]>" ; 2 )
RESPONSE:
"T001842015-07-29 11:50:31"

Comments

		Bruce, Redmond WA Oct 1, 2015
Sorta works. However, if you ask for N outside the range of actual values, it does not work correctly. For instance, in your example, which has two occurrences of CDATA, ask for N with a value of 5. Oops.

		Cristos Lianides-Chin, Codence Oct 1, 2015
Thanks for pointing out the issue, Bruce. I've updated the code to return "?" if n is out-of-bounds.

Note: these functions are not guaranteed or supported by BrianDunning.com. Please contact the individual developer with any questions or problems.

GetNthCdataContents ( xmlToSearch ; n )

Comments

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