Which Python Library Offers the Best XPath Implementation: libxml2 vs ElementTree?

Using XPath in Python

XPath is a powerful language for selecting nodes in an XML document. Python offers several libraries that support XPath, including libxml2 and ElementTree.

libxml2

Libxml2 provides a comprehensive implementation of XPath. It offers the following advantages:

• Compliance: Strict adherence to the XPath specification
• Activity: Constant development and support from the community
• Performance: Python wrapper around a C implementation ensures high speeds
• Ubiquity: Widely used and thoroughly tested library

However, libxml2 also has some drawbacks:

• Strictness: May lead to difficulties handling specific XML constructs
• Native code: Distribution and deployment can be more complex with native code libraries
• Manual resource handling: Pythonic principles may not be fully adhered to

ElementTree

For basic path selection tasks, ElementTree provides a more approachable option. It is included with Python 2.5 and offers the following advantages:

• Simplicity: Easy to use for basic XPath queries

However, if you require full XPath compliance or raw speed, libxml2 is a better choice.

Sample Usages

Libxml2 XPath Use:

<code class="python">import libxml2

doc = libxml2.parseFile("tst.xml")
ctxt = doc.xpathNewContext()
res = ctxt.xpathEval("//*")
if len(res) != 2:
    print("xpath query: wrong node set size")
    sys.exit(1)
if res[0].name != "doc" or res[1].name != "foo":
    print("xpath query: wrong node set value")
    sys.exit(1)
doc.freeDoc()
ctxt.xpathFreeContext()</code>

ElementTree XPath Use:

<code class="python">from elementtree.ElementTree import ElementTree

mydoc = ElementTree(file='tst.xml')
for e in mydoc.findall('/foo/bar'):
    print(e.get('title').text)</code>

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