XPath axes (parent, following-sibling, preceding) in Selenium Java - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What does the XPath axis parent:: select?

The parent:: axis selects the parent node of the current node in the XML or HTML document tree.

beginner

How does following-sibling:: axis work in XPath?

The following-sibling:: axis selects all sibling nodes that come after the current node at the same tree level.

intermediate

What is the difference between preceding:: and preceding-sibling:: axes?

preceding:: selects all nodes that come before the current node in the document, regardless of level, while preceding-sibling:: selects only sibling nodes before the current node at the same level.

beginner

Write an XPath to select the parent of a <span> element with id 'price'.

XPath: //span[@id='price']/parent::* selects the parent node of the <span> with id 'price'.

intermediate

In Selenium Java, how would you locate the next sibling <div> after a <h2> element with text 'Title'?

Use XPath: //h2[text()='Title']/following-sibling::div[1] to find the first <div> sibling after the <h2> with text 'Title'.

Which XPath axis selects the parent node of the current node?

A preceding::

B parent::

C following-sibling::

D child::

The parent:: axis selects the parent node of the current node.

What does following-sibling::div[1] select?

A The first <code>&lt;div&gt;</code> sibling after the current node

B The first <code>&lt;div&gt;</code> sibling before the current node

C The parent <code>&lt;div&gt;</code> node

D All <code>&lt;div&gt;</code> descendants

It selects the first <div> sibling that comes after the current node.

Which axis selects all nodes before the current node regardless of level?

A preceding::

B following-sibling::

C preceding-sibling::

D parent::

preceding:: selects all nodes before the current node in the document, regardless of their position in the tree.

In XPath, how do you select the parent of the current node?

A child::*

B following::*

C ancestor::*

D parent::*

parent::* selects the parent node of the current node.

Which XPath axis would you use to find siblings before the current node?

A parent::

B following-sibling::

C preceding-sibling::

D child::

preceding-sibling:: selects sibling nodes that come before the current node.

Explain how the XPath axes parent::, following-sibling::, and preceding:: differ in selecting nodes.

Think about the direction and level of nodes each axis selects.

Write an example XPath using following-sibling:: to select the next sibling <li> after a <li> with class 'active'.

Use the axis with an index to get the first following sibling.

Practice

1. Which XPath axis selects the immediate parent of the current node?

easy

A. following-sibling::

B. child::

C. preceding::

D. parent::

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand XPath axes purpose

   XPath axes define relationships between nodes, like parent or siblings.

2. Step 2: Identify axis for immediate parent

   The parent:: axis selects the direct parent node of the current element.

3. Final Answer:

   parent:: -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Parent axis = parent:: [OK]

Hint: Parent axis always uses 'parent::' prefix [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing parent:: with child:: axis
• Using following-sibling:: to select parent
• Using preceding:: which selects previous nodes, not parent

2. Which of the following is the correct XPath syntax to select all following siblings of a node?

easy

A. //div/preceding-sibling::*

B. //div/following::sibling

C. //div/following-sibling::*

D. //div/following-sibling

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall correct axis syntax for following siblings

   The axis for following siblings is following-sibling:: and it requires a node test like * for all siblings.

2. Step 2: Check each option syntax

   //div/following-sibling::* uses following-sibling::* which correctly selects all following siblings. Others are incorrect syntax or wrong axis.

3. Final Answer:

   //div/following-sibling::* -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Following siblings = following-sibling::* [OK]

Hint: Use 'following-sibling::*' to select all following siblings [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting '::' after axis name
• Using 'following::sibling' which is invalid
• Confusing preceding-sibling with following-sibling

3. Given the HTML snippet:

<ul>
  <li id='item1'>First</li>
  <li id='item2'>Second</li>
  <li id='item3'>Third</li>
</ul>

What text will this XPath select?
//li[@id='item1']/following-sibling::li[1]/text()

medium

A. Second

B. No text selected

C. Third

D. First

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the XPath expression

   The XPath selects the first li element with id 'item1', then selects its first following sibling li element, and gets its text.

2. Step 2: Identify the first following sibling of 'item1'

   The first following sibling li after 'item1' is the li with id 'item2' which contains text 'Second'.

3. Final Answer:

   Second -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Following sibling of item1 is item2 = Second [OK]

Hint: following-sibling::li[1] selects immediate next sibling [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Selecting the current node text instead of sibling
• Confusing preceding siblings with following siblings
• Assuming index [1] means first child, not sibling

4. Identify the error in this XPath expression:
//div[@class='menu']/preceding-sibling::div[2]
What is wrong?

medium

A. preceding-sibling axis cannot use index

B. The index should be inside parentheses like (preceding-sibling::div)[2]

C. XPath axes cannot be used after predicates

D. No error, expression is correct

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand XPath indexing with axes

   When using an index with axes like preceding-sibling::div, the index applies to the node set returned by the axis, so parentheses are needed.

2. Step 2: Correct the XPath syntax

   The correct syntax to select the second preceding sibling div is (preceding-sibling::div)[2], not preceding-sibling::div[2].

3. Final Answer:

   The index should be inside parentheses like (preceding-sibling::div)[2] -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Index with axes needs parentheses [OK]

Hint: Use parentheses around axis before indexing [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Placing index directly after node test without parentheses
• Assuming axes do not support indexing
• Confusing predicate indexing with axis indexing

5. You want to select the parent div of a span element that has a class 'highlight', but only if the parent div has a following sibling div with class 'footer'. Which XPath expression correctly achieves this?

hard

A. //span[@class='highlight']/parent::div[following-sibling::div[@class='footer']]

B. //span[@class='highlight']/parent::div/following-sibling::div[@class='footer']

C. //span[@class='highlight']/preceding::div[@class='footer']/parent::div

D. //span[@class='highlight']/parent::div[preceding-sibling::div[@class='footer']]

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the requirement

   Select the parent div of a span with class 'highlight', but only if that parent div has a following sibling div with class 'footer'.

2. Step 2: Analyze each XPath option

   //span[@class='highlight']/parent::div[following-sibling::div[@class='footer']] selects the parent div of the span and filters it by checking if it has a following sibling div with class 'footer', which matches the requirement exactly.

3. Final Answer:

   //span[@class='highlight']/parent::div[following-sibling::div[@class='footer']] -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Parent with following sibling filter = //span[@class='highlight']/parent::div[following-sibling::div[@class='footer']] [OK]

Hint: Filter parent with predicate checking following sibling [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Selecting following sibling instead of filtering parent
• Using preceding-sibling instead of following-sibling
• Misplacing axes order causing wrong node selection