XPath axes (parent, child, sibling) in Selenium Python - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is the purpose of the parent axis in XPath?

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

beginner

How does the child axis work in XPath?

The child axis selects all child nodes of the current node. It is often used to find direct descendants.

intermediate

Explain the following-sibling axis in XPath.

The following-sibling axis selects all sibling nodes that come after the current node on the same level in the document tree.

intermediate

Write an XPath expression to select the parent of a node with id 'item'.

XPath: //*[@id='item']/parent::* selects the parent node of the element with id 'item'.

intermediate

What is the difference between child:: and // in XPath?

child:: selects only direct children of the current node, while // selects nodes at any depth (descendants) from the current node.

Which XPath axis selects the parent of the current node?

A parent

B child

C following-sibling

D descendant

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

What does the XPath child::div select?

A All div elements anywhere in the document

B All div elements that are direct children of the current node

C The parent div of the current node

D All sibling div elements after the current node

child::div selects div elements that are direct children of the current node.

Which XPath axis would you use to select siblings after the current node?

A parent

B preceding-sibling

C child

D following-sibling

The following-sibling axis selects siblings that come after the current node.

What is the result of //*[@id='item']/parent::*?

A Selects the node with id 'item'

B Selects all children of the node with id 'item'

C Selects the parent of the node with id 'item'

D Selects all siblings of the node with id 'item'

This XPath selects the parent node of the element with id 'item'.

Which axis selects only direct children nodes?

A child

B following-sibling

C descendant

D ancestor

The child axis selects only direct children of the current node.

Describe how you would use XPath axes to navigate from a child element to its parent and then to its following sibling.

Think about moving up first, then sideways in the document tree.

Explain the difference between the child and following-sibling XPath axes with examples.

Consider the tree structure and node relationships.