DeleteClause

Delete a node sequence.

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Related Syntax Constructs

The following construct(s) refer to this construct:


Syntax

DeleteClause

graphics/DeleteClause.png

Expr

Description

A DeleteClause is part of an UpdateExpr and deletes the node sequence that is the result of the evaluation of the expression following the keyword delete.

Examples

  • Strip all comments in the documents of the current collection:

    update delete input()//comment()
  • Delete all books that do not have a publishing year:

    update delete input()/bib/book[not(@year)]

    For the sample data provided, year is a required attribute of the element book, so the expression evaluates to an empty sequence and none of the book elements are deleted.

  • Clear all element nodes in the current collection:

    update delete input()//*/text()

    The expression evaluates to all element nodes. Their text contents are deleted, but neither the elements themselves nor their attributes are deleted.