XPath, or XML Path Language, is a query language for selecting nodes from an XML document. The basic syntax of XPath includes:

1. **Node Selection**: To select nodes, XPath uses path expressions, similar to file directory syntax. For example, `/bookstore/book` selects all book elements that are children of the bookstore.

2. **Predicates**: Predicates are used to find specific nodes or a node that contains a specific value. Predicates are always embedded in square brackets. For example, `/bookstore/book[1]` selects the first book element that is the child of the bookstore.

3. **Selecting Several Paths**: By using the `|` operator, you can select several paths. For example, `/bookstore/book/title | //price` selects all the title elements of the book that are children of the bookstore and all the price elements in the document.

4. **Wildcards**: XPath uses wildcards for selecting unknown XML elements.
- `*` matches any element node.
- `@*` matches any attribute node.
- `node()` matches any node of any kind.

5. **Selecting Attributes**: To select attributes, XPath uses the `@` symbol. For example, `//book[@price]` selects all the book elements that have an attribute named price.

6. **Functions**: XPath includes over 100 built-in functions, such as `contains()`, `starts-with()`, `count()`, etc. For example, `//book[contains(@class, 'novel')]` selects all the book elements that have an attribute named class with a value containing the substring 'novel'.

Remember, XPath is case-sensitive and assumes that all XML elements and attributes have lowercase names unless specified otherwise.

Question

XPath, or XML Path Language, is a query language for selecting nodes from an XML document. The basic syntax of XPath includes:

1. **Node Selection**: To select nodes, XPath uses path expressions, similar to file directory syntax. For example, `/bookstore/book` selects all book elements that are children of the bookstore.

2. **Predicates**: Predicates are used to find specific nodes or a node that contains a specific value. Predicates are always embedded in square brackets. For example, `/bookstore/book[1]` selects the first book element that is the child of the bookstore.

3. **Selecting Several Paths**: By using the `|` operator, you can select several paths. For example, `/bookstore/book/title | //price` selects all the title elements of the book that are children of the bookstore and all the price elements in the document.

4. **Wildcards**: XPath uses wildcards for selecting unknown XML elements.
   - `*` matches any element node.
   - `@*` matches any attribute node.
   - `node()` matches any node of any kind.

5. **Selecting Attributes**: To select attributes, XPath uses the `@` symbol. For example, `//book[@price]` selects all the book elements that have an attribute named price.

6. **Functions**: XPath includes over 100 built-in functions, such as `contains()`, `starts-with()`, `count()`, etc. For example, `//book[contains(@class, 'novel')]` selects all the book elements that have an attribute named class with a value containing the substring 'novel'.

Remember, XPath is case-sensitive and assumes that all XML elements and attributes have lowercase names unless specified otherwise.

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