Elementpaths

Elementpaths is a general concept used to describe the notation for addressing a specific element within a hierarchical data structure. It is used in document processing, programming, and data transformation to locate nested values efficiently. An elementpath identifies a route from a root node through successive child nodes, keys, or indices to the target element. Unlike a full query language, elementpaths are typically a compact, language-agnostic way to reference a location rather than to compute or filter results.

Syntax and variants: Most implementations adopt a dotted or slash-delimited syntax. Common constructs include dot notation (root.child.grandchild), slash notation (root/child/grandchild), and array indexing like [0], [1]. Segments may be element names, attribute names, or numeric indices. Some systems support wildcards (*) and predicates to select multiple siblings, or filters to apply simple conditions.

Example: A JSON object { "store": { "book": [ { "title": "The Road" }, { "title": "Dune" } ] } } can be addressed as store.book[0].title or /store/book[0]/title.

Applications: Elementpaths are used for data extraction, configuration access, templating, and validation across languages and data formats. They enable concise, readable references to nested values and can be mapped to language-specific APIs.

Relation to related concepts: They are analogous to XPath for XML or JSONPath for JSON, but are typically more lightweight and interoperability-focused.

See also: XPath, JSONPath, dot notation.