16.75. Simple Input Path Examples

With these simple examples, you can probably discern the most important rules.

First, the '*' is a wildcard character that matches any character or sequence of characters in a node's name (or index if appearing in between square brackets), and can be used in conjunction with other characters (e.g., "*.txt").

Second, square brackets (i.e., '[' and ']') are used to match a node's same-name-sibiling index. You can put a single non-negative number or a comma-separated list of non-negative numbers. Use '0' to match a node that has no same-name-sibilings, or any positive number to match the specific same-name-sibling.

Third, combining two delimiters (e.g., "//") matches any sequence of nodes, regardless of what their names are or how many nodes. Often used with other patterns to identify nodes at any level matching other patterns. Three or more sequential slash characters are treated as two.

Many input paths can be created using these simple rules. However, input paths can be more complicated.