The REXML module is supplied with the Ruby distribution and provides a neat way of handling XML data in Ruby. There is a very wide range of methods available, though, and sometimes it's hard to see the wood for the trees.

So here - to start - is the [full source] of an application which reads an RSS feed and splits out the title elements. I've actually done the job twice - once by finding the elements directly, and then (slighty more sophisticated) by accessing elements within elements.

require 'rexml/document'
include REXML
 
file = File.new("myrssfeed.xml")
doc = Document.new(file)
 
# ------------- Reading from the document structure
# ------------- This is an RSS feed - few attributes ;-)
  
doc.elements.each("rss/channel/item/title") do |element|
  puts element
end
  
puts " AGAIN -----------------"
  
doc.elements.each("rss/channel/item") do |element|
  element.elements.each("title") do |ttl|
    puts ttl
  end
end

Sample output using [this data]:

Dorothy-2:ra10 grahamellis$ ruby x1.rb
<title>History is all around us</title>
<title>A more informed decision than ever before</title>
<title>For loop - checked once, or evety time? Ruby v Perl comparison and contrast</title>
<title>__index and __newindex in Lua - metatable methods</title>
<title>Old trackways and routes near Melksham</title>
<title>The bull on the footpath</title>
<title>A walk on the Kennet and Avon</title>
<title>Error trapping in Lua - no exceptions.</title>
<title>Hotel booking in Melksham made easy!</title>
<title>A walk within without - Melksham Without</title>
<title>Lua Metatables</title>
<title>First and last match with Regular Expressions</title>
<title>Is Lua an Object Oriented language?</title>
<title>The same very simple program in many different programming languages</title>
<title>Lua tables - they are everything</title>
AGAIN -----------------
<title>History is all around us</title>
<title>A more informed decision than ever before</title>
<title>For loop - checked once, or evety time? Ruby v Perl comparison and contrast</title>
<title>__index and __newindex in Lua - metatable methods</title>
<title>Old trackways and routes near Melksham</title>
<title>The bull on the footpath</title>
<title>A walk on the Kennet and Avon</title>
<title>Error trapping in Lua - no exceptions.</title>
<title>Hotel booking in Melksham made easy!</title>
<title>A walk within without - Melksham Without</title>
<title>Lua Metatables</title>
<title>First and last match with Regular Expressions</title>
<title>Is Lua an Object Oriented language?</title>
<title>The same very simple program in many different programming languages</title>
<title>Lua tables - they are everything</title>
Dorothy-2:ra10 grahamellis$

(written 2010-04-10)

 R117 - Ruby GUIs, XML, SQL Database Connectivity
  [1890] MySQL database from Ruby - an example - (2008-11-16)

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Python - access to variables in the outer scope
The Multiple Inheritance Conundrum, interfaces and mixins
Melksham in Pictures
Uploading an image, document or pdf via a browser (php)
A simple example - XML from a Ruby program
History is all around us
A more informed decision than ever before
For loop - checked once, or evety time? Ruby v Perl comparison and contrast
__index and __newindex in Lua - metatable methods
Old trackways and routes near Melksham