Testing for an XML attribute

Question

I have a piece of XML like so:

I want t

Answer 1

This will select the foos with no src attribute.

/root/foo[not(@src)]

For the other two tasks, I would use a mix of the expressions pointed out by @TOUDIdel and @Dimitre Novatchev: /root/foo[@src and string-length(@src)=0] for foos with an empty src, and /root/foo[@src and string-length(@src)!=0] for foos with an src with content in it.

As an aside, I would avoid using the "anywhere" selector, // (not to mention the * wildcard), unless you're sure that this is specifically what you need. // is like making your very eager dog sniff a piece of cloth and telling it, "bring me everything that smells like this, wherever you find it". You won't believe the weird crap it can decide to bring back.