c# - Inserting XML node at specific position

Question

I have an XML file and I am loading it in Xmldocument. This document has a node with some child nodes like this

<xml here>
 <somenode>
   <child> </child>
   <children></children>
   <children></children>
   <children></children>  // I need to insert it
   <children></children>  // I need to insert this second time
   <children></children>
   <children></children>
   <child> </child>
 <somenode>
<xml here>

here somenode has some children where first and last children node names are same where as other nodes except the first and last node has some diffrent name ( identical to each other ). I am creating a function to insert a node at specific position, I am not sure about the criteria but may be in the mid.

• how can I insert node in specific position. I am using XMLnode.appendChild method for insertion
• Do I need to rearrange/sort nodes after insertion. Please suggest.
• How can I determine what is structure and how should I find where the new node should be added according to current document structure.

Answer 1

Here is a solution without using LINQ to XML. It's implemented as an extension method for the XmlNode class:

public static void InsertAt(this XmlNode node, XmlNode insertingNode, int index = 0)
{
    if(insertingNode == null)
        return;
    if (index < 0)
        index = 0;

    var childNodes = node.ChildNodes;
    var childrenCount = childNodes.Count;

    if (index >= childrenCount)
    {
        node.AppendChild(insertingNode);
        return;
    }

    var followingNode = childNodes[index];

    node.InsertBefore(insertingNode, followingNode);
}

Now, you can insert a node at the desired position as simple as:

    parentXmlNode.InsertAt(childXmlNode, 7);