This document compares CSS selectors to XPath selectors, listing examples of how to select common elements with each. It shows that XPath allows for faster and more complex selections, including searching for text, but that CSS selectors are more readable and widely used by developers. CSS selectors also have better cross-browser compatibility than XPath.

1. Comparison
CSS XPath
All elements * //*
All input elements input //input
All child input elements input>a //input/*
Element by ID input#foo //input[@id=‘foo’]
Element by class input.foo //input[@class=‘foo’]
Element w/ attribute input[value=‘foo’] //input[@value=‘food’]
3rd cell in table table#users tr.names
td:nth(3)
//table[@id=‘users’]//tr[@cl
ass=‘names]//td[3]

2. Pros & Cons
XPath CSS
faster X
more readable X
search for text X
backup through DOM X
widely used by developers X
cross-browser compatible X