How to convert an XML elements value to an int using linq- c#

Question

I'm trying to get the value out of my XML element and convert it to an integer using linq commands so I can do some mathematical equations using it. This is how I've tried it so far: ``` private void buttonTab4Mod1Calculate_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { var document = XDocument.Load(workingDir + @"\Level4.xml"); var assessmentOneWeight = from d in document.Descendants("moduleTitle") where d.Value == (String)comboBoxTab4Mod8.SelectedItem select d.Parent.Element("assessmentOneWeight").Value; int a = 0; foreach (var item in assessmentOneWeight) { a = Convert.ToInt32(item); } MessageBox.Show(a.ToString()); } ``` but the value is still 0 for some reason. This is my xml file: ``` ECSE401 Programming Methodology 15 Coursework 40 Coursework

Accepted Answer

Just cast the `XElement` to `int`:

```
private void buttonTab4Mod1Calculate_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    var document = XDocument.Load(workingDir + @"\Level4.xml");

string selectedItem = (string) comboBoxTab4Mod8.SelectedItem;
    var assessmentOneWeight = from d in document.Descendants("moduleTitle")
                              where (string) d == selectedItem
                              select (int) d.Parent.Element("assessmentOneWeight");
    foreach (int item in assessmentOneWeight)
    {
         MessageBox.Show(item.ToString());
    }        
}
```

Note that you can also cast to `int?` which works the same way when the reference does is an `XElement`, but if you cast a null reference to `int?` you get a null value back - which can be helpful if you don't know whether there is a corresponding element or not.

There are lots of explicit conversions for `XElement`, and `XAttribute` too - they make life a lot easier.

How to convert an XML elements value to an int using linq- c#

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