Intermittent "Bad Variable Type" with Microsoft.XMLDOM

[SJF85]

Hey, just wondering if anyone has ever encountered intermittent COM Object Errors with Microsoft.XMLDOM pulling node values. I'm currently getting "Bad Variable Type" intermittently, and simply running the script again would allow it to get further in the parsing loop, only to encounter the error again. The data is persistent, and it is always a string.

Here's a snippet of where the error event occurs

$Target = "Item001"
$SearchItem = $oXML.SelectNodes("//Items/Name[. = """&$Target&"""]")
If $SearchItem.Length==1 Then
    AddToLog("XML: Found a match for """&$Target&""", Gathering details...")
    $TargetItem = $SearchItem.Item(0).ParentNode
    $ItemSKU = XMLGetValue($TargetItem, "SKU")
Endif

and here's the snip of my XMLGetValue function where the error is always triggered on the $Value = ...

Func XMLGetValue($Node="", $ValueName="", $NestLevel=0)
...
    If $Node.GetElementsByTagName($ValueName).Item(0).ChildNodes.Length==1 Then
        $Value = $Node.GetElementsByTagName(String($ValueName)).Item(0).ChildNodes(0).NodeValue
    Else
        ...Tell me there are more than one result for the target
    Endif    
...
EndFunc

I added the string() as a counter measure but that doesnt fix the error. The XML file contains standard data with no attributes or anything funky.

The weird thing is that if i reboot my workstation it might get all the way through, and then if i run it again it may burp some where throughout the loop process (For each item, get SKU, Add SKU to array, Do stuff with array contents afterwards). 

I have added sleep timers to my loops to try and pace the XML requests in case it was a sort of buffer underrun issue but im not certain whats going on.

 

Again, i could run the script and it would work perfectly and then fail another time. I've read up about readyState, but i dont know how to incorporate it in my script.

Has anyone seen this before? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[jdelaney]

I've never had a problem as long as I never string together so many objects like that.  The script won't be as concise, but when you have error handling on every level, all goes well with the run.

[SJF85]

  On 5/19/2017 at 2:13 AM, jdelaney said:

I've never had a problem as long as I never string together so many objects like that.  The script won't be as concise, but when you have error handling on every level, all goes well with the run.

Expand  

Ok, ill try breaking it down a bit further with additional checks and error handling.  Thats what my initial approach was for XMLGetValue; to simplify the process of retrieving values from nodes, but the complication comes in to place when some values are nested further down within the node than others. 

[SJF85]

Weird... i broke it right down and the error is popping up at this point

.ChildNodes(0)

Win Description:    Bad variable type.
Number:     80020008
 

There's got to be an easier way of doing this...

Fixed: I read another thread you commented on and used that method of pulling text from a node. Replaced my whole XMLGetValue function with the snip below and it worked.

.SelectSingleNode("./ValueName").text

 

I was over complicating the approach simply because i'm a self taught programmer and used the MSDN documentation instead of simplified code samples. Happy i swallowed my pride and came here to ask for help.

Thanks again

[mLipok]

  On 5/19/2017 at 8:50 AM, SJF85 said:

 

i'm a self taught programmer and used the MSDN documentation

Expand  

Me too.

Welome to the club