# Hpricot question

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hpricot-question/100706>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [July 31, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hpricot-question/100706 "2006-07-31T15:58:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![farfignugen](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@farfignugen](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/farfignugen)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hpricot-question/100706/1 "2006-07-31T15:58:43Z")

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I’m trying to use Hpricot to clean up the text in a big site full of  
old-style HTML. I’m just trying to do things like replacing literal  
quote characters with and . I’m hampered by the fact that my  
understanding of the HTML DOM comes from reading one web site  
yesterday and I don’t know any javascript. Nonetheless, it seems that  
Hpricot should be able to easily give me all the text in the   
element of each page because it has a traverse\_text() method. The  
problem seems to be that if I apply it to a whole page, I get the  
text in the element and all the methods for selecting seem to  
return an element, not a tree.

There is a get\_subnode method but it doesn’t seem to work as expected.

Thanks in advance for any help

–  
The folly of mistaking a paradox for a discovery, a metaphor for a  
proof, a torrent of verbiage for a spring of capital truths, and  
oneself for an oracle, is inborn in us.  
-Paul Valery, poet and philosopher (1871-1945)

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**Author:** ![farfignugen](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@farfignugen](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/farfignugen)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hpricot-question/100706/2 "2006-08-01T04:43:32Z")

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On Jul 31, 2006, at 6:17 AM, Chris G. wrote:

> There is a get\_subnode method but it doesn’t seem to work as expected.

Nevermind,

The reason get\_subnode gives:  
…hpricot/traverse.rb:23:in `get_subnode': undefined method`get\_subnode\_internal’ for #Hpricot::Doc:0x5c182c

is because Why literally hasn’t written get\_subnode\_internal yet.  
maybe I’ll try to write it when/if i get some time.

–  
For blocks are better cleft with wedges,  
Than tools of sharp or subtle edges,  
And dullest nonsense has been found  
By some to be the most profound.  
-Samuel Butler,