XML Gurus. Deep cloning a node without using clone(true)

[Francesco Marchioni]

Dear all,
I have to copy one piece of XML from one part of the document to another. Unfortunately I cannot simply do a copy and paste:

Node nodeLeaf = nodeChild.cloneNode(true);
nodeAncestor.appendChild(nodeLeaf);

because some fragments of the nodeLeaf mustn't be copied (depending on the node value)

So I cannot make a deep clone of the leaf.
I have to make a clone of nodeLeaf by myself. (Copying its child with a recursive function)

I have built a recursive function but I cannot understand why it doesn't work correclty (text values are skipped and also some pieces of the xml aren't copied correclty)

 
// Passing the full leaf and a leaf with only the first tag, under which I clone manually the nodes.
 
 Node copyNode = appendNodes(nodeLeaf, nodeLeaf.cloneNode(false));
 
  private Node appendNodes(Node node, Node copyNode) {
 
      NodeList kids = node.getChildNodes();
      int length = kids.getLength();
      
      if (kids != null) {
        for (int ii = 0; ii < length; ii++) {
          Node nodeKid = kids.item(ii);
 
          copyNode.appendChild(nodeKid.cloneNode(false));
 
             appendNodes(nodeKid,nodeKid);
        }
      }
      return copyNode;
  }

Anybody can give me a help ?
thanks a lot
Francesco

[Rajagopal Manohar]

text values are skipped and also some pieces of the xml aren't copied correclty

 NodeList kids = node.getChildNodes(); 

node.getChildNodes();will return only the child nodes (kids ) not descendents (grand children and above).

Text nodes are usually children of element nodes in which they are contained unless they are whitespaces around the element.

See if you can work out a new recursive solution factoring in what I have said