afv-library/skills/dx-code-analyzer-custom-rule-create/examples/metadata-xml-example-fields-api.md

Metadata XML Examples: Fields and API Version

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Example 2: Require Description on Custom Fields

Problem: Custom fields without descriptions make orgs hard to maintain.

Target file: *.field-meta.xml

Sample violating metadata:

<CustomField xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <fullName>Revenue__c</fullName>
    <label>Revenue</label>
    <type>Currency</type>
    <!-- No <description> element! -->
</CustomField>

XPath (PMD 7):

//*[local-name()='CustomField'][not(*[local-name()='description']) or *[local-name()='description'][not(@Text)]]

How it works: Matches CustomField elements that either lack a <description> child entirely, or have one with no text content (@Text absent means empty).

PMD ruleset:

<rule name="FieldRequiresDescription"
      language="xml"
      message="Custom field must have a non-empty description"
      class="net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.rule.xpath.XPathRule">
    <description>Enforces that all custom fields have a description for documentation</description>
    <priority>3</priority>
    <properties>
        <property name="xpath">
            <value><![CDATA[
//*[local-name()='CustomField'][not(*[local-name()='description']) or *[local-name()='description'][not(@Text)]]
]]></value>
        </property>
    </properties>
</rule>

---

Example 3: Enforce Minimum API Version

Problem: Metadata using API versions older than 60.0 should be updated.

Target file: Any *-meta.xml with <apiVersion>

Sample violating metadata:

<ApexClass xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <apiVersion>52.0</apiVersion>
    <status>Active</status>
</ApexClass>

XPath (PMD 7):

//*[local-name()='apiVersion']/*[number(@Text) < 60]

How it works: Finds <apiVersion> elements, then navigates to their child text node with /*. The @Text attribute on the text node holds the value (e.g., "52.0"). number(@Text) converts it to a float, and flags if < 60.

⚠️ Key insight: @Text lives on CHILD text nodes, not on elements. You must use /* to reach the text node — putting [@Text] directly on the element (after local-name()='apiVersion') returns 0 matches.

PMD ruleset:

<rule name="MinimumApiVersion"
      language="xml"
      message="API version must be 60.0 or higher — update this metadata"
      class="net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.rule.xpath.XPathRule">
    <description>Enforces minimum API version of 60.0 across all metadata</description>
    <priority>3</priority>
    <properties>
        <property name="xpath">
            <value><![CDATA[
//*[local-name()='apiVersion']/*[number(@Text) < 60]
]]></value>
        </property>
    </properties>
</rule>