I have a file: <xml> <component>something <system>somethingDeeper <value>somethingDeepest</value> </system> </component> <component>somethinfDifferent <value>somethingDifferentDeeper</value> </component> <value>somethingNew</value> </xml> So i want to distinguish what is inside another tag (ex. <system>) what is not. How to do this with NSXMLParser ? I currently use BOOL ivar's but this is a lot of tags and this is not as elegant as i want it to be. I know that NSXMLParser is a SAX parser and i understand that. In above example I will be enter to didEndElement method three times with: elementName equal value Is there a more elegant way to distinguish what entry was from <component> tag above what not?