XPath to select multiple tags

One correct answer is:

/a/b/*[self::c or self::d or self::e]

Do note that this

a/b/*[local-name()='c' or local-name()='d' or local-name()='e']

is both too-long and incorrect. This XPath expression will select nodes like:

OhMy:c

NotWanted:d 

QuiteDifferent:e

Why not a/b/(c|d|e)? I just tried with Saxon XML library (wrapped up nicely with some Clojure goodness), and it seems to work. abc.xml is the doc described by OP.

(require '[saxon :as xml])
(def abc-doc (xml/compile-xml (slurp "abc.xml")))
(xml/query "a/b/(c|d|e)" abc-doc)
=> (#<XdmNode <c>C1</c>>
    #<XdmNode <d>D1</d>>
    #<XdmNode <e>E1</e>>
    #<XdmNode <c>C2</c>>
    #<XdmNode <d>D2</d>>
    #<XdmNode <e>E1</e>>)

You can avoid the repetition with an attribute test instead:

a/b/*[local-name()='c' or local-name()='d' or local-name()='e']

Contrary to Dimitre's antagonistic opinion, the above is not incorrect in a vacuum where the OP has not specified the interaction with namespaces. The self:: axis is namespace restrictive, local-name() is not. If the OP's intention is to capture c|d|e regardless of namespace (which I'd suggest is even a likely scenario given the OR nature of the problem) then it is "another answer that still has some positive votes" which is incorrect.

You can't be definitive without definition, though I'm quite happy to delete my answer as genuinely incorrect if the OP clarifies his question such that I am incorrect.