simple-xml-to-json

A simple XML to JSON converter

Install

Simply install using NPM in your project directory

npm install simple-xml-to-json

Usage and API

1. convertXML(xmlToConvert [,customConverter])

• xmlToConvert <string>
• customConverter <function>
• Returns: <JSON> by default or other if customConverter is used

2. createAST(xmlToConvert)

• xmlToConvert <string>
• Returns: An AST representation of the XML <JSON>

Code Example:

const {convertXML, createAST} = require("simple-xml-to-json")

const myJson = convertXML(myXMLString)
const myYaml = convertXML(myXMLString, yamlConverter)
const myAst = createAST(myXMLString)

Typescript compatible

Notes and how to use code

• The easiest thing to start is to run node example/example.js in your terminal and see what happens.
• There's the xmlToJson.js file for convenience. Just pass in the XML as a String.
• It's MIT licensed so you can do whatever :)
• Profit

How this works in a nutshell

• The library converts the XML to an AST
• There is a JSON converter that takes the AST and spits out a JSON
• You can write your own converters if you need XML-to-ANY-OTHER-FORMAT

Benchmark

Take these results with a grain of salt.
According to a simple benchmark test I performed in April 2024 with a random XML. YMMV.

• The chart results may be outdated. Run the test yourself

Current Drawbacks

• All values are translated to strings in JSON
• There are currently reserved words in the JSON converter:
  • "content" - up to version 1.2.3
  • "children"

Default Mapping & Collisions

By default, an element's text content is mapped to a "content" property, while its attributes are mapped directly to JSON properties of the same name.

The Risk

If an XML element possesses an attribute actually named content while also containing text content, a name collision occurs. This typically results in a parsing error or data loss due to duplicate keys.

Example Collision:

<MyElement content="attr-value">text-content</MyElement>

Version 1.2.3+ Fix

To prevent these collisions, versions newer than 1.2.3 will specifically prefix the "content" attribute name with an @ symbol. So the attribute "content" now becomes the "@content" JSON property.

[!NOTE] If you need to, you can write your own converter from the AST created by the parser, and pass it as a 2nd parameter after the xml string