xml

What is xml?

The 'xml' npm package is a utility for working with XML data in Node.js. It provides functionalities for parsing XML strings and converting JavaScript objects into XML format. This package is useful for applications that need to interact with XML data or APIs that use XML for data exchange.

What are xml's main functionalities?

Parsing XML

This feature allows the parsing of XML strings into JavaScript objects, enabling easy access and manipulation of the data contained within the XML.

const xml = require('xml');
const xmlString = '<root><child>value</child></root>';
const parsedXml = xml.parse(xmlString);
console.log(parsedXml);

Building XML

This feature enables the conversion of JavaScript objects into XML strings, which is useful for creating XML data dynamically from an application.

const xml = require('xml');
const jsObject = { root: { child: 'value' } };
const xmlString = xml(jsObject);
console.log(xmlString);

Other packages similar to xml

xml2js

xml2js is a comprehensive XML parsing library that converts XML to JavaScript objects and vice versa. It offers more advanced options for customization and handling of XML attributes and text nodes compared to 'xml', making it suitable for more complex XML manipulation tasks.

fast-xml-parser

fast-xml-parser is a high-performance XML parser that can validate and parse XML data quickly. It supports both conversion from XML to JSON and JSON to XML. It is known for its speed and efficiency, especially in handling large XML files, which might give it an edge over 'xml' for performance-critical applications.

README

xml

Fast and simple Javascript-based XML generator/builder for Node projects.

Install

$ npm install xml

API

xml(xmlObject, options)

Returns a XML string.

var xml = require('xml');
var xmlString = xml(xmlObject, options);

xmlObject

xmlObject is a normal JavaScript Object/JSON object that defines the data for the XML string.

Keys will become tag names. Values can be an array of xmlObjects or a value such as a string or number.

xml({a: 1}) === '<a>1</a>'
xml({nested: [{ keys: [{ fun: 'hi' }]}]}) === '<nested><keys><fun>hi</fun></keys></nested>'

There are two special keys:

_attr

Set attributes using a hash of key/value pairs.

xml({a: [{ _attr: { attributes: 'are fun', too: '!' }}, 1]}) === '<a attributes="are fun" too="!">1</a>'

_cdata

Value of _cdata is wrapped in xml ![CDATA[]] so the data does not need to be escaped.

xml({a: { _cdata: "i'm not escaped: <xml>!"}}) === '<a><![CDATA[i\'m not escaped: <xml>!]]></a>'

Mixed together:

xml({a: { _attr: { attr:'hi'}, _cdata: "I'm not escaped" }}) === '<a attr="hi"><![CDATA[I\'m not escaped]]></a>'

options

indent optional string What to use as a tab. Defaults to no tabs (compressed). For example you can use '\t' for tab character, or ' ' for two-space tabs.

stream Return the result as a stream.

Stream Example

var elem = xml.element({ _attr: { decade: '80s', locale: 'US'} });
var stream = xml({ toys: elem }, { stream: true });
stream.on('data', function (chunk) {console.log("data:", chunk)});
elem.push({ toy: 'Transformers' });
elem.push({ toy: 'GI Joe' });
elem.push({ toy: [{name:'He-man'}] });
elem.close();

/*
result:
data: <toys decade="80s" locale="US">
data:     <toy>Transformers</toy>
data:     <toy>GI Joe</toy>
data:     <toy>
            <name>He-man</name>
          </toy>
data: </toys>
*/

Declaration optional Add default xml declaration as first node.

options are:

• encoding: 'value'
• standalone: 'value'

Declaration Example

xml([ { a: 'test' }], { declaration: true })
//result: '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><a>test</a>'

xml([ { a: 'test' }], { declaration: { standalone: 'yes', encoding: 'UTF-16' }})
//result: '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16" standalone="yes"?><a>test</a>'

Examples

Simple Example

var example1 = [ { url: 'http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=opower' } ];
console.log(XML(example1));
//<url>http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=opower</url>

Example with attributes

var example2 = [ { url: { _attr: { hostname: 'www.google.com', path: '/search?aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=opower' }  } } ];
console.log(XML(example2));
//result: <url hostname="www.google.com" path="/search?aq=f&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=opower"/>

Example with array of same-named elements and nice formatting

var example3 = [ { toys: [ { toy: 'Transformers' } , { toy: 'GI Joe' }, { toy: 'He-man' } ] } ];
console.log(XML(example3));
//result: <toys><toy>Transformers</toy><toy>GI Joe</toy><toy>He-man</toy></toys>
console.log(XML(example3, true));
/*
result:
<toys>
    <toy>Transformers</toy>
    <toy>GI Joe</toy>
    <toy>He-man</toy>
</toys>
*/

More complex example

var example4 = [ { toys: [ { _attr: { decade: '80s', locale: 'US'} }, { toy: 'Transformers' } , { toy: 'GI Joe' }, { toy: 'He-man' } ] } ];
console.log(XML(example4, true));
/*
result:
<toys decade="80s" locale="US">
    <toy>Transformers</toy>
    <toy>GI Joe</toy>
    <toy>He-man</toy>
</toys>
*/

Even more complex example

var example5 = [ { toys: [ { _attr: { decade: '80s', locale: 'US'} }, { toy: 'Transformers' } , { toy: [ { _attr: { knowing: 'half the battle' } }, 'GI Joe'] }, { toy: [ { name: 'He-man' }, { description: { _cdata: '<strong>Master of the Universe!</strong>'} } ] } ] } ];
console.log(XML(example5, true));
/*
result:
<toys decade="80s" locale="US">
    <toy>Transformers</toy>
    <toy knowing="half the battle">
        GI Joe
    </toy>
    <toy>
        <name>He-man</name>
        <description><![CDATA[<strong>Master of the Universe!</strong>]]></description>
    </toy>
</toys>
*/

Tests

Tests included use AVA. Use npm test to run the tests.

$ npm test

Examples

There are examples in the examples directory.

Contributing

Contributions to the project are welcome. Feel free to fork and improve. I accept pull requests when tests are included.