xmlbuilder

What is xmlbuilder?

The xmlbuilder npm package is a utility that allows for the easy creation of XML documents with a simple and readable API. It provides a way to build XML documents from JavaScript objects, and it supports various customization options for attributes, namespaces, and more.

What are xmlbuilder's main functionalities?

Creating an XML document

This feature allows you to create a complete XML document. You can specify attributes with '@' and text content with '#text'.

{"root":{"xmlbuilder":{"@version":"1.0","@encoding":"UTF-8","foo":{"@bar":"baz","#text":"Hello xmlbuilder!"}}}}

Customizing XML declaration

This feature allows you to customize the XML declaration by specifying the version, encoding, and standalone attributes.

{"declaration":{"@version":"1.0","@encoding":"UTF-8","@standalone":"yes"},"root":{"foo":"bar"}}

Adding attributes

This feature allows you to add attributes to an element. Attributes are prefixed with '@' and can be combined with text content.

{"root":{"ele":{"@id":"1","@name":"test","#text":"An element with attributes"}}}

Creating comments

This feature allows you to insert comments into your XML document using the '#comment' key.

{"root":{"#comment":"This is a comment","foo":"bar"}}

Building from an object

This feature allows you to build an XML document from a JavaScript object, with nested elements represented as nested objects.

{"root":{"ele":{"subele":"text","subele2":"text2"}}}

Other packages similar to xmlbuilder

fast-xml-parser

fast-xml-parser is a very fast XML to JavaScript object converter. It can also convert back from an object to XML. It provides options to validate, parse, or traverse XML. It is different from xmlbuilder in that it focuses on parsing existing XML content rather than building new XML documents.

xml2js

xml2js is another popular package that can convert XML to a JavaScript object and vice versa. It is similar to xmlbuilder in that it allows for the creation of XML, but it also provides parsing capabilities, which xmlbuilder does not.

xml-js

xml-js can convert XML text to a JavaScript object (JSON) and vice versa. It provides a comprehensive set of options for conversion and can handle comments, processing instructions, and CDATA. It is similar to xmlbuilder but also includes conversion from XML to JSON.

README

xmlbuilder-js

An XML builder for node.js similar to java-xmlbuilder.

Installation:

npm install --save xmlbuilder

Usage:

var builder = require('xmlbuilder');

var xml = builder.create('root')
  .ele('xmlbuilder')
    .ele('repo', {'type': 'git'}, 'git://github.com/oozcitak/xmlbuilder-js.git')
  .end({ pretty: true});

console.log(xml);

will result in:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<root>
  <xmlbuilder>
    <repo type="git">git://github.com/oozcitak/xmlbuilder-js.git</repo>
  </xmlbuilder>
</root>

It is also possible to convert objects into nodes:

var builder = require('xmlbuilder');

var obj = {
  root: {
    xmlbuilder: {
      repo: {
        '@type': 'git', // attributes start with @
        '#text': 'git://github.com/oozcitak/xmlbuilder-js.git' // text node
      }
    }
  }
};

var xml = builder.create(obj).end({ pretty: true});
console.log(xml);

If you need to do some processing:

var builder = require('xmlbuilder');

var root = builder.create('squares');
root.com('f(x) = x^2');
for(var i = 1; i <= 5; i++)
{
  var item = root.ele('data');
  item.att('x', i);
  item.att('y', i * i);
}

var xml = root.end({ pretty: true});
console.log(xml);

This will result in:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<squares>
  <!-- f(x) = x^2 -->
  <data x="1" y="1"/>
  <data x="2" y="4"/>
  <data x="3" y="9"/>
  <data x="4" y="16"/>
  <data x="5" y="25"/>
</squares>

See the wiki for details and examples for more complex examples.