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 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:

builder.create({
  root: {
    xmlbuilder: {
      repo: {
        '@type': 'git', // attributes start with @
        '#text': 'git://github.com/oozcitak/xmlbuilder-js.git' // text node
      }
    }
  }
});

If you need to do some processing:

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);
}

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.

Changelog

[7.0.0] - 2016-03-21

• Processing instructions are now created as regular nodes. This is a major breaking change if you are using processing instructions. Previously processing instructions were inserted before their parent node. After this change processing instructions are appended to the children of the parent node. Note that it is not currently possible to insert processing instructions before or after the root element.

  root.ele('node').ins('pi');
  // pre-v7
  <?pi?><node/>
  // v7
  <node><?pi?></node>