DPL XML Documents

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XML

The XML matcher parses XML documents, creating a structure that adapts to the content of the XML document.

The following mapping rules apply when using the XML matcher:

Elements are represented as fields.
Child elements form nested fields.
Attributes are mapped to nested fields by adding @ as a prefix in the field name. For example, attribute <... attr="..."> becomes field @attr.
In the presence of attributes or child elements, the text content of elements is represented as a nested #text field.
The #text field becomes an array when mixing child elements (or comments) with multiple text content parts.
For elements without attributes or child elements, the text content becomes the value of the corresponding field.
Elements that occur multiple times are mapped to arrays.
Namespace prefixes are included in the field name. For example, element <prefix:element> becomes field prefix:element.
XML declarations (version and encoding attributes) are discarded.
Attribute values and text content are represented as strings.
Comments are discarded.

Alternatively, you can use the XML_PLAIN or XML_VERBOSE matchers with a fixed output structure.

Example

An XML document:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<messages xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <thread id="1">
    <topic>XML Parsing</topic>
    <!-- comment -->
    <message id="101">
      <sender>Alice</sender>
      <content type="plain">&lt;b&gt;text&lt;/b&gt;</content>
    </message>
    <message id="102">
      <sender>Bob</sender>
      <content type="plain"><![CDATA[<b>text</b>]]></content>
    </message>
    <message id="103">
      <sender>John</sender>
      <content type="xhtml">More <xhtml:b>text</xhtml:b> here.</content>
    </message>
    <message id="104">
      <sender>Mary</sender>
      <content type="xhtml">Some <!-- hidden text --> included.</content>
    </message>
  </thread>
</messages>

Can be parsed using the pattern:

XML:xml

The result is:

XML_PLAIN

With XML_PLAIN, you get a streamlined version of the XML data. The matcher discards attributes of XML elements. It can be helpful for cases where this information is unnecessary since it reduces the output structure's complexity, making it easier to work with the parsed data.

XML_PLAIN uses the following mapping rules:

Elements are represented as fields.
Child elements form nested fields.
Attributes of elements are discarded.
The text content of elements becomes the value of the corresponding field.
Text content mixed with child elements is discarded.
Elements that occur multiple times are mapped to arrays.
Namespace prefixes are included in the field name. For example, element <prefix:element> becomes field prefix:element.
XML declarations (version and encoding attributes) are discarded.
Text content is represented as strings.
Comments are discarded.

Example

An XML document:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<messages xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <thread id="1">
    <topic>XML Parsing</topic>
    <!-- comment -->
    <message id="101">
      <sender>Alice</sender>
      <content type="plain">&lt;b&gt;text&lt;/b&gt;</content>
    </message>
    <message id="102">
      <sender>Bob</sender>
      <content type="plain"><![CDATA[<b>text</b>]]></content>
    </message>
    <message id="103">
      <sender>John</sender>
      <content type="xhtml">More <xhtml:b>text</xhtml:b> here.</content>
    </message>
    <message id="104">
      <sender>Mary</sender>
      <content type="xhtml">Some <!-- hidden text --> included.</content>
    </message>
  </thread>
</messages>

Can be parsed using the pattern:

XML_PLAIN:xml

The result is:

XML_VERBOSE

You receive the most detailed and comprehensive data structure when parsing XML documents using the XML_VERBOSE matcher. In contrast to the XML matcher, the XML_VERBOSE matcher creates an output structure that is fixed and does not depend on the presence of element attributes or child elements.

XML_VERBOSE uses the following mapping rules:

Elements are represented as fields.
Child elements form nested fields.
Attributes are mapped to nested fields by adding @ as a prefix in the field name. For example, attribute <... attr="..."> becomes field @attr.
The text content of elements is represented as a nested #text field.
The #text field becomes an array when mixing child elements (or comments) with multiple text content parts.
Elements that occur multiple times are mapped to arrays.
Namespace prefixes are included in the field name. For example, element <prefix:element> becomes field prefix:element.
XML declarations (version and encoding attributes) are mapped to fields at the root element level.
Attribute values and text content are represented as strings.
Comments are discarded.

Example

An XML document:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<messages xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <thread id="1">
    <topic>XML Parsing</topic>
    <!-- comment -->
    <message id="101">
      <sender>Alice</sender>
      <content type="plain">&lt;b&gt;text&lt;/b&gt;</content>
    </message>
    <message id="102">
      <sender>Bob</sender>
      <content type="plain"><![CDATA[<b>text</b>]]></content>
    </message>
    <message id="103">
      <sender>John</sender>
      <content type="xhtml">More <xhtml:b>text</xhtml:b> here.</content>
    </message>
    <message id="104">
      <sender>Mary</sender>
      <content type="xhtml">Some <!-- hidden text --> included.</content>
    </message>
  </thread>
</messages>

Can be parsed using the pattern:

XML_VERBOSE:xml

The result is: