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DecConvert string to xml and xml to string using javascript
01 Feb 2024
Intermediate
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7 min read
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Convert String to XML and XML to String using Javascript: An Overview
Hello there! Have you ever wanted to know how to switch between text and XML in JavaScript? It's so easy! You can easily convert a string to XML and vice versa. You can transform your data from text to structured XML format with just a few lines of code. Let's get into the JavaScript Tutorial magicConverting String to XML
Converting a string to XML involves converting unstructured text data into a structured manner using XML tags and attributes.Methods for Converting a String to XML Using JavaScript
Following are the Methods for Converting a String to XML Using JavascriptDOMParser Method
The DOMParser object has a method called parseFromString that parses a string that contains either HTML or XML and produces a document object (HTMLDocument or XMLDocument). This allows you to directly load and manipulate XML data within your JavaScript code.Example of DOMParser Method
const xmlString = "<root><element>data</element></root>";const xmlDoc = new DOMParser().parseFromString(xmlString, "text/xml");console.log(xmlDoc.documentElement.textContent); // Output: data
XMLHttpRequest Object
The XMLHttpRequest object communicates with a server by sending HTTP requests (GET, POST, etc.) and receiving replies (text, JSON, XML). While it cannot directly convert text to XML, it can retrieve an XML document from a server and parse it into an XML object using DOMParser.Read More: 50+ Javascript Interview Questions and Answers
const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();xhr.open("GET", "https://example.com/data.xml", true); // Replace URL with your XML filexhr.onload = () => { if (xhr.status === 200) { const xmlDoc = new DOMParser().parseFromString(xhr.responseText, "text/xml"); // Access XML data using xmlDoc object } else { console.error("Error fetching XML"); }};xhr.send();
This code initially generates and configures an XMLHttpRequest to retrieve an XML file from a given URL. It creates an onload handler that, if successful, parses the obtained XML into a document object for further processing.Third-Party Libraries
Parses XML texts or files into JavaScript objects & vice versa, allowing for simple XML data processing and serialization.Example of Third-Party Libraries
const xmlString = "<data><name>John</name><age>30</age></data>";const jsObject = xml2js.parseString(xmlString, {explicitArray: false});console.log(jsObject.data.name); // Output: John
Converting XML to String
The process of converting XML to a string involves converting structured data encoded in XML format into a plain text string.Methods for Converting XML to String
Following are the Methods for Converting XML to StringXMLSerializer Method
In JavaScript, the XMLSerializer object has a serializeToString method that converts a DOM node (an XML document or any element within it) into its equivalent XML string representation.Read More: Javascript Developer Salary in India
Example of XMLSerializer Method
// Sample XML documentconst xmlString = '<book><title>Moby Dick</title><author>Herman Melville</author></book>';// Parse the XML string into a DOM documentconst xmlDoc = new DOMParser().parseFromString(xmlString, 'text/xml');// Create an XMLSerializer objectconst serializer = new XMLSerializer();// Convert the document to a stringconst serializedString = serializer.serializeToString(xmlDoc);console.log(serializedString); // Output: `<book><title>Moby Dick</title><author>Herman Melville</author></book>`
String Concatenation
String concatenation is the process of bringing together numerous strings. In this case, manually constructing the XML string would entail looping through elements and attributes, adding tags, content, and separators such as <and >.Example of String Concatenation
// NOT recommended! Error-prone and fragile
const xmlString = "";
xmlString += "<book>";
xmlString += "<title>Moby Dick</title>";
xmlString += "<author>Herman Melville</author>";
xmlString += "</book>";console.log(xmlString); // Output: "<book><title>Moby Dick</title><author>Herman Melville</author></book>"
Summary
JavaScript provides several methods for converting between text and XML. DOMParser converts text to XML objects, whereas XMLSerializer converts XML back to text. The server-side XML fetching is handled via XMLHttpRequest. Consider using third-party libraries for complex structures. String concatenation, while inefficient, is sufficient for simple cases. Choose a method depending on your requirements and level of complexity.
FAQs
toXMLString() method transforms an XML object into an XML string. To move across an XML document, you must use the other XML get methods.
We begin by creating a TransformerFactory and a Transformer for XML transformation. The modified XML is then stored in text form using a StringWriter. The transform() method then modifies the XML Document, which we may store into the result string using stringWrite.
XML Stringify is a simple utility for converting XML to XML Strings and escaping special characters.
We can explicitly convert values of Boolean or numeric data types to string values using String() or n. toString() to guarantee that our code operates as expected.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a markup language that is similar to HTML but lacks predefined tags. Instead, you create your tags that are tailored to your requirements. This is an effective method for storing data in a format that can be stored, found, and shared.
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