Groovy-XML

Introduction

Groovy-XML is a powerful and flexible tool for working with XML in Groovy. It provides a convenient and expressive syntax to parse, manipulate, and generate XML documents. With its seamless integration with Groovy language features, it simplifies working with XML data in your applications.

Features

Parsing XML

Groovy-XML allows you to easily parse XML documents and convert them into Groovy objects. You can use the XmlParser class to parse XML files or strings. Here is an example:

def xml = '''
<book>
  <title>Groovy in Action</title>
  <author>Guillaume Laforge</author>
</book>
'''
def parsedXml = new XmlParser().parseText(xml)

// Accessing the XML elements
def title = parsedXml.title.text()
def author = parsedXml.author.text()

println "Title: $title"
println "Author: $author"

Navigating XML Structure

Groovy-XML provides a convenient way to navigate through the XML structure using the dot notation. You can access elements, attributes, and their values easily. Here is an example:

def xml = '''
<book>
  <title>Effective Java</title>
  <author>Joshua Bloch</author>
  <publisher>Addison-Wesley</publisher>
</book>
'''
def parsedXml = new XmlParser().parseText(xml)

// Accessing the XML elements and attributes
def title = parsedXml.title.text()
def author = parsedXml.author.text()
def publisher = parsedXml.publisher.text()

println "Title: $title"
println "Author: $author"
println "Publisher: $publisher"

Modifying XML

Groovy-XML allows you to modify XML documents easily. You can change element values, add or remove elements, and update attributes. Here is an example:

def xml = '''
<book>
  <title>JavaScript: The Good Parts</title>
  <author>Douglas Crockford</author>
</book>
'''
def parsedXml = new XmlParser().parseText(xml)

// Modifying XML elements and attributes
parsedXml.title[0].value = 'JavaScript: The Definitive Guide' // Changing title
parsedXml.appendNode { publisher('O\'Reilly Media') } // Adding a new element

println parsedXml

Generating XML

Groovy-XML provides a convenient way to generate XML documents programmatically using the MarkupBuilder or StreamingMarkupBuilder classes. Here is an example:

import groovy.xml.*

def writer = new StringWriter()
def xml = new MarkupBuilder(writer)

xml.books {
  book(title: 'The Pragmatic Programmer', author: 'David Thomas') {
    publisher('Addison-Wesley')
  }
}

println writer.toString()

The above code will generate the following XML:

<books>
  <book title="The Pragmatic Programmer" author="David Thomas">
    <publisher>Addison-Wesley</publisher>
  </book>
</books>

Conclusion

Groovy-XML is a versatile library for working with XML in Groovy. Its intuitive and expressive syntax makes it easy to parse, manipulate, and generate XML documents. Whether you need to read configuration files, consume web services, or generate structured data, Groovy-XML provides the necessary tools to simplify your XML operations.