sweet_xml
A thin Elixir wrapper around :xmerl for simple and effective XML querying and conversion to Elixir data structures.
What is sweet_xml?
SweetXml is an Elixir library that provides a simple and expressive way to query and parse XML documents. It wraps the Erlang :xmerl module, allowing developers to convert XML data into native Elixir structures like maps, lists, strings, and numbers using XPath-like syntax. It solves the problem of cumbersome XML handling in Elixir by offering a clean API with streaming support and transformation capabilities.
Elixir developers who need to parse, query, or transform XML data from APIs, feeds, or legacy systems. It's particularly useful for backend developers working with XML-based web services or data integration pipelines.
Developers choose SweetXml for its elegant API that reduces boilerplate compared to raw :xmerl usage, its support for streaming large documents, and its ability to directly map XML to Elixir data structures with minimal code. The library's focus on safety and composability makes it a reliable choice for production XML processing.
Overview
SweetXml is an Elixir library that simplifies working with XML by providing a clean, expressive API for querying and converting XML documents into native Elixir data structures like maps, lists, strings, and numbers. It wraps the Erlang :xmerl module, making XML parsing more accessible and intuitive for Elixir developers.
Key Features
- XPath Sigil — Use the
~xsigil to write concise XPath 1.0 queries with modifiers for lists, strings, integers, and optional nodes. - Nested Mapping — Transform complex XML hierarchies into nested Elixir maps and keyword lists directly in query specifications.
- Streaming Support — Parse large XML documents efficiently using Elixir streams with tag-based streaming and memory management options.
- Namespace Handling — Work with XML namespaces by adding custom prefixes regardless of the document's original namespace declarations.
- Value Transformation — Apply custom transformation functions to extracted values using
transform_by/2for data cleanup or formatting. - Security Options — Separate parsing from mapping to apply security settings like disabling DTD processing for untrusted documents.
Philosophy
SweetXml aims to make XML parsing in Elixir as straightforward as possible, providing a thin, idiomatic layer over :xmerl that emphasizes simplicity, composability, and safety.
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