Introduction
Minidom is a lightweight XML parser and builder for Python. It provides a simple yet powerful way to manipulate XML documents. With Minidom, you can easily parse XML files, navigate through their structure, extract data, and even create new XML documents.
Installation
Requirements:
- Python 3.x
To install Minidom, you can use pip, the package installer for Python:
pip install minidom
Usage
Parsing XML
To parse an XML document using Minidom, you can follow these steps:
- Import the minidom module:
from xml.dom import minidom
- Load the XML file:
doc = minidom.parse('path/to/file.xml')
- Access elements and attributes:
root = doc.documentElement
elements = doc.getElementsByTagName('element_name')
for element in elements:
attribute_value = element.getAttribute('attribute_name')
# Do something with the element or attribute
- Don’t forget to close the XML file:
doc.unlink()
Creating XML
Minidom also allows you to create new XML documents. Here’s an example:
from xml.dom import minidom
# Create the root element
doc = minidom.Document()
root = doc.createElement('root')
doc.appendChild(root)
# Create child elements and add them to the root element
child1 = doc.createElement('child1')
root.appendChild(child1)
child2 = doc.createElement('child2')
root.appendChild(child2)
# Save the XML document to a file
with open('path/to/new_file.xml', 'w') as f:
f.write(doc.toprettyxml())
Additional Features
Navigating through XML Documents
Minidom provides various methods to navigate through XML documents:
getElementsByTagName(element_name)
: Get a list of elements with a specific tag name.childNodes
: Get a list of child nodes of an element.parentNode
: Get the parent node of an element.nextSibling
andpreviousSibling
: Get the next or previous sibling of an element.
Modifying XML Documents
Minidom allows you to modify existing XML documents:
setAttribute(attribute_name, attribute_value)
: Set attribute values of an element.appendChild(node)
: Append a new child node to an element.removeChild(node)
: Remove a child node from an element.
Exceptions
Minidom may raise exceptions in certain situations. Here are some common exceptions:
xml.dom.DOMException
: Raised for generic DOM-related exceptions.xml.parsers.expat.ExpatError
: Raised for errors related to XML parsing.
Conclusion
Minidom is a versatile and easy-to-use XML parser and builder for Python. Whether you need to parse existing XML files or create new ones, Minidom provides a convenient interface for manipulating XML documents. Enjoy exploring its features and unleash the power of XML processing with Minidom!