Python not editing XML while using etree

Question

I am using an XML document to keep track of user information, in python. I was doing some tests in IDLE, but for some reason the XML is not being edited. I looked all over the python docs and I couldn't find the issue at all. Here is what I was typing:

>>> import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
>>> tree = ET.parse('./usrData.xml')
>>> root = tree.getroot()
>>> root.tag
meritTracker

Up until this part, everything was working fine. I know it read the right document, because it showed the right tag. But then:

>>>newElement = ET.Element('Name')
>>>ET.SubElement(root, newElement)
<Element <Element 'Name' at 0x1022119f0> at 0x102211a48>

The XML Doc doesn't change at all. I then reset IDLE, and did this:

>>> import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
>>> tree = ET.parse('./usrData.xml')
>>> root = tree.getroot()
>>> root.tag
meritTracker 
>>>newElement = ET.Element('Name')
>>>root.append(newElement)
>>>root.getchildren()

Still nothing. Then I tried the long way around:

>>> file = open('./usrData.xml','r+')
>>> tree = ET.parse(file)
>>> root = tree.getroot()
>>> root.append(ET.Element('Name'))
>>> root.getchildren()
[<Element 'Name' at 0x101756680>]

However, the XML still did not change! How can I fix this?

Note: Im running Python 3.3 on Mac OS X 10.8

jamylak · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-26 02:22:19Z

3

You need to write your output back to the file:

tree.write('output.xml')

answered Apr 26, 2013 at 2:22

jamylak

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3 Comments

elder4222 Over a year ago

Do I write it out after every change or only when the program is completed? In other words, does Python store the changes in local memory?

jamylak Over a year ago

@elder4222 no just when the program is completed, you should be finished editing your tree before you need to use it again. Is that not the case here?

elder4222 Over a year ago

yes, that is the case. I was just confirming. Thanks for all your help guys!

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