Changing value of XML data using Node JS

Question

I have a XML document that looks like this:

 <Data id="1401" href="http://222222222">
  <definition id="12218" href="http://11"></definition>
  <Data-List count="1">
    <DataStep type="3">
      <completed_time>07/04/2017 17:18:11</completed_time>
      <status>3</status>
    </DataStep>
  </Data-List>
  <information>abcdefg</information>
</Data>

I would like to change the information data abcdefg to a different piece of string that comes from a different variable.

So it looks like this:

 <Data id="1401" href="http://222222222">
  <definition id="12218" href="http://11"></definition>
  <Data-List count="1">
    <DataStep type="3">
      <completed_time>07/04/2017 17:18:11</completed_time>
      <status>3</status>
    </DataStep>
  </Data-List>
  <information>example</information>
</Data>

Is this possible to do directly in Node JS without changing this XML to a json, modifying it and then converting back to XML? I have tried this however it did not seem to work, creating weird arrays and '$' on the XML conversion.

Any suggestions on how I could do this?

Do you parse the XML or do you read the file as a string and try to replace the abcdefg by example? — PeterMader
– PeterMader, Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 18:20
Its read as a string - however abcdefg and example will change each time — noDe1
– noDe1, Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 18:20
Use something like github.com/Leonidas-from-XIV/node-xml2js to parse XML then modify easily — Arpit Solanki
– Arpit Solanki, Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 18:23
@ArpitSolanki but then I need to convert it back to XML, which is where things go wrong as described above — noDe1
– noDe1, Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 18:24
It won't go wrong. If it can convert it to json then it can convert json back to XML — Arpit Solanki
– Arpit Solanki, Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 18:27

CaptainJ · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-04 18:27:25Z

1

I would use cherriojs https://github.com/cheeriojs/cheerio .

Itis the nodejs implemetation of jQuery so DOM manipulations are easy. At the top of your file you have to set the xmlMode:true after you require it.

var $ = cheerio.load(your-xml-doc, {
          xmlMode: true
        });

Then you can use something like

$('information').text('example');

edited Jul 4, 2017 at 18:27

answered Jul 4, 2017 at 18:25

CaptainJ

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3 Comments

noDe1 Over a year ago

I do not use JQuery? I use Node JS

CaptainJ Over a year ago

You npm install cherrio then require it at the top of the file. Then all the DOM methods form jQuery are available in nodejs. It is the simplest method, just look at the docs in the link. They are very well written.

user8086575 Over a year ago

Seconded for cheerio. It's my go-to for quick XML manipulation.

Angels · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-04 19:07:21Z

0

1)You can parse your xml document like a normal string, find information tag with regular expression and change it.

xml = xml.replace(/<information>[a-z0-9_-]*<\/information\>/, '<information>example</information>');

2)You can use some module, like xmldoc, to parse the document. https://github.com/nfarina/xmldoc

let xmldoc = require('xmldoc');
let document = new xmldoc.XmlDocument(data.toString());
document.descendantWithPath('information').val = "example";

edited Jul 4, 2017 at 19:07

answered Jul 4, 2017 at 18:22

Angels

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2 Comments

noDe1 Over a year ago

How would I use regular expression on this to modify it? Im a beginner to coding so this does not mean much to me

Arpit Solanki Over a year ago

@angels some code snippet or example would be great to make this as a complete answer

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