quickxml_to_serde

Convert XML to JSON using quick-xml and serde. Inspired by node2object.

Usage examples

Basic

Dependencies:

use std::fs::File;
use std::io::prelude::*;
use quickxml_to_serde::xml_string_to_json;

Rust code to perform a conversion:

// read an XML file into a string
let mut xml_file = File::open("test.xml")?;
let mut xml_contents = String::new();
xml_file.read_to_string(&mut xml_contents)?;

// convert the XML string into JSON with default config params
let json = xml_string_to_json(xml_contents, &Config::new_with_defaults());

println!("{}", json);

Custom config

The following config example changes the default behavior to:

1. Treat numbers starting with 0 as strings. E.g. 0001 will be "0001"
2. Do not prefix JSON properties created from attributes
3. Use text as the JSON property name for values of XML text nodes where the text is mixed with other nodes
4. Exclude empty elements from the output

let conf = Config::new_with_custom_values(true, "", "text", NullValue::Ignore);

See embedded docs for Config struct for more details.

Conversion specifics

• The order of XML elements is not preserved
• Namespace identifiers are dropped. E.g. <xs:a>123</xs:a> becomes { "a":123 }
• Integers and floats are converted into JSON integers and floats. See Config members for some fine-tuning.
• XML attributes become JSON properties at the same level as child elements. E.g.

<Test TestId="0001">
  <Input>1</Input>
</Test>

is converted into

"Test":
  {
    "Input": 1,
    "TestId": "0001"
  }

• XML prolog is dropped. E.g. <?xml version="1.0"?>.
• XML namespace definitions are dropped. E.g. <Tests xmlns="http://www.adatum.com" /> becomes "Tests":{}
• Processing instructions, comments and DTD are ignored
• Presence of CDATA in the XML results in malformed JSON
• XML attributes can be prefixed via Config::xml_attr_prefix. E.g. using the default prefix @ converts <a b="y" /> into { "a": {"@b":"y"} }. You can use no prefix or set your own value.
• Complex XML elements with text nodes put the XML text node value into a JSON property named in Config::xml_text_node_prop_name. E.g. setting xml_text_node_prop_name to text will convert

<CardNumber Month="3" Year="19">1234567</CardNumber>

into

{
  "CardNumber": {
          "Month": 3,
          "Year": 19,
          "text": 1234567
        }
}

• Elements with identical names are collected into arrays. E.g.

<Root>
  <TaxRate>7.25</TaxRate>
  <Data>
    <Category>A</Category>
    <Quantity>3</Quantity>
    <Price>24.50</Price>
  </Data>
  <Data>
    <Category>B</Category>
    <Quantity>1</Quantity>
    <Price>89.99</Price>
  </Data>
</Root>

is converted into

{
  "Root": {
    "Data": [
      {
        "Category": "A",
        "Price": 24.5,
        "Quantity": 3
      },
      {
        "Category": "B",
        "Price": 89.99,
        "Quantity": 1
      }
    ],
    "TaxRate": 7.25
  }
}

• If TaxRate element from the above example was inserted between Data elements it would still produce the same JSON with all Data properties grouped into a single array.

Additional info and examples

See mod tests inside lib.rs for more usage examples.

Edge cases

XML and JSON are not directly compatible for 1:1 conversion without additional hints to the converter. Feel free to post an issue if you come across one.