XMLReader
Short Description
XMLReader reads data from XML files using DOM technology. It can also read data from compressed files, input port, and dictionary.
Which XML Component?
Generally, use XMLExtract. It is fast and has GUI to map elements to records. It is based on SAX. XMLReader can use more complex XPath expressions than XMLExtract; for example, it allows you to reference siblings. On the other hand, XMLReader is slower and needs more memory than XMLExtract. XMLReader is based on DOM. XMLReader supersedes the original XMLXPathReader. XMLXPathReader can use more complex XPath expressions than XMLExtract. XMLXPathReader uses DOM. |
Component | Data source | Input ports | Output ports | Each to all outputs | Different to different outputs[1] | Transformation | Transf. req. | Java | CTL | Auto-propagated metadata |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
XMLReader |
XML file |
0-1 |
1-n |
⨯ |
✓ |
⨯ |
⨯ |
⨯ |
⨯ |
⨯ |
Ports
Port type | Number | Required | Description | Metadata |
---|---|---|---|---|
Input |
0 |
⨯ |
For port reading. See Reading from Input Port. |
One field ( |
Output |
0 … n-1 |
✓ |
For correct data records. Connect more than one output ports if your mapping requires that. |
Any |
n |
⨯ |
Error port |
Restricted format. See Metadata. |
Metadata
Metadata Propagation
XMLReader does not propagate metadata.
Metadata Templates
XMLReader has metadata templates on the error port. There are two templates: XMLReader_TreeReader_ErrPortWithoutFile and XMLReader_TreeReader_ErrPortWithFile.
Field number | Field name | Data type | Description |
---|---|---|---|
0 |
port |
integer |
The number of the output port where errors occurred. |
1 |
recordNumber |
integer |
Record number (per source and port). |
2 |
fieldNumber |
integer |
Field number |
3 |
fieldName |
string |
Field name |
4 |
value |
string |
The value which caused the error. |
5 |
message |
string |
Error message |
6 |
file |
string |
Source name; This field is optional |
Requirements on Metadata
Input metadata has one field with datatype byte
, cbyte
or string
.
The metadata on each of the output ports does not need to be the same. Each of these metadata can use Autofilling Functions.
If you intend to use the last output port for error logging, metadata must have a fixed format. Field names can be arbitrary, field types must be same as from the template.
XMLReader Attributes
Attribute | Req | Description | Possible values |
---|---|---|---|
Basic |
|||
File URL |
yes |
Specifies which data source(s) will be read (XML file, input port, dictionary). See Supported File URL Formats for Readers. |
|
Charset |
Encoding of records that are read. When reading from files, the charset is detected automatically (unless you specify it yourself). Important: if you are reading from a port or dictionary, always set Charset explicitly (otherwise errors will occur). There is no autodetection as in reading from files. |
ISO-8859-1 (default) | <other encodings> |
|
Data policy |
Determines what should be done when an error occurs. For more information, see Data Policy |
Strict (default) | Controlled | Lenient |
|
Mapping |
The mapping of the input XML structure to output ports. For more information, see Mapping Definition. |
||
Mapping URL |
An external text file containing the mapping definition. For more information, see Mapping Definition. |
||
Implicit mapping |
If true, map element values to the fields having a same name in record.
Example: An element ( |
false (default) | true |
|
Advanced |
|||
XML features |
A sequence of individual |
Details
Records and fields to be send out to the output ports are specified using XML elements and attributes.
Each Context
element corresponds to one output port attached.
Each Mapping
element defines a mapping to one field.
See the example below.
<Context xpath="/employees/employee" outPort="0">
<Mapping nodeName="salary" cloverField="basic_salary"/>
<Mapping xpath="name/firstname" cloverField="firstname"/>
<Mapping xpath="name/surname" cloverField="surname"/>
<Context xpath="child" outPort="1" parentKey="empID" generatedKey="parentID"/>
<Context xpath="benefits" outPort="2" parentKey="empID;jobID" generatedKey="empID;jobID"
sequenceField="seqKey" sequenceId="Sequence0">
<Context xpath="financial" outPort="3" parentKey="seqKey" generatedKey="seqKey"/>
</Context>
<Context xpath="project" outPort="4" parentKey="empID;jobID" generatedKey="empID;jobID">
<Context xpath="customer" outPort="5" parentKey="projName;projManager;inProjectID;Start"
generatedKey="joinedKey"/>
</Context>
</Context>
The nested structure of <Context>
tags is similar to the nested structure of XML elements in input XML files.
However, the Mapping attribute does not need to copy whole XML structure, it can start at the specified level inside the whole XML file.
Defining the Mapping
-
The Mapping definition is specified in the Mapping URL attribute or in the Mapping attribute.
-
Every Mapping definition consists of
<Context>
tags. Each<Context>
tag defines a mapping of particular XML subtree to record being sent to the specified output port. -
Each
<Context>
tag can surround a serie of nested<Mapping>
tags. These allow to map XML elements or attributes to Clover fields. -
Each of these
<Context>
and<Mapping>
tags contains some Context Tag Attributes and Mapping Tag Attributes, respectively.
XMLReader Context Tags and Mapping Tags
-
Empty Context Tag (Without a Child)
<Context xpath="xpathexpression" />
-
Non-Empty Context Tag (Parent with a Child)
<Context xpath="xpathexpression">
(nested Context and Mapping elements (only children, parents with one or more children, etc.)
</Context>
-
Empty Mapping Tag (Renaming Tag)
-
xpath
is used:<Mapping xpath="xpathexpression" />
-
nodeName
is used:<Mapping nodeName="elementname" />
-
XMLReader Context Tag Attributes
-
Required
The xpath expression can be any XPath query.
Example:
xpath="/tagA/…/tagJ"
-
Optional
The number of an output port to which data is sent. If not defined, no data from this level of Mapping is sent out using such level of Mapping.
Example:
outPort="2"
-
Both
parentKey
andgeneratedKey
must be specified.The sequence of metadata fields on the next parent level separated by a semicolon, colon, or pipe. Number and data types of all these fields must be the same in the
generatedKey
attribute or all values are concatenated to create a unique string value. In such a case, the key has only one field.Example:
parentKey="first_name;last_name"
Equal values of these attributes assure that such records can be joined in the future.
-
Both
parentKey
andgeneratedKey
must be specified.The sequence of metadata fields on the specified level separated by a semicolon, colon, or pipe. Number and data types of all these fields must be the same in the
parentKey
attribute or all values are concatenated to create a unique string value. In such a case, the key has only one field.Example:
generatedKey="f_name;l_name"
Equal values of these attributes assure that such records can be joined in the future.
-
When a pair of
parentKey
andgeneratedKey
does not insure a unique identification of records, a sequence can be defined and used.Id of the sequence.
Example:
sequenceId="Sequence0"
-
When a pair of
parentKey
andgeneratedKey
does not insure a unique identification of records, a sequence can be defined and used.A metadata field on the specified level in which the sequence values are written. Can serve as
parentKey
for the next nested level.Example:
sequenceField="sequenceKey"
-
Optional
Default namespaces that should be used for the
xpath
attribute specified in the<Context>
tag.Pattern:
namespacePaths='prefix1="URI1";…;prefixN="URIN"'
Example:
namespacePaths='n1="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/";n2="http://ops.com/"'
.Remember that if the input XML file contains a default namespace, this
namespacePaths
must be specified in the corresponding place of the Mapping attribute. In addition,namespacePaths
is inherited from the<Context>
element and used by the<Mapping>
elements.
XMLReader Mapping Tag Attributes
-
Either
xpath
ornodeName
must be specified in the<Mapping>
tag.XPath query.
Example:
xpath="tagA/…/salary"
-
Either
xpath
ornodeName
must be specified in the<Mapping>
tag. UsingnodeName
is faster than usingxpath
.XML node that should be mapped to Clover field.
Example:
nodeName="salary"
-
Required
A Clover field to which XML node should be mapped.
The name of the field in the corresponding level.
Example:
cloverField="SALARY"
-
Optional
Specifies whether leading and trailing white spaces should be removed. By default, it removes both leading and trailing white spaces.
Example:
trim="false"
(white spaces will not be removed) -
Optional
Default namespaces that should be used for the
xpath
attribute specified in the<Mapping>
tag.Pattern:¨
namespacePaths='prefix1="URI1";…;prefixN="URIN"'
Example:
namespacePaths='n1="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/";n2="http://ops.com/"'
Remember that if the input XML file contains a default namespace, this
namespacePaths
must be specified in the corresponding place of the Mapping attribute. In addition,namespacePaths
is inherited from the<Context>
element and used by the<Mapping>
elements.
XMLReader Input Mapping Attributes
-
cloverField
Required
Output Clover field to input should be mapped.
Example:
cloverField="SALARY"
-
inputField
Required
Input field to be used.
Example:
inputField="SALARY"
Reading Multivalue Fields
You can read only lists, however (see Multivalue Fields).
Reading maps is handled as reading pure |
An example input file containing these elements (just a code snippet):
...
<attendees>John</attendees>
<attendees>Vicky</attendees>
<attendees>Brian</attendees>
...
can be read back by the component with this mapping:
<Mapping xpath="attendees" cloverField="attendanceList"/>
where attendanceList
is a field of your metadata.
The metadata has to be assigned to the component’s output edge.
After you run the graph, the field gets populated by XML data like this (this will be seen in View data):
[John,Vicky,Brian]
Mapping Input Fields
If you use input port reading in discrete
or source
mode, you can map particular input fields to output fields using the inputField
attribute.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<Context xpath="/rootPath" outPort="0">
<Mapping cloverField="field2" inputField="field2"/>
</Context>
Examples
Reading an XML File
This example shows the basic usage of XMLReader.
You have a retail.xml
file with data about your retail sale.
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<orders>
<order id="1">
<firstname>John</firstname>
<surname>Smith</surname>
<emails>
<email>john.black@example.com</email>
<email>jblack@example.info</email>
</emails>
<item>
<goodName>table</goodName>
<items>1</items>
</item>
</order>
<order id="2">
<firstname>Ellen</firstname>
<surname>Smith</surname>
<emails>
<email>e-tailor@example.net</email>
</emails>
<item>
<goodName>chair</goodName>
<items>3</items>
</item>
<item>
<goodName>tablecloth</goodName>
<item>2</item>
</item>
</order>
</orders>
Create a list containing order_id, customer first name, surname and email(s).
Solution
Create a metadata having 4 fields: order_id (integer), name (string), surname (string), email (string[]).
Set up the attributes File URL, Implicit mapping and Mapping.
Attribute | Value |
---|---|
File URL |
${DATAIN_DIR}/retail.xml |
Mapping |
See the xml below. |
Implicit mapping |
true |
If you set Implicit mapping to true
, fields name and surname are populated by values of corresponding elements.
Content of the Mapping attribute:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<Context xpath="/orders/order" outPort="0">
<Mapping cloverField="order_id" xpath="@id"/>
<Mapping cloverField="email" xpath="./emails/email"/>
</Context>
The XMLReader will send following 2 records to its first output port.
1 John Smith [john.black@example.com, jblack@example.info] 2 Ellen Smith [e-tailor@example.net]
Mapping Input Fields to Output
This example shows reading an input file while some input fields are mapped to an output.
Given a list of customers and paths to the files with orders.
C001|./file001.xml C002|./file002.xml
Each file can contain one or more products:
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<products>
<product>A</product>
<product>B</product>
</products>
Create a list with customers and products:
C001|A C001|B C002|E
Solution
Use the File URL, Charset and Mapping attributes.
Attribute | Value |
---|---|
File URL |
port:$0.filename:source |
Charset |
UTF-8 |
Mapping |
See the code below |
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<Context xpath="/products/product" outPort="0">
<Mapping cloverField="productID" xpath="."/>
<Mapping cloverField="customerID" inputField="ID"/>
</Context>
Sending Nested Elements to Different Output Ports
This example shows reading of an input file with nested elements. The nested elements on different levels are sent out to the different output ports.
The input file countries-and-counties.xml
contains a list of countries.
Each country has a name and contains several counties.
Each county has a name.
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<countries>
<country>
<name>England</name>
<county>
<name>Bristol</name>
</county>
<county>
<name>Cumbria</name>
</county>
<county>
<name>Devon</name>
</county>
</country>
<country>
<name>Scotland</name>
<county>
<name>Edinburgh</name>
</county>
<county>
<name>Fife</name>
</county>
</country>
</countries>
Make a list of countries, and a list of counties with corresponding countries.
Solution
Assign metadata country with the field countryName to the edge on the first output port.
Assign metadata county with the fields countryName and countyName to the edge on the second output port.
Use the File URL, Charset and Mapping attributes.
Attribute | Value |
---|---|
File URL |
${DATAIN_DIR}/countries-and-counties.xml |
Charset |
UTF-8 |
Mapping |
See the code below |
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<Context xpath="/countries/country" outPort="0">
<Mapping cloverField="countryName" xpath="name"/>
<Context xpath="./county" outPort="1">
<Mapping cloverField="countryName" xpath="../name" />
<Mapping cloverField="countyName" xpath="name"/>
</Context>
</Context>
The records sent to the first output port are:
England Scotland
The records sent to the second output port are:
England | Bristol England | Cumbria England | Devon Scotland | Edinburgh Scotland | Fife
Reading XML with Namespace
This example shows you how to read XML that contains different namespaces.
A web page contains SVG graphics and links to other web pages.
The links (<a>
) are of two namespaces: xhtml
and svg
.
Get URLs of the links from SVG image.
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
</head>
<body>
<svg width="1024" height="768"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1">
<a href="http://www.cloverdx.com">
<circle cx="512" cy="384" r="80"/>
</a>
</svg>
<p>
<a href="http://www.example.com">www.example.com</a>
</p>
</body>
</html>
Solution
Use the File URL, Charset and Mapping attributes.
Attribute | Value |
---|---|
File URL |
${DATAIN_DIR}/page.xhtml |
Charset |
UTF-8 |
Mapping |
See the code below |
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<Context xpath="/xhtml:html//svg:a"
namespacePaths='xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml";svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"'
outPort="0">
<Mapping cloverField="field1" xpath="@href"/>
</Context>
The output contains URL:
http://www.cloverdx.com
Best Practices
Implicit Mapping
To avoid typing lines like:
<Mapping xpath="salary" cloverField="salary"/>
Switch on the implicit mapping and use explicit mapping only to populate fields with data from distinct elements.
Avoid Unnecessary Context Elements
The <Context>
element should be used only if you intend to send record corresponding to subtree to the output.
Use
<Context xpath="/elem1/elem11" outPort="0">
<Mapping cloverField="field1" xpath="elem111"/>
</Context>
instead of
<Context xpath="/elem1">
<Context xpath="elem11" outPort="0">
<Mapping cloverField="field1" xpath="elem111"/>
</Context>
</Context>
Specify Charset
We recommend users to explicitly specify Charset.
Compatibility
Version | Compatibility Notice |
---|---|
3.3 |
XMLReader is available since 3.3.x. Reading multivalue fields is now supported; however, you can read only lists (see Multivalue Fields). |
4.1.0-M1 |
You can now assign values of fields from an input port to fields on an output port. |