[XML-SIG] Beginner XML-Question

[tpassin@home.com]

Manfred Weber" asked

>I am absolut beginner...to Python..
>could anyone just send me a simple PythonScript using the xmlLib...

Is this simple enough?
1) Create a file "test.xml" containing your xml example.
2) Run xmllib against it (this is on Win95)(python must be on your path or
be run from a batch file):

D:>python "c:\Program Files\Python\Lib\xmllib.py" test.xml

The output:

start tag: <collection>
data: '\012  '
start tag: <comic title="Sandman" number="62" >
data: '\012    '
start tag: <writer>
data: 'Neil Gaiman'
end tag: </writer>
data: '\012    '
start tag: <penciller pages="1-9,18-24" >
data: 'Glyn Dillon'
end tag: </penciller>
data: '\012    '
start tag: <penciller pages="10-17" >
data: 'Charles Vess'
end tag: </penciller>
data: '\012  '
end tag: </comic>
data: '\012'
end tag: </collection>
data: '\012 \012'

Here is another simple program (not using your data):
"""
bare.py - Demonstrate handling specifically-named elements using xmllib
"""
import xmllib

class bareBones(xmllib.XMLParser):
    def __init__(self):
        xmllib.XMLParser.__init__(self)

    # Report start of element  <specialTag>
    def start_specialTag(self, attrs):
        print "Start specialTag"
        print "element attributes:", attrs
        self.handle_data=self.do_data # use our data handler to handle the
content

    # Report reaching </specialTag>
    def end_specialTag(self):
        print "End specialTag"
        self.handle_data=self.null_data # reset the data handler

    # A minimal data handler
    def do_data(self,data):
        print "===============\n",data,"\n==============="

    def null_data(self,data):pass

doc=\
"""<?xml version="1.0"?>
<doc>
<e1>This element won't be reported</e1>
<specialTag a="attribute 1">This one will</specialTag>
</doc>
"""

if __name__=="__main__":
    parser=bareBones()
    parser.feed(doc)
    parser.close()



I'm running version 0.2 of xmllib, which came with my Python 1.5.2
distribution.

Cheers,

Tom Passin


>Lets say I use this xml-example:

<collection>
  <comic title="Sandman" number='62'>
    <writer>Neil Gaiman</writer>
    <penciller pages='1-9,18-24'>Glyn Dillon</penciller>
    <penciller pages="10-17">Charles Vess</penciller>
  </comic>
</collection>

?A very simple script that prints out any element (f.e. the writer) would do
it!