Cookbooks
Python
Chapter 10. Data Formats and Serialization
Working with XML

Python:
Working with XML

How to:

Python’s xml.etree.ElementTree module offers tools to work with XML.

Parse an XML document:

import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

xml_data = """<?xml version="1.0"?>
<library>
    <book>
        <title>Learning Python</title>
        <author>Mark Lutz</author>
    </book>
    <book>
        <title>Programming Python</title>
        <author>Mark Lutz</author>
    </book>
</library>
"""

root = ET.fromstring(xml_data)
for book in root.findall('book'):
    title = book.find('title').text
    author = book.find('author').text
    print(f'Title: {title}, Author: {author}')

Sample output:

Title: Learning Python, Author: Mark Lutz
Title: Programming Python, Author: Mark Lutz

Create an XML document:

library = ET.Element('library')
book = ET.SubElement(library, 'book')
title = ET.SubElement(book, 'title')
title.text = 'Automate the Boring Stuff with Python'
author = ET.SubElement(book, 'author')
author.text = 'Al Sweigart'

tree = ET.ElementTree(library)
tree.write('library.xml')

Deep Dive:

XML has been around since the late ’90s, created as a simplified subset of SGML for easy online data sharing. Despite JSON’s rising popularity for web data, XML remains vital in many enterprise, configuration, and web services (SOAP, RSS).

Alternatives to xml.etree.ElementTree include lxml and minidom. lxml is faster and more feature-rich, whereas minidom provides a more “DOM-like” XML interface. When choosing, consider ease of use, performance, and specific feature requirements.

Under the hood, ElementTree operates on an element tree model, where each component of the XML file is a node in a tree. This allows for straightforward path expressions and searches, making it easier to navigate and manipulate the structure of XML data.

See Also:

Working with TOMLWorking with YAML