[XML-SIG] building XML docs using ?

[Fred L. Drake, Jr.]

Joe Murray writes:
 > Currently, I parse through the text files and create a DOM Document
 > representation.  However, the time and memory expenditure for conversion
 > is huge, using either xml.dom.minidom or xml.dom.  Here's an example of
 > what I do:

  Instead of building a DOM tree, send events to a SAX output
generator.  This avoids keeping your entire document in memory.  The
xml.sax.writer module provides this, and there may be others.  (Be
sure to get the xml.sax.writer from CVS though; I just fixed a really
stupid bug...)

 > ----------
 > 
 > # import stuff
 > from xml.dom.minidom import Document
 > 
 > # create doc and documentElement node
 > doc = Document()
 > docelement = doc.appendChild(...)
 > f = open(...)
 > ..
 > while 1:
 >     
 >     # get data from file
 >     line = f.readline()
 >     if not line:
 >         break
 >     line = line.strip()
 >     data = line.split(...)
 >     
 >     # create a new element node using data from file
 >     node = doc.createElement(...)
 >     node.setAttribute(...)
 >     node.appendChild(...)
 >     docelement.appendChild(node)

  This would end up looking more like:

        writer = xml.sax.writer.XmlWriter(f)
        while 1:
            # get data from file
            ...

            # write new element to output:
            writer.startElement("item", {"attr": value})
            writer.characters(data)
            writer.endElement("item")
            writer.characters("\n")  # record separator, unless you're
                                     # using the PrettyPrinter version

        f.close()

 > So basically, is there a lightweight XML module which provides for (as a
 > graphics programmer would say) "immediate mode" output, with as nice an
 > interface as the DOM modules?  Oh, and BTW, can XML solve all my
 > problems???  ;-) 

  XML is an acronym, and as everyone knows, acronyms solve problems.
All of them.  So, yes, life will be perfect with your new-found TLA.  ;)


  -Fred

-- 
Fred L. Drake, Jr.  <fdrake at acm.org>
PythonLabs at Digital Creations