Hi,
I'm noticing a major difference in resulting data structures when using KeyAttr, if there is an instance of the tag referenced in KeyAttr that is null.
I'm calling XMLin as follows:
| Posted on 2009-01-22 15:43:16-08 by cwoodfield |
| Null KeyAttr tag changes resulting structure |
|
Hi, I'm noticing a major difference in resulting data structures when using KeyAttr, if there is an instance of the tag referenced in KeyAttr that is null. I'm calling XMLin as follows:
my $xml = new XML::Simple(ForceArray => ['element'], KeyAttr => 'name');
$r = $xml->XMLin("testfile.xml");
print Dumper($r);
When run against the following XML, I get sensible output, with <name> being the hash key for each struct (which only contains 'value' => val in this testcase):
<xml>
<element>
<name>foo</name>
<value>bar</value>
</element>
<element>
<name>bar</name>
<value>baz</value>
</element>
</xml>
Resulting Data::Dumper output:
$VAR1 = {
'element' => {
'bar' => {
'value' => 'baz'
},
'foo' => {
'value' => 'bar'
}
}
};
However, if I introduce an <element> where <name> is null, I get something completely different!
<xml>
<element>
<name>foo</name>
<value>bar</value>
</element>
<element>
<name></name>
<value>baz</value>
</element>
</xml>
Resulting struct (Data::Dumper output):
$VAR1 = {
'element' => [
{
'value' => 'bar',
'name' => 'foo'
},
{
'value' => 'baz',
'name' => {}
}
]
};
This results is that $r->{element} is now an array, not a hash as it was before, and the <name> tags no longer become a hash key for anything. Because of this, I now have to test for ref($r->{element} after XMLin, and fix my code to "move things around" if this happens. I've observed that this will happen even if there is a single null <name> element in the XML, no matter how many other <elements> there are with non-null <name> tags. In the event of a null <name> tag, this is what I'd prefer to have the resulting struct look like:
$VAR1 = {
'element' => {
'' => {
'value' => 'baz'
},
'foo' => {
'value' => 'bar'
}
}
};
(And yes, I've tested to verify that a empty-string hash key is legal). Any suggestions or ideas? |
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