Using Swift4, iOS11.1, Xcode9.1,
Using the new Swift4 typealiase "Codable" works well for JSON-decoding (as explained here or here or in many other contributions). However, as it comes to XML-parsing, I couldn't find any information on whether this "Codable" protocol could also be used for XML-decoding.
I tried to use the XMLParser (as can be seen in code-excerts below). But I failed to used the "Codable" protocol as to simplify the XML-parsing process. How would I have to use the Codable-protocol exactly to simplify XML-parsing ??
// the Fetching of the XML-data (excert shown here with a simple dataTask) :
let myTask = session.dataTask(with: myRequest) { (data, response, error) in
// check for error
guard error == nil else {
completionHandler(nil, error!)
return
}
// make sure we got data in the response
guard let responseData = data else {
let error = XMLFetchError.objectSerialization(reason: "No data in response")
completionHandler(nil, error)
return
}
// the responseData is XML !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
let parser = XMLParser(data: responseData)
parser.delegate = self
parser.parse()
}
myTask.resume()
The corresponding XMLParserDelegate-methods:
func parser(_ parser: XMLParser, didStartElement elementName: String, namespaceURI: String?, qualifiedName qName: String?, attributes attributeDict: [String : String] = [:]) {
self.resultTrip = elementName
// print(elementName)
if (self.resultTrip == "TripResult") {
self.resultTime = ""
}
}
func parser(_ parser: XMLParser, foundCharacters string: String) {
let data = string.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
if data.count != 0 {
switch self.resultTrip {
case "TimetabledTime": self.resultTime = data
default: break
}
}
}
func parser(_ parser: XMLParser, didEndElement elementName: String, namespaceURI: String?, qualifiedName qName: String?) {
if self.resultTrip == "TripResult" {
// HERE IS THE MISSING BIT: HOW DO YOU USE A CODABLE struct ???
var myTrip = TripResult(from: <#Decoder#>)
myTrip.resultID = self.resultTrip
}
print(resultTime)
}
The struct :
struct TripResult : Codable {
let resultId : String?
let trip : Trip?
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case resultId = "ResultId"
case trip
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let values = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
resultId = try values.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .resultId)
trip = try Trip(from: decoder)
}
}
How would I have to use the 'codable' struct ?? Is there any nice example on how to use the Codable-protocol for XMLparsing ?? Any help appreciated !
Currently, Apple's Codable protocol does not have a way to decode XML.
While there are plenty of third party libraries to parse XML, the XMLParsing library contains a XMLDecoder and a XMLEncoder that uses Apple's own Codable protocol, and is based on Apple's JSONEncoder/JSONDecoder with changes to fit the XML standard.
Link: https://github.com/ShawnMoore/XMLParsing
W3School's XML To Parse:
Swift Struct conforming to Codable:
XMLDecoder:
XMLEncoder:
There are a number of benefits for using Apple's Codable protocol over that of a third-party's protocol. Take for example if Apple decides to begin supporting XML, you would not have to refactor.
For a full list of examples of this library, see the Sample XML folder in the repository.
There are a few differences between Apple's Decoders and Encoders to fit the XML standard. These are as follows:
Differences between XMLDecoder and JSONDecoder
XMLDecoder.DateDecodingStrategy
has an extra case titledkeyFormatted
. This case takes a closure that gives you a CodingKey, and it is up to you to provide the correct DateFormatter for the provided key. This is simply a convenience case on the DateDecodingStrategy of JSONDecoder.XMLDecoder.DataDecodingStrategy
has an extra case titledkeyFormatted
. This case takes a closure that gives you a CodingKey, and it is up to you to provide the correct data or nil for the provided key. This is simply a convenience case on the DataDecodingStrategy of JSONDecoder.Differences between XMLEncoder and JSONEncoder
Contains an option called
StringEncodingStrategy
, this enum has two options,deferredToString
andcdata
. The deferredToString option is default and will encode strings as simple strings. If cdata is selected, all strings will be encoded as CData.The
encode
function takes in two additional parameters than JSONEncoder does. The first additional parameter in the function is a RootKey string that will have the entire XML wrapped in an element named that key. This parameter is required. The second parameter is an XMLHeader, which is an optional parameter that can take the version, encoding strategy and standalone status, if you want to include this information in the encoded xml.