XML To JSON Conversion

Hi friends,

I would like to share converting XML into JSON format.

XML: 

• XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a mark-up language that defines the set of rules for encoding document in Human &Machine readable format.
• XML mainly emphasizes on Simplicity, Generality and Usability over the Internet. 
• XML is a textual data format with strong support for all the languages of the World.

JSON:

• JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a text-based open standard designed for Human-Readable data interchange.
• Even JSON is javaScript specific, it is language-independent with parsers available for many languages.
• JSON format is often used over network connection for serializing and transmitting structured data .

---

On keeping Pros and Cons of them a-part, this is the scenario which is very often needed for developing Applications (Mainly in Web environment).

Pre-Requisites:

I used net.sf.json-lib for JSON support. You can download from here.

Json-lib should contain the below dependencies in classpath:

• commons-lang
• commons-beanutils
• commons-collections
• commons-logging
• ezmorph

---

Below is code for Converting XML to JSON format:

package testapp;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.net.URL;
import net.sf.json.JSON;
import net.sf.json.xml.XMLSerializer;
import org.apache.commons.io.IOUtils;
/**
 * @author naveen.k
 */
public class XMLtoJsonConverter {
    private URL url = null;
    private InputStream inputStream = null;    
    public void getXMLfromJson() {
        try{
            url = XMLtoJsonConverter.class.getClassLoader().getResource("sample.xml");
            inputStream = url.openStream();
            String xml = IOUtils.toString(inputStream);
            JSON objJson = new XMLSerializer().read(xml);
            System.out.println("JSON data : " + objJson);
        }catch(Exception e){
            e.printStackTrace();
        }finally{
     try {
                if (inputStream != null) {
                    inputStream.close();
                }
                url = null;
            } catch (IOException ex) {}
        }
    }
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new XMLtoJsonConverter().getXMLfromJson();
    }
}

---

Place the sample xml in the specified path

sample.xml
==========

   
      Gambardella, Matthew
      
      Computer
      44.95
      2000-10-01
      An in-depth look at creating applications 
      with XML.
   
   
      Ralls, Kim
      
      Fantasy
      5.95
      2000-12-16
      A former architect battles corporate zombies, 
      an evil sorceress, and her own childhood to become queen 
      of the world.
   

 

---

Output for the above specified xml is given below

OUTPUT:
=========

xml to json: [{"@id":"bk01","author":"Gambardella, Matthew","title":"XML Developer's Guide","genre":"Computer","price":"44.95","publish_date":"2000-10-01","description":"An in-depth look at creating applications \n      with XML."},{"@id":"bk02","author":"Ralls, Kim","title":"Midnight Rain","genre":"Fantasy","price":"5.95","publish_date":"2000-12-16","description":"A former architect battles corporate zombies, \n      an evil sorceress, and her own childhood to become queen \n      of the world."}]
 

---

Formated JSON data as  per the Output is given below

JSON DATA:
===========

[
{
"@id":"bk01",
"author":"Gambardella, Matthew",
"title":"XML Developer's Guide",
"genre":"Computer",
"price":"44.95",
"publish_date":"2000-10-01",
"description":"An in-depth look at creating applications \n with XML."
},
{
"@id":"bk02",
"author":"Ralls, Kim",
"title":"Midnight Rain",
"genre":"Fantasy",
"price":"5.95",
"publish_date":"2000-12-16",
"description":"A former architect battles corporate zombies, \n an evil sorceress, and her own childhood to become queen \n of the world."
}
]

For JSON To XML Conversion Check here