XML Tools

Format, validate, minify, and convert XML data with XPath support

Essential for working with SOAP APIs, configuration files, and structured documents. Our XML tools help you format, validate, and query XML documents using XPath. Perfect for developers working with web services, RSS feeds, SVG graphics, or enterprise data exchange formats.

Format & Minify XML

Pretty print or minify your XML data with customizable formatting options

Input XML

Output XML

Preserve Comments

Sort Attributes

What is XML?

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a markup language designed to store and transport data in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. Created by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) in 1996, XML was derived from SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) to be simpler and more suitable for web use.

History & Creation

XML 1.0 was published as a W3C Recommendation on February 10, 1998. It was designed by a working group led by Jon Bosak of Sun Microsystems, with contributions from Tim Bray, Jean Paoli, C. M. Sperberg-McQueen, and others. The goal was to create a simplified version of SGML for the web.

Where XML is Used

SOAP web services and APIs
Configuration files (pom.xml, web.xml)
RSS and Atom feeds
SVG graphics and XHTML
Office documents (DOCX, XLSX)
Android layouts and resources
AJAX data exchange

Benefits Over Other Formats

vs JSON: Schema validation, namespaces, attributes, comments, CDATA sections
vs CSV: Hierarchical structure, mixed content, metadata via attributes
vs Binary: Human-readable, self-documenting, platform-independent
vs HTML: Strict syntax rules, custom tags, data-focused rather than display

Working with XML Across Operating Systems

🪟 Windows

Notepad++ with XML Tools plugin
Visual Studio/VS Code for editing
PowerShell XML cmdlets
MSXML parser built-in

🍎 macOS

xmllint command-line tool
BBEdit or VS Code editors
plutil for plist XML files
LibXML2 pre-installed

🐧 Linux

xmlstarlet for CLI processing
vim/emacs with XML modes
xsltproc for transformations
xmllint for validation

XML Structure Examples & Best Practices

XML provides powerful features for structuring data with validation, namespaces, and semantic markup. Here are comprehensive examples demonstrating various patterns.

Basic XML Structures

Simple XML Document

Basic XML structure with declaration, root element, and nested elements

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<person>
  <firstName>John</firstName>
  <lastName>Doe</lastName>
  <age>30</age>
  <email>john.doe@example.com</email>
  <address>
    <street>123 Main St</street>
    <city>New York</city>
    <state>NY</state>
    <zipCode>10001</zipCode>
  </address>
</person>

XML with Attributes

Using attributes for metadata and element properties

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<catalog>
  <product id="1001" category="electronics" inStock="true">
    <name>Laptop</name>
    <brand>TechCorp</brand>
    <price currency="USD">999.99</price>
    <specs>
      <ram unit="GB">16</ram>
      <storage unit="TB" type="SSD">1</storage>
      <display size="15.6" resolution="1920x1080"/>
    </specs>
  </product>
  <product id="1002" category="electronics" inStock="false">
    <name>Smartphone</name>
    <brand>PhoneCo</brand>
    <price currency="USD">699.99</price>
  </product>
</catalog>

Namespaces and Schemas

XML with Namespaces

Using namespaces to avoid element name conflicts

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root xmlns:order="http://example.com/order"
      xmlns:customer="http://example.com/customer">
  <order:order orderID="12345">
    <order:date>2024-01-20</order:date>
    <order:total currency="USD">150.00</order:total>
    <customer:customer customerID="67890">
      <customer:name>Jane Smith</customer:name>
      <customer:email>jane@example.com</customer:email>
    </customer:customer>
    <order:items>
      <order:item sku="ABC123" quantity="2">
        <order:description>Widget</order:description>
        <order:price>75.00</order:price>
      </order:item>
    </order:items>
  </order:order>
</root>

XML Schema (XSD) Definition

Schema for validating XML structure and data types

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
  <xs:element name="employee">
    <xs:complexType>
      <xs:sequence>
        <xs:element name="firstName" type="xs:string"/>
        <xs:element name="lastName" type="xs:string"/>
        <xs:element name="employeeId" type="xs:positiveInteger"/>
        <xs:element name="department">
          <xs:simpleType>
            <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
              <xs:enumeration value="Engineering"/>
              <xs:enumeration value="Sales"/>
              <xs:enumeration value="Marketing"/>
              <xs:enumeration value="HR"/>
            </xs:restriction>
          </xs:simpleType>
        </xs:element>
        <xs:element name="salary" type="xs:decimal"/>
        <xs:element name="startDate" type="xs:date"/>
      </xs:sequence>
    </xs:complexType>
  </xs:element>
</xs:schema>

SOAP Web Service Example

SOAP Request

SOAP envelope for web service communication

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
               xmlns:ws="http://example.com/webservice">
  <soap:Header>
    <ws:Authentication>
      <ws:Username>john_doe</ws:Username>
      <ws:Password>secure_password</ws:Password>
    </ws:Authentication>
  </soap:Header>
  <soap:Body>
    <ws:GetUserInfo>
      <ws:UserId>12345</ws:UserId>
      <ws:IncludeDetails>true</ws:IncludeDetails>
    </ws:GetUserInfo>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

SOAP Response

SOAP response with user data

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
               xmlns:ws="http://example.com/webservice">
  <soap:Body>
    <ws:GetUserInfoResponse>
      <ws:User>
        <ws:UserId>12345</ws:UserId>
        <ws:Username>john_doe</ws:Username>
        <ws:Email>john@example.com</ws:Email>
        <ws:RegisteredDate>2023-01-15</ws:RegisteredDate>
        <ws:Status>Active</ws:Status>
      </ws:User>
    </ws:GetUserInfoResponse>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

Configuration Files

Maven POM.xml

Java project configuration file

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 
         http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
  
  <groupId>com.example</groupId>
  <artifactId>my-app</artifactId>
  <version>1.0.0</version>
  <packaging>jar</packaging>
  
  <properties>
    <maven.compiler.source>11</maven.compiler.source>
    <maven.compiler.target>11</maven.compiler.target>
    <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
  </properties>
  
  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
      <version>2.7.0</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>junit</groupId>
      <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
      <version>4.13.2</version>
      <scope>test</scope>
    </dependency>
  </dependencies>
</project>

RSS Feed Example

RSS 2.0 Feed

Blog or news feed structure

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">
  <channel>
    <title>Tech Blog</title>
    <link>https://example.com/blog</link>
    <description>Latest technology news and tutorials</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jan 2024 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    
    <item>
      <title>Understanding XML in Modern Web Development</title>
      <link>https://example.com/blog/xml-modern-web</link>
      <description>A comprehensive guide to using XML effectively...</description>
      <author>jane@example.com (Jane Smith)</author>
      <category>Web Development</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://example.com/blog/xml-modern-web</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jan 2024 10:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[
        <p>XML continues to play a crucial role in modern web development...</p>
        <p>In this article, we'll explore practical applications...</p>
      ]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Android Layout XML

Android UI Layout

Mobile app interface definition

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:padding="16dp">
    
    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/titleText"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Welcome"
        android:textSize="24sp"
        android:textStyle="bold"
        android:layout_marginBottom="16dp"/>
    
    <EditText
        android:id="@+id/usernameInput"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:hint="Username"
        android:inputType="text"/>
    
    <EditText
        android:id="@+id/passwordInput"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:hint="Password"
        android:inputType="textPassword"
        android:layout_marginTop="8dp"/>
    
    <Button
        android:id="@+id/loginButton"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Login"
        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"/>
</LinearLayout>

SVG Graphics

Scalable Vector Graphics

XML-based vector image format

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<svg width="200" height="200" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
  <defs>
    <linearGradient id="gradient1" x1="0%" y1="0%" x2="100%" y2="100%">
      <stop offset="0%" style="stop-color:#ff0000;stop-opacity:1" />
      <stop offset="100%" style="stop-color:#0000ff;stop-opacity:1" />
    </linearGradient>
  </defs>
  
  <circle cx="100" cy="100" r="80" fill="url(#gradient1)" stroke="#000" stroke-width="2"/>
  
  <text x="100" y="110" font-family="Arial" font-size="20" text-anchor="middle" fill="white">
    SVG Example
  </text>
  
  <rect x="50" y="150" width="100" height="30" rx="5" ry="5" 
        fill="#4CAF50" stroke="#2E7D32" stroke-width="2"/>
</svg>

Benefits of XML Structures

When to Use XML vs Other Formats

XML is Best For:

Document-oriented data with mixed content
When schema validation is required
Complex hierarchical structures
When you need comments and processing instructions
Industry standards (SOAP, RSS, XHTML)

Consider Alternatives When:

Simple data exchange (use JSON)
Tabular data (use CSV)
Configuration files (consider YAML/TOML)
Performance is critical (use Protocol Buffers)
File size matters (XML is verbose)

XPath Query Examples

Common XPath Queries

Use these in the XPath Query tab above

// Select all product elements
//product

// Select products with price less than 100
//product[price < 100]

// Select the name of the first product
//product[1]/name

// Select all elements with an 'id' attribute
//*[@id]

// Select products in 'electronics' category
//product[@category='electronics']

// Select all price elements regardless of depth
//price

// Select the last product in the catalog
//product[last()]

// Select products with specific child elements
//product[specs/ram[@unit='GB']]