How to format XML

XML formatting makes XML documents easier to read by controlling tag indentation and changing lines. The specific operation is: add an indentation level to each subtitle; use the built-in formatting functions of the editor or IDE, such as VS Code and Sublime Text; for large or complex XML files, you can use professional tools or write custom scripts; note that excessive formatting may cause file size to increase, and formatting strategies should be selected according to actual needs.

XML formatting: Make your XML documents pleasing to the eye and make your code easier to read

Have you ever faced a mess of XML code, indentation, intricate label nesting, and crazy? Don't worry, you're not alone! XML formatting is a powerful tool to solve this problem. It can convert messy XML code into a clear and easy-to-read format, improving the maintainability and readability of the code. After reading this article, you will master a variety of XML formatting techniques and say goodbye to the XML format nightmare from now on.

First, let's review the basic concepts of XML. XML, an extensible markup language, is a markup language used to mark electronic files to make them structural. It uses tags to define data, which can be nested to form a tree structure. XML formatting is to beautify this tree-like structure to make it more in line with human reading habits. Think about it, an XML document without formatting is like a bowl of clear soup without seasoning, while the formatted XML is like a delicacy with a full range of colors, fragrance and flavor.

The core of XML formatting is to control the indentation and line breaks of tags. The simplest XML formatting is to make each child tag one indent level more than the parent tag. For example, a simple XML snippet:

 <code class="xml"><bookstore> <book category="cooking"> <title lang="en">Everyday Italian</title> <author>Giada De Laurentiis</author> <year>2005</year> <price>30.00</price> </book> </bookstore></code>

It can be easily formatted to:

 <code class="xml"><bookstore> <book category="cooking"> <title lang="en">Everyday Italian</title> <author>Giada De Laurentiis</author> <year>2005</year> <price>30.00</price> </book> </bookstore></code>

Look, is it much more refreshing in an instant? This is just the most basic formatting. Many editors have built-in XML formatting functions, which you can do in just a few clicks. For example, VS Code, Sublime Text, etc. have powerful XML plug-ins that can automatically format XML code and customize indentation size and line breaking rules.

But if your XML file is very large, or you have strict requirements on formatting, it may not be enough to rely solely on the built-in functions of the editor. At this time, you may need to use some professional XML processing tools or write custom scripts. For example, you can use Python's xml.etree.ElementTree module to parse XML, and then regenerate the formatted XML code according to your custom rules. This requires you to have a certain understanding of the structure of XML and Python programming. However, the code in this area is quite complicated, so I won’t explain it here. Interested friends can search for relevant information by themselves.

Of course, there are some things to pay attention to in formatting XML. Excessive formatting may cause the XML file to grow in size, affecting the transmission efficiency. Therefore, in practical applications, it is necessary to select appropriate formatting strategies based on actual conditions. In addition, it should be noted that some XML parsers have strict requirements on the format of XML. If the formatting is not properly done, it may lead to parsing errors. Therefore, when formatting XML, you must ensure the correctness of the format to avoid syntax errors.

Finally, I want to emphasize that XML formatting is not just a simple code beautification, but also an important means to improve code readability and maintainability. A well-formatted XML document is easier to understand and modify, thereby improving development efficiency and code quality. Therefore, developing good XML formatting habits will be of great benefit to your programming career. Remember, the code is written for people to see, and the second is for machines to see!

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