---
name: "XML::Parser::EasyTree"
section: "3pm"
platform: "linux"
package: "libxml-parser-easytree-perl"
version: "0.01-2"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/XML::Parser::EasyTree"
---

# XML::Parser::EasyTree(3pm)

Easier tree style for XML::Parser

## NAME

XML::Parser::EasyTree - Easier tree style for XML::Parser

## SYNOPSIS

```
  use XML::Parser;
  use XML::Parser::EasyTree;
  $XML::Parser::Easytree::Noempty=1;
  my $p=new XML::Parser(Style=>'EasyTree');
  my $tree=$p->parsefile('something.xml');
```

## DESCRIPTION

XML::Parser::EasyTree adds a new "built-in" style called "EasyTree" to  XML::Parser.  Like XML::Parser's "Tree" style, setting this style causes  the parser to build a lightweight tree structure representing the XML  document.  This structure is, at least in this author's opinion, easier to  work with than the one created by the built-in style.

When the parser is invoked with the EasyTree style, it returns a reference  to an array of tree nodes, each of which is a hash reference.  All nodes  have a 'type' key whose value is the type of the node: 'e' for element  nodes, 't' for text nodes, and 'p' for processing instruction nodes.  All  nodes also have a 'content' key whose value is a reference to an array  holding the element's child nodes for element nodes, the string value for  text nodes, and the data value for processing instruction nodes.  Element  nodes also have an 'attrib' key whose value is a reference to a hash of  attribute names and values.  Processing instructions also have a 'target'  key whose value is the PI's target.

EasyTree nodes are ordinary Perl hashes and are not objects.  Contiguous  runs of text are always returned in a single node.

The reason the parser returns an array reference rather than the root  element's node is that an XML document can legally contain processing  instructions outside the root element (the xml-stylesheet PI is commonly  used this way).

If the parser's Namespaces option is set, element and attribute names will  be prefixed with their (possibly empty) namespace URI enclosed in curly  brackets.

## SPECIAL VARIABLES

Two package global variables control special behaviors:

- XML::Parser::EasyTree::Latin

  If this is set to a nonzero value, all text, names, and values will be  returned in ISO-8859-1 (Latin-1) encoding rather than UTF-8.

- XML::Parser::EasyTree::Noempty

  If this is set to a nonzero value, text nodes containing nothing but  whitespace (such as those generated by line breaks and indentation between  tags) will be omitted from the parse tree.

## EXAMPLE

Parse a prettyprined version of the XML shown in the example for the built-in "Tree" style:

```
  #!perl -w
  use strict;
  use XML::Parser;
  use XML::Parser::EasyTree;
  use Data::Dumper;

  $XML::Parser::EasyTree::Noempty=1;
  my $xml=<<'EOF';
  <foo>
    <head id="a">Hello <em>there</em>
    </head>
    <bar>Howdy<ref/>
    </bar>
    do
  </foo>
  EOF
  my $p=new XML::Parser(Style=>'EasyTree');
  my $tree=$p->parse($xml);
  print Dumper($tree);
```

Returns:

```
  $VAR1 = [
          { 'name' => 'foo',
            'type' => 'e',
            'content' => [
                           { 'name' => 'head',
                             'type' => 'e',
                             'content' => [
                                            { 'type' => 't',
                                              'content' => 'Hello '
                                            },
                                            { 'name' => 'em',
                                              'type' => 'e',
                                              'content' => [
                                                             { 'type' => 't',
                                                               'content' => 'there'
                                                             }
                                                           ],
                                              'attrib' => {}
                                            }
                                          ],
                             'attrib' => { 'id' => 'a'
                                         }
                           },
                           { 'name' => 'bar',
                             'type' => 'e',
                             'content' => [
                                            { 'type' => 't',
                                              'content' => 'Howdy'
                                            },
                                            { 'name' => 'ref',
                                              'type' => 'e',
                                              'content' => [],
                                              'attrib' => {}
                                            }
                                          ],
                             'attrib' => {}
                           },
                           { 'type' => 't',
                             'content' => '
  do
 '
                           }
                         ],
            'attrib' => {}
          }
        ];
```

## AUTHOR

Eric Bohlman (ebohlman@omsdev.com)

Copyright (c) 2001 Eric Bohlman. All rights reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

## SEE ALSO

```
  XML::Parser
```