DDEX Parser - Python Bindings

High-performance DDEX XML parser for Python with built-in security features and comprehensive metadata extraction. Parse DDEX files 10x faster than traditional XML parsers with full support for all DDEX versions and profiles.

Installation

pip install ddex-parser
# or for specific version
pip install ddex-parser==0.4.4

Version Notes

v0.4.4: Enhanced validation - Parser now properly fails on missing required fields instead of using placeholder values. Ensure your error handling can catch ValidationError exceptions for incomplete DDEX files.

v0.4.1: Enhanced data structure implementation with complete data access. Built on v0.4.0's security fixes (RUSTSEC-2025-0020) with PyO3 0.24 compatibility.

Quick Start

from ddex_parser import DDEXParser
import pandas as pd

# Parse DDEX file
parser = DDEXParser()
result = parser.parse_file("release.xml")

# Access parsed data
print(f"Release: {result.release_title}")
print(f"Artist: {result.main_artist}")
print(f"Tracks: {len(result.tracks)}")

# Convert to DataFrame for analysis
tracks_df = result.to_dataframe()
print(tracks_df.head())

Features

🚀 High Performance

• 10x faster than standard XML parsers
• Streaming support for large files (>100MB)
• Memory-efficient processing
• Native Rust implementation with Python bindings

🔒 Security Built-in

• XXE (XML External Entity) attack protection
• Entity expansion limits
• Memory-bounded parsing
• Deep nesting protection

📊 Data Science Ready

• Direct pandas DataFrame export
• Structured metadata extraction
• JSON serialization support
• Type hints for better IDE experience

🎵 Music Industry Focused

• Support for all DDEX versions (3.2, 3.3, 4.0+)
• Release, track, and artist metadata
• Rights and usage information
• Territory and deal terms
• Image and audio resource handling

API Reference

DDEXParser

from ddex_parser import DDEXParser

parser = DDEXParser(
    max_entity_expansions=1000,  # Limit entity expansions for security
    max_depth=100,               # Maximum XML nesting depth
    streaming=True               # Enable streaming for large files
)

Parsing Methods

parse_file(path: str) -> DDEXResult

Parse a DDEX XML file from disk.

result = parser.parse_file("path/to/release.xml")

parse_string(xml: str) -> DDEXResult

Parse DDEX XML from a string.

with open("release.xml", "r") as f:
    xml_content = f.read()
result = parser.parse_string(xml_content)

parse_async(path: str) -> Awaitable[DDEXResult]

Asynchronous parsing for non-blocking operations.

import asyncio

async def parse_ddex():
    result = await parser.parse_async("release.xml")
    return result

# Usage
result = asyncio.run(parse_ddex())

DataFrame Integration

Perfect for data analysis workflows:

import pandas as pd
from ddex_parser import DDEXParser

parser = DDEXParser()
result = parser.parse_file("catalog.xml")

# Get tracks as DataFrame
tracks_df = result.to_dataframe("tracks")
print(tracks_df.columns)
# ['track_id', 'title', 'artist', 'duration', 'isrc', 'genre', ...]

# Analyze your catalog
genre_counts = tracks_df['genre'].value_counts()
avg_duration = tracks_df['duration'].mean()

# Export for further analysis
tracks_df.to_csv("catalog_analysis.csv")
tracks_df.to_parquet("catalog_analysis.parquet")

Performance Benchmarks

Performance comparison on a MacBook Pro M2:

Memory usage is consistently 60-80% lower than traditional parsers.

Integration with ddex-builder

Round-trip compatibility with ddex-builder for complete workflows:

from ddex_parser import DDEXParser
from ddex_builder import DDEXBuilder

# Parse existing DDEX file
parser = DDEXParser()
original = parser.parse_file("input.xml")

# Modify data
modified_data = original.to_dict()
modified_data['tracks'][0]['title'] = "New Title"

# Build new DDEX file
builder = DDEXBuilder()
new_xml = builder.build_from_dict(modified_data)

# Verify round-trip integrity
new_result = parser.parse_string(new_xml)
assert new_result.tracks[0].title == "New Title"

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• pandas (optional, for DataFrame support)
• PyO3 0.24 compatible runtime

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Related Projects

• ddex-builder - Build deterministic DDEX XML files
• ddex-parser (npm) - JavaScript/TypeScript bindings
• DDEX Suite - Complete DDEX processing toolkit

Built for the music industry. Powered by Rust for maximum performance and safety.