myxmltools

Small utility library to read and update XML nodes using xml.dom.minidom.

Installation

Requirements

• Python 3.10+

Option 1: Install from local source with pip

pip install .

Option 2: Use Poetry (development setup)

poetry install

Usage

import xml.dom.minidom as md

from myxmltools import (
	getValue,
	getValues,
	getAttribute,
	tagExists,
	updateXML,
	updateOrCreateXML,
	setAttribute,
	removeTag,
	pretty_print,
)

doc = md.parseString(
	"""
	<root>
		<name id="42">John Doe</name>
		<age>30</age>
		<name id="99">Jane Doe</name>
	</root>
	"""
)

root = doc.documentElement

# Read values
first_name = getValue(root, "name")
all_names = getValues(root, "name")
name_id = getAttribute(root, "name", "id", idx=1)

# Update and create
updateXML(root, "age", 31)
updateOrCreateXML(root, "name", "Mark", idx=2)

# Attributes and removal
setAttribute(root, "age", "unit", "years")
removeTag(root, "name", idx=0)

# Check existence and pretty print
exists = tagExists(root, "age")
print(pretty_print(doc))

Functions

Reading

• getValue(xml, label) Returns the text content of the first matching tag.

• getFromXml(xml, label, idx=0) Returns the text content of the matching tag at index idx.

• getValues(xml, label) Returns a list with text content for all matching tags.

• getElement(xml, label, el=0) Returns the matching DOM element at index el.

• getAttribute(xml, label, attribute, idx=0) Returns the value of attribute from the selected tag.

• tagExists(xml, label) Returns True if at least one matching tag exists, otherwise False.

Writing

• updateXML(xml, label, value, idx=0) Updates text content for an existing tag at index idx.

• updateOrCreateXML(xml, label, value, idx=0) Updates the tag at index idx if it exists. If idx is exactly the next valid index, it appends a new tag.

• setAttribute(xml, label, attribute, value, idx=0) Sets an attribute on the selected tag.

• removeTag(xml, label, idx=0) Removes the selected tag from its parent node.

Formatting

• pretty_print(dom) Returns an indented XML string with empty lines removed.

Notes

• Functions raise descriptive exceptions for invalid labels, indices, attributes, or node types.
• Most APIs accept both xml.dom.minidom.Document and xml.dom.minidom.Element.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository and create a feature branch.
2. Install development dependencies:

poetry install --with test,devel

3. Run tests:

poetry run pytest

4. Run lint checks:

poetry run ruff check .

5. Open a pull request with a clear description of your change.

Changelog

0.2.0

• Added robust validation and error handling for tag/attribute access.
• Added indexed read and update operations for repeated tags.
• Added updateOrCreateXML support for append-at-tail behavior.