Convert XML to NSDictionary in iOS
Post date: Apr 25, 2014 6:57:03 AM
Here is my most reusable code. I have used this code all my project to parse xml.
This class helps you to parse the XML using NSXMLParser and gives NSDictionary as an output.
CXMLParser.h
#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
@protocol ParserXMLDelegate
@required
- (NSMutableArray*)parseData:(NSDictionary*)data;
@end
@interface CXMLParser : NSObject<NSXMLParserDelegate>
{
NSMutableArray *dictionaryStack;
NSMutableString *textInProgress;
NSError * __strong *errorPointer;
}
+ (NSDictionary *)dictionaryForXMLData:(NSData *)data error:(NSError **)errorPointer;
+ (NSDictionary *)dictionaryForXMLString:(NSString *)string error:(NSError **)errorPointer;
@end
CXMLParser.m
#import "CXMLParser.h"
NSString *const kXMLReaderTextNodeKey = @"text";
@interface CXMLParser (Internal)
- (id)initWithError:(NSError **)error;
- (NSDictionary *)initializeWithData:(NSData *)data;
@end
@implementation CXMLParser
#pragma mark -
#pragma mark Public methods
+ (NSDictionary *)dictionaryForXMLData:(NSData *)data error:(NSError **)error
{
CXMLParser *reader = [[CXMLParser alloc] initWithError:error];
NSDictionary *rootDictionary = [reader initializeWithData:data];
return rootDictionary;
}
+ (NSDictionary *)dictionaryForXMLString:(NSString *)string error:(NSError **)error
{
NSData *data = [string dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
return [CXMLParser dictionaryForXMLData:data error:error];
}
#pragma mark -
#pragma mark Parsing
- (id)initWithError:(NSError * __strong*)error
{
if (self = [super init])
{
errorPointer = error;
}
return self;
}
- (NSDictionary *)initializeWithData:(NSData *)data
{
// Clear out any old data
dictionaryStack = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
textInProgress = [[NSMutableString alloc] init];
// Initialize the stack with a fresh dictionary
[dictionaryStack addObject:[NSMutableDictionary dictionary]];
// Parse the XML
NSXMLParser *parser = [[NSXMLParser alloc] initWithData:data];
parser.delegate = self;
BOOL success = [parser parse];
// Return the stack's root dictionary on success
if (success)
{
NSDictionary *resultDict = [dictionaryStack objectAtIndex:0];
return resultDict;
}
return nil;
}
#pragma mark -
#pragma mark NSXMLParserDelegate methods
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser didStartElement:(NSString *)elementName namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI qualifiedName:(NSString *)qName attributes:(NSDictionary *)attributeDict
{
// Get the dictionary for the current level in the stack
NSMutableDictionary *parentDict = [dictionaryStack lastObject];
// Create the child dictionary for the new element, and initilaize it with the attributes
NSMutableDictionary *childDict = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
[childDict addEntriesFromDictionary:attributeDict];
// If there's already an item for this key, it means we need to create an array
id existingValue = [parentDict objectForKey:elementName];
if (existingValue)
{
NSMutableArray *array = nil;
if ([existingValue isKindOfClass:[NSMutableArray class]])
{
// The array exists, so use it
array = (NSMutableArray *) existingValue;
}
else
{
// Create an array if it doesn't exist
array = [NSMutableArray array];
[array addObject:existingValue];
// Replace the child dictionary with an array of children dictionaries
[parentDict setObject:array forKey:elementName];
}
// Add the new child dictionary to the array
[array addObject:childDict];
}
else
{
// No existing value, so update the dictionary
[parentDict setObject:childDict forKey:elementName];
}
// Update the stack
[dictionaryStack addObject:childDict];
}
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser didEndElement:(NSString *)elementName namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI qualifiedName:(NSString *)qName
{
// Update the parent dict with text info
NSMutableDictionary *dictInProgress = [dictionaryStack lastObject];
// Set the text property
if ([textInProgress length] > 0)
{
[dictInProgress setObject:textInProgress forKey:kXMLReaderTextNodeKey];
// Reset the text
textInProgress = [[NSMutableString alloc] init];
}
// Pop the current dict
[dictionaryStack removeLastObject];
}
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser foundCharacters:(NSString *)string
{
// Build the text value
[textInProgress appendString:string];
}
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser parseErrorOccurred:(NSError *)parseError
{
// Set the error pointer to the parser's error object
*errorPointer = parseError;
}
@end
Code snapshot to use this class
NSString* strXML= [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"Info" ofType:@"xml"];
NSData* data=[NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:strXML];
NSDictionary* dictionary =[CXMLParser dictionaryForXMLData:data error:nil];
You can download this files here
https://sites.google.com/site/greateindiaclub/downloads/file-cabinet/CXMLParser.h
https://sites.google.com/site/greateindiaclub/downloads/file-cabinet/CXMLParser.m
github link is here
https://github.com/boobalaninfo/iOS-XMLParser