BATCH Script to insert return character to XML file

Question

I need to parse some information from an XML file that does not have any return characters using a batch script. My strategy is to make a copy of the XML file and insert the proper return characters, then parse out the lines I need. The goal is to insert a return character between the '><' characters.

The XML file example:

<NOUNS><thing 1>hammer</thing 1><person>The Stig</person></NOUNS>

Nooooooo! You just need to use some scripting that includes XML parsing. No need to worry about return characters. I'd strongly suggest using powershell. — David
– David, Commented Jun 5, 2015 at 19:36
Unfortunately, powershell is not an option. If given the option, I would gladly use pretty much any other scripting language to do this. — jflocs
– jflocs, Commented Jun 5, 2015 at 19:49
Ok - take a look at the second solution here.. It refers to calling xml.exe from the batch file. In any case, avoid DIY XML parsing :) — David
– David, Commented Jun 5, 2015 at 20:02
The xml.exe is good tool to know. However, do to restrictions that got me into this mess, I can't use third party applications. Initially I thought this would not be that difficult to parse with a simple batch function. Thank you for the advise. — jflocs
– jflocs, Commented Jun 5, 2015 at 20:13
Why do you need to insert return characters? XML parsers don't care. — John Saunders
– John Saunders, Commented Jun 6, 2015 at 0:02

Aacini · Accepted Answer · 2015-06-05 23:12:53Z

1

The solution below eliminate fields that include wild card characters * or ?. It may also fail if quotes are included in a field.

@echo off
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion

set "part="
call :ProcessFile < file.xml > fileWithNL.xml
goto :EOF

:ProcessFile
   set "line="
   set /P "line="
   set "line=!part!!line!"
   if not defined line exit /B

   for %%a in ("!line:><=>" "<!") do (
      set "part=%%~a"
      if "!part:~-1!" equ ">" (
         echo !part!
         set "part="
      )
   )
goto ProcessFile

EDIT: New hybrid method added

The new solution below is a Batch-JScript hybrid script that is more efficient than the former pure Batch solution and have not its limitations. Copy the code in a file with .bat extension.

@set @a=0  /*
@cscript //nologo //E:Jscript "%~F0" < file.xml > fileWithNL.xml
@goto :EOF */

WScript.Stdout.Write(WScript.Stdin.ReadAll().replace(/></g,">\r\n<"));

edited Jun 5, 2015 at 23:12

answered Jun 5, 2015 at 22:20

Aacini

67.7k12 gold badges74 silver badges114 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

npocmaka · Accepted Answer · 2015-06-05 23:00:28Z

0

save this with .bat extension.It accepts one argument - the xml file:

0</* :
@cscript /nologo /E:jscript "%~f0" %*
@goto :EOF
*/0;

var FSOObj = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject");
var ARGS = WScript.Arguments;
if (ARGS.Length < 1 ) {
 WScript.Echo("No file passed");
 WScript.Quit(1);
}
var filename=ARGS.Item(0);

var readStream=FSOObj.OpenTextFile(filename, 1);

var content=readStream.ReadAll();
readStream.Close();

function replaceAll(find, replace, str) {
  return str.replace(new RegExp(find, 'g'), replace);
}

var newConten=replaceAll("><",">\r\n<",content);

var writeStream=FSOObj.OpenTextFile(filename, 2);
writeStream.WriteLine(newConten);
writeStream.Close();

edited Jun 5, 2015 at 23:00

answered Jun 5, 2015 at 22:17

npocmaka

57.8k19 gold badges162 silver badges199 bronze badges

2 Comments

Aacini Over a year ago

The hello label is not needed; the first line can be just 0</* :. It looks more cryptic this way! ;) You should enclose the file name between quotes: "%~f0"

npocmaka Over a year ago

@Aacini - aah yes.I was focused on the jscript part and the pattern was just copy/pasted.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

BATCH Script to insert return character to XML file

2 Answers 2

Comments

2 Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

Comments

2 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related