extract XMl with regex
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guy038
Can you Please provide your email address?
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Hello, @vijay-s,
You said :
I need only one command that I will use in the Find in Files option to get the expected XML.
I’m really sorry but I cannot ! Even if I tried to concatenate these
5
regexes in an unique one, with the free-spacing regex mode, I get erroneous results, just because the process is orderered !
To explain this fact, consider the simple S/R below, which tries to search for
2
conditions, simultaneously, and adds, right after the ending tag</ns:name>
the letterA
if the string abcd is found OR the letterB
if the string efgh is found :SEARCH
(?s)<ns:name>.+?(?:(abcd)|(efgh)).+?</ns:name>\l*\K
REPLACE
(?1A)(?2B)
Against this sample text, below :
<ns:name> This text contains, both, strings "efgh" and "abcd" </ns:name> <ns:name> This text contains, both, strings "efgh" and "abcd" </ns:name>
Even if you click several times on the
Replace All
button, you’ll just find lettersB
, after</ns:name>
, because, when scanning the sample text from left to right, the regex engine meets the efgh string first !Now, let’s suppose you run this first S/R :
SEARCH
(?s)<ns:name>.+?abcd.+?</ns:name>\l*\K
REPLACE
A
Then process this second S/R :
SEARCH
(?s)<ns:name>.+?efgh.+?</ns:name>\l*\K
REPLACE
B
You get, as expected, the string
AB
, after</ns:name>
, meaning that the two conditions are true for each block !
Thus, your problem seems beyond the scope of regexes and need to be solved only with script languages or XML analyser tools !
Best Regards
guy038
P.S. :
In my multi regexes solutions, I still found out an other error of logic. So, after correction and considering your last requirement, I ended with these
5
S/R , below :-
SEARCH
(?s-i)^\h*<ns:name>((?!</ns:Coverage>).)+?<ns:locationevent>(?i:yyyy)</ns:locationevent>.+?</ns:Coverage>\R\h*</ns:name>\d*\K
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REPLACE
1
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SEARCH
(?s-i)^\h*<ns:name>((?!</ns:Coverage>).)+?<ID>123</ID>.+?</ns:Coverage>\R\h*</ns:name>\d*\K
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REPLACE
2
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SEARCH
(?s-i)^\h*<ns:name>((?!</ns:Coverage>).)+?<ns:name>(?i:Future)</ns:name>.+?<ns:Status>(?i:Pending)</ns:Status>.+?</ns:Coverage>\R\h*</ns:name>\d*\K
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REPLACE
3
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SEARCH
(?s-i)^\h*<ns:name>((?!</ns:Coverage>).)+?<ns:name>(?i:def)</ns:name>.+?<ns:Coverage>.+?</ns:Coverage>\R\h*</ns:name>\d*\K
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REPLACE
4
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SEARCH
(?s-i)^\h*<ns:name>((?!</ns:Coverage>).)+?<ns:Coverage>.+?<ns:name>(?i:def)</ns:name>.+?</ns:Coverage>\R\h*</ns:name>\d*\K
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REPLACE
5
And the last regex, which deletes all main
<ns:name> .....</ns:name>
blocks, which do not satisfy these5
conditions, remains identical :SEARCH
(?s-i)^\h*<ns:name>((?!</ns:Coverage>).)+?</ns:Coverage>\R\h*</ns:name>(?!12345)\d*\R|</ns:name>\K12345
REPLACE
Leave EMPTY
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Hi, Thanks for your help. For the following xml, <ns:Input> <ns:location>asfsafs</ns:location> <ns:locationevent>xxxx</ns:locationevent> <ns:Action> <ns:name>abc</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Action> <ns:name>ghy</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Coverage> <ns:Action> <ns:name>deg</ns:name> </ns:Action> </ns:Coverage> </ns:locationevent> <ns:PPLID>121</ns:PPLID </ns:Input> <ns:Input> <ns:location>asfsafs</ns:location> <ns:locationevent>yyyy</ns:locationevent> <ns:Action> <ns:name>abc</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Action> <ns:name>def</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Coverage> <ns:Action> <ns:name>deg</ns:name> </ns:Action> </ns:Coverage> <ns:PPLID>124</ns:PPLID </ns:Input> <ns:Input> <ns:location>asfsafs</ns:location> <ns:locationevent>yyyy</ns:locationevent> <ns:Action> <ns:name>abc</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Action> <ns:name>def</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Coverage> <ns:Action> <ns:name>def</ns:name> </ns:Action> </ns:Coverage> <ns:PPLID>123</ns:PPLID> </ns:Input> I found the command to pick the xml which should match the following conditions <ns:Input>..<ns:locationevent>yyyy</ns:locationevent>..<ns:Action>..<ns:name>def</ns:name>..<ns:Coverage>..<ns:Action>..<ns:name>def</ns:name>..<ns:PPLID>124<ns:PPLID>..</ns:Input> if I use the below command (?s)<ns:Input>((?!</ns:Input>).)*?<ns:locationevent>yyyy</ns:locationevent.*?<ns:Action>.*?<ns:name>def</ns:name>.*?<ns:Coverage>.*?<ns:Action>.*?<ns:name>def</ns:name>.*?124.*?</ns:Input> it didn't find the second XML which matches in the given XML. but whereas if I use the below command (?s)<ns:Input>((?!</ns:Input>).)*?<ns:locationevent>yyyy</ns:locationevent.*?<ns:Action>.*?<ns:name>def</ns:name>.*?<ns:Coverage>.*?<ns:Action>.*?<ns:name>def</ns:name>.*?123.*?</ns:Input> It selects both second and third. In this case it should pick only the third. Can you check on this?
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Hi, @vijay-s,
From your last post, I see that you, again, changed the general layout of your text :
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The main
<ns:name> .... </ns:name>
blocks seem replaced with the main<ns:Input> .... </ns:Input>
ones -
The part
<ns:locations>....</ns:locations>
are absent -
You add the zones
<ns:PPLID>xxx</ns:PPLID>
between lines</ns:Coverage>
and</ns:Input>
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You add an other condition, as you want to search for a particular
124
value, in<ns:PPLID>.....</ns:PPLID>
Moreover, you tried to find out an unique regex to take an account all your conditions, simultaneously, although I explained, in my previous post, that this way will not work in the general case, regarding the present regexes that I exposed.
So, once and for all, could you, please :
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Give us a text, which recapitulates ALL possible cases, found in your real data ( I cannot guess it, obviously ! )
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Explain ALL the conditions required, in order to consider any main
XML
block as correct
Beware that all your requirements may exceed the power of regular expressions and would need other tools !!
Just consider all the wasted time, giving, each time, a part of the whole problem !!
When requirements are well defined and all cases well identified, generally, most of the job is done ;-))
BR
guy038
P.S. : Regexes are very sensitive to text. Even, one additional space character, somewhere, may prevent a regular expression from matching an expected piece of text !
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Hi, To fix the latests problem will fix all others. I will take care of those. Pls let me know if i can fix. For the given XML, I need to pick the XML for Below are the conditions <ns:Input>..<ns:locationevent>yyyy</ns:locationevent>..<ns:Action>..<ns:name>def</ns:name>..<ns:Coverage>..<ns:Action>..<ns:name>def</ns:name>..<ns:PPLID>124<ns:PPLID>..</ns:Input> -- which is the second occurence of the given XML I need to pick the XML for Below are the conditions <ns:Input>..<ns:locationevent>yyyy</ns:locationevent>..<ns:Action>..<ns:name>def</ns:name>..<ns:Coverage>..<ns:Action>..<ns:name>def</ns:name>..<ns:PPLID>123<ns:PPLID>..</ns:Input> --which is the third occurence of the given XML
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Wow, that’s a lot of work. A simpler approach, and one that is much more robust would be to use XSLT to transform your XML document.
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Hi, @vijay-s and All,
Ah …, this time, we get something more coherent ;-))
But, first, still a few corrections. In your penultimate post, some lines of your
XML
are misspelled !... <ns:PPLID>121</ns:PPLID ... ... <ns:PPLID>124</ns:PPLID
Of course, the ending
>
symbol is missing in these two linesOn the other hand, in your last post you said :
I need to pick the XML for Below are the conditions ns:Input…ns:locationeventyyyy</ns:locationevent>…ns:Action…ns:namedef</ns:name>…ns:Coverage…ns:Action…ns:namedef</ns:name>…ns:PPLID124ns:PPLID…</ns:Input> – which is the second occurence of the given XML
But unfortunately, given your example, the second block
<ns:Input> .... </ns:Input>
contains the part :<ns:Coverage> <ns:Action> <ns:name>deg</ns:name> </ns:Action> </ns:Coverage>
And, obviously, it cannot match the regex as the string
def
is required in<ns:name> .... </ns:name>
block !So, in order that your last post seems logic, I suppose that the definitive correct sample text is ( pppfff ! ) :
<ns:Input> <ns:location>asfsafs</ns:location> <ns:locationevent>xxxx</ns:locationevent> <ns:Action> <ns:name>abc</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Action> <ns:name>ghy</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Coverage> <ns:Action> <ns:name>deg</ns:name> </ns:Action> </ns:Coverage> </ns:locationevent> <ns:PPLID>121</ns:PPLID> <!-- ENDING symbol > ADDED --> </ns:Input> <ns:Input> <ns:location>asfsafs</ns:location> <ns:locationevent>yyyy</ns:locationevent> <ns:Action> <ns:name>abc</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Action> <ns:name>def</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Coverage> <ns:Action> <ns:name>def</ns:name> <!-- BEFORE deg --> </ns:Action> </ns:Coverage> <ns:PPLID>124</ns:PPLID> <!-- ENDING symbol > ADDED --> </ns:Input> <ns:Input> <ns:location>asfsafs</ns:location> <ns:locationevent>yyyy</ns:locationevent> <ns:Action> <ns:name>abc</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Action> <ns:name>def</ns:name> </ns:Action> <ns:Coverage> <ns:Action> <ns:name>def</ns:name> </ns:Action> </ns:Coverage> <ns:PPLID>123</ns:PPLID> </ns:Input>
Now, I succeeded to get an unique regex, catching all your conditions. But, note that this regex supposes, inplicitly, that :
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The part
<ns:locationevent> ..... </ns:locationevent>
appears first, with the chosen value, in the<ns:Input> ..... </ns:Input>
block -
Then, a part
<ns:name> ..... </ns:name>
, OUTSIDE a<ns:Coverage> .... </ns:Coverage>
block, is present -
Then, a
<ns:Coverage> ..... </ns:Coverage>
block, with the chosen value, is present -
Then, a part
<ns:name> ..... </ns:name>
, INSIDE a a<ns:Coverage> .... </ns:Coverage>
block, with the chosen value, is present -
Finally a part
<ns:PPLID> ..... </ns:PPLID>
is present, before the main ending tag</ns:Input>
and ONLY in that order ( I insist on this fact ). So, for instance, if a
<ns:Coverage> .... </ns:Coverage>
block is placed right after the main starting tag<ns:Input>
, the regex, below, will NOT match anything !!
Now that the example text is correct and the assumptions have been made, the construction of a regular expression is fairly easy ! I’m using the free-spacing mode, for readability
Refer to the link, below, for additional information on that mode :
https://www.regular-expressions.info/freespacing.html
So, here is my final regex, with a lot of comments !
(?x) # DEFAULT behavior : FREE-SPACING mode ( SPACE char IRRELEVANT and # begins COMMENT zone ) (?s) # DEFAULT behavior : the DOT stands for ANY SINGLE character ( STANDARD and EOL chars ) (?-i) # DEFAULT behavior : search SENSIBLE to CASE <ns:Input> # START of regex, with this EXACT case ( # START of Group 1 ( RE-USED, further on, as a SUBROUTINE CALL = (?1) ) ((?!</ns:Input>).)*? # SHORTEST range of characters, even NULL, NOT CONTAINING the string '</ns:Input>' ) # End of Group 1 <ns:locationevent>(?i:yyyy)</ns:locationevent> # FIRST condition ( part 'yyyy' NOT sensible to CASE ) (?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1 <ns:Action> # with that EXACT case (?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1 <ns:name>(?i:def)</ns:name> # SECOND condition ( part 'def' NOT sensible to CASE ) (?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1 <ns:Coverage> # THIRD condition, with that EXACT case (?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1 <ns:Action> # with that EXACT case (?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1 <ns:name>(?i:def)</ns:name> # FOURTH condition ( part 'def' NOT sensible to CASE ) (?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1 <ns:PPLID>(?i:124|123)</ns:PPLID> # FIFTH condition ( ALTERNATIVE '123|124' NOT sensible to CASE ) (?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1 </ns:Input> # END of REGEX, with that EXACT case
So the road map is :
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Start Notepad++ ( your N++ version must be
7.8
or higher : Press theeF1
key to verify ) -
Open the Mark dialog (
Search > Mark...
menu option ) -
Copy/paste all the free-spacing regex, above, in the
Find what:
zone =(?x)................</ns:Input>
-
Tick the
Bookmark
line option -
Tick the
Purge for each search
option -
Tick the
Wrap around
option -
Select the
Regular expression
search mode -
Click, once, on the
Mark All
button
=> Normally, all lines of the main
<ns:name> ... </ns:name>
blocks, which satisfy all the conditions, should be bookmarkedNow :
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Run the menu option
Search > Bookmark > Copy Bookmarked lines
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Open a new tab (
Ctrl + N
) -
Paste all the bookmarked lines (
Ctrl + V
)
REMARK :
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Note that the part
((?!</ns:Input>).)*?
represents the shortest range, even null, or any character, not containing the string</ns:Input>
, which must be re-used, further on in the regex, as(?1)
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Indeed, we cannot use the simple syntax
.*?
, with the lazy quantifier*?
, because, in case a condition is not realized, in a<ns:Input> .... </ns:Input>
block, it must not overlap this main block and skips to the next<ns:Input> .... </ns:Input>
block in order to get a possible match ;-))
Best Regards,
guy038
P.S. :
Surprisingly, when you select all this free-spacing regex, to paste it in the
Find what:
zone, you notice that it contains2,103
characters, which seems beyond the maximum of chars (2,046
) !!??But I did verify that the intregrality of the free-spacing regex is taken in account, using a main block, without the ending
>
symbol<ns:Input> ... ... ... </ns:Input
As expected, no match occurs for this main block !
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@guy038 said in extract XMl with regex:
(?x) # DEFAULT behavior : FREE-SPACING mode ( SPACE char IRRELEVANT and # begins COMMENT zone )
(?s) # DEFAULT behavior : the DOT stands for ANY SINGLE character ( STANDARD and EOL chars )
(?-i) # DEFAULT behavior : search SENSIBLE to CASEns:Input # START of regex, with this EXACT case
( # START of Group 1 ( RE-USED, further on, as a SUBROUTINE CALL = (?1) )
((?!</ns:Input>).)*? # SHORTEST range of characters, even NULL, NOT CONTAINING the string ‘</ns:Input>’
) # End of Group 1ns:locationevent(?i:yyyy)</ns:locationevent> # FIRST condition ( part ‘yyyy’ NOT sensible to CASE )
(?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1ns:Action # with that EXACT case
(?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1
ns:name(?i:def)</ns:name> # SECOND condition ( part ‘def’ NOT sensible to CASE )
(?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1ns:Coverage # THIRD condition, with that EXACT case
(?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1
ns:Action # with that EXACT case
(?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1ns:name(?i:def)</ns:name> # FOURTH condition ( part ‘def’ NOT sensible to CASE )
(?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1ns:PPLID(?i:124|123)</ns:PPLID> # FIFTH condition ( ALTERNATIVE ‘123|124’ NOT sensible to CASE )
(?1) # Regex standing for GROUP 1
</ns:Input>Thanks a lot. It works like a Charm!!!
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@guy038 I tried the above regex in Notepad 7.3.3 and it didnt work. I need the regex which works in 7.3.3 is there any other way to accomplish.
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Hello, @vijay-s,
As I still have a local N++
7.3.3
version, on my laptop, it was very easy to verify that the regex did work, assuming the hypotheses. For instance, I did verify that blocks, with values other thandef
or values other than123|124
were not selected by the regex, as expected !So, I suppose that you input text has, again, a different layout than before !?
Best Regards,
guy038
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``
It works in Notepad++ 7.3.3 if the expected XML is small, if it is big contains 1000 lines then it selects the whole file instaead of the expected XML. but the same thing works in 7.8…8
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if it is big … then it selects the whole file instead of the expected…
Sounds like a familiar bug.
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is there any update on this
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@vijay-S
What update are you expecting?
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@vijay-S said in extract XMl with regex:
``
It works in Notepad++ 7.3.3 if the expected XML is small, if it is big contains 1000 lines then it selects the whole file instaead of the expected XML. but the same thing works in 7.8…8The regex works in 7.8.8 not in 7.3.3 in case if the selected xml is big
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@vijay-S ,
Please stop marking most of your normal discussion as “plaintext” or “code”. That
</> CODE
button (or manually using the ``` lines before and after) is used to highlight text that you need to keep raw – like code, or example text for your data – it is not meant to format every paragraph of your discussion. It makes it really hard to read.As proof, here’s my last paragraph in CODE mode; notice how hard it is to read?
Please stop marking most of your normal discussion as "plaintext" or "code". That `</> CODE` button is used to highlight text that you need to keep raw -- like code, or example text for your data -- it is not meant to format every paragraph of your discussion. It makes it really hard to read.
Don’t get me wrong: It’s great for example text – so keep using it for when you are asking about certain text that you are trying to work with. But don’t use it for your normal conversation paragraphs.
Back to your clarification:
The regex works in 7.8.8
There is no such version as 7.8.8 (at least, not yet); v7.8.2 has been released, and there is a release-candidate for v7.8.3. I will assume you mean v7.8.2, since that was the newest when this conversation started.
The regex works in
7.8.87.8.2 not in 7.3.3 in case if the selected xml is bigRegarding there being a bug in v7.3.3 that isn’t present in v7.8.2: What do you expect? Do you expect a bugfix version of v7.3.3? The version number is incremented as bugs are fixed or features are improved. If v7.3.3 has a bug that you need fixed, you need to move to a newer version that has the bug fixed; you have already admitted that the feature works in newer versions. So if you need a version with the bug fixed, use the version with the bug fixed. If you don’t need a version with the bug fixed, feel free to stick with the old v7.3.3; either way, don’t complain that the bug still exists in the old version when you know it’s fixed in a newer version.