I want to use a different type to unmarshal the XML content of a child node based on its parent's name attribute.
In the following example I have 2 children nodes with attributes "apple" and "peach". I would like to use type Apple
when the attribute is "apple"
and Peach
when it's "peach"
. Basically Apple
and Peach
have very different structures, so that's the scenario. How would I accomplish that or what would be the suggested approach?
Here is the playground with a basic setup to the problem.
<element>
<node name="apple">
<apple>
<color>red<color>
</apple>
</node>
<node name="peach">
<peach>
<size>medium</size>
</peach>
</node>
</element>
var x = `...` // xml
type Element struct {
Nodes []struct{
Name string `xml:"name,attr"`
} `xml:"node"`
Apple Apple
Peach Peach
}
type Apple struct { // use this struct if name is "apple"
Color string
}
type Peach struct { // use this struct if name is "peach"
Size string
}
func main() {
e := Element{}
err := xml.Unmarshal([]byte(x), &e)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
fmt.Println(e.Apple.Color)
fmt.Println(e.Peach.Size
}
You can simply iterate on the nodes of your Element
type and create the Apple
and Peach
structures as you go, by switching on their Name
attribute:
for _, element := range e.Nodes {
switch element.Name {
case "apple":
apples = append(apples, Apple{})
case "peach":
peaches = append(peaches, Peach{})
}
}
Another, more complex solution (but also more elegant and practical) would be to implement your own UnmarshalXML
method on your Element
type, which would directly populate it with the proper types:
type Apple struct {
Color string
}
type Peach struct {
Size string
}
type Fruits struct {
Apples []Apple
Peaches []Peach
}
type Element struct {
XMLName xml.Name `xml:"element"`
Nodes []struct {
Name string `xml:"name,attr"`
Apple struct {
Color string `xml:"color"`
} `xml:"apple"`
Peach struct {
Size string `xml:"size"`
} `xml:"peach"`
} `xml:"node"`
}
func (f *Fruits) UnmarshalXML(d *xml.Decoder, start xml.StartElement) error {
var element Element
d.DecodeElement(&element, &start)
for _, el := range element.Nodes {
switch el.Name {
case "apple":
f.Apples = append(f.Apples, Apple{
Color: el.Apple.Color,
})
case "peach":
f.Peaches = append(f.Peaches, Peach{
Size: el.Peach.Size,
})
}
}
return nil
}
func main() {
f := Fruits{}
err := xml.Unmarshal([]byte(x), &f)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
fmt.Println("Apples:", f.Apples)
fmt.Println("Peaches", f.Peaches)
}
Here is a playground link for this second solution
Result:
Apples: [{red}] Peaches [{medium}]