Question

Parsing XML page into database

Asked by: Xtianu

I've got a XML page at a website that I need to fetch and populate into a MSSQL database. The XML contains the following:

<api version="1">
    <currentTime>2007-06-21 17:49:22</currentTime>
    <result>
        <rowset name="entries" key="refID">
            <row date="2007-06-15 14:13:00" refID="59149" refTypeID="54" ownerName1="test" ownerID1="150337897" ownerName2="test2" ownerID2="1000132" argName1="" argID1="0" amount="-7.93" balance="190210393.87" reason=""/>
        </rowset>
    </result>
    <cachedUntil>2007-06-21 17:49:32</cachedUntil>
</api>

The row tag can exist in singles, or thousands. Everything needs to be copied over to the DB using the refID as the key. Up to 1000 rows can be listed.

Ideas - since I'm completely lost at this, never touched anything simlar.

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2007-08-10 at 09:42:14ID22755111
Tags

parsing

,

xml

Topic

ColdFusion Application Server

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
11

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Is there api's for parsing xml?
    What is the easiest way to parse an xml file, is there api's for this? I'd rather not read it char by char, when I use readln, it reads it as one continuous line, so there must not be an eoln marker in the xml file I attempted to parse (it would be much easier parsing it wi...
  2. Oracle & XML
    I need to generate a fairly complex XML file (with lists and nested to up 3-4 levels) and have currently done so using my own PL/SQL code with CURSORS etc. I have also seen Oracle XML-SQL utility which would appear to do the same thing, although it looks like it can only han...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: SBennettPosted on 2007-08-10 at 10:02:38ID: 19671645

here is how you would parse out your xml:

<cfsavecontent variable="xmlfile"><?xml version="1.0"?>
<api version="1">
    <currentTime>2007-06-21 17:49:22</currentTime>
    <result>
        <rowset name="entries" key="refID">
            <row date="2007-06-15 14:13:00" refID="59149" refTypeID="54" ownerName1="test1" ownerID1="150337897" ownerName2="test2" ownerID2="1000131" argName1="" argID1="0" amount="-7.93" balance="190210393.87" reason=""/>
                  <row date="2007-06-16 13:14:00" refID="59149" refTypeID="54" ownerName1="test3" ownerID1="150337897" ownerName2="test4" ownerID2="1000132" argName1="" argID1="0" amount="-7.93" balance="190210393.87" reason=""/>
        </rowset>
    </result>
    <cachedUntil>2007-06-21 17:49:32</cachedUntil>
</api></cfsavecontent>

<cfset MyXMLDoc = xmlParse(XMLFile)>

<cfset xmlRows = xmlSearch(MyXMLDoc,"/api/result/rowset/row")>

<cfoutput>
<cfloop from="1" to="#arraylen(xmlRows)#" index="i">
      <cfset RowXML = xmlparse(xmlRows[i])>
      <b>date:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.date#<br>
      <b>refID:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.refID#<br>
      <b>refTypeID:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.refTypeID#<br>
      <b>ownerName1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerName1#<br>
      <b>ownerID1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerID1#<br>
      <b>ownerName2:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerName2#<br>
      <b>ownerID2:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerID2#<br>
      <b>argName1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.argName1#<br>
      <b>argID1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.argID1#<br>
      <b>amount:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.amount#<br>
      <b>balance:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.balance#<br>
      <b>reason:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.reason#<br><br><br>
</cfloop>
</cfoutput>

Then just use thos variables in your query

 

by: XtianuPosted on 2007-08-10 at 10:06:22ID: 19671673

The XML file is located on another webserver (not mine) so I need the page to somehow fetch the XML page from that server. I've been toying with cfhhtp but I'm not sure how it 'stores' it while parsing the rest of the CFM page so I can't get it working like I want.

So, I assume the cfsavecontent needs to be switched with something else, ones that's done - I guess it should all be taken care of.

 

by: SBennettPosted on 2007-08-10 at 10:12:14ID: 19671723

<cfhttp url="url to xml file here" method="GET"></cfhttp>

<cfset MyXMLDoc = xmlParse(cfhttp.filecontent)>

<cfset xmlRows = xmlSearch(MyXMLDoc,"/api/result/rowset/row")>

<cfoutput>
<cfloop from="1" to="#arraylen(xmlRows)#" index="i">
      <cfset RowXML = xmlparse(xmlRows[i])>
      <b>date:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.date#<br>
      <b>refID:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.refID#<br>
      <b>refTypeID:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.refTypeID#<br>
      <b>ownerName1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerName1#<br>
      <b>ownerID1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerID1#<br>
      <b>ownerName2:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerName2#<br>
      <b>ownerID2:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerID2#<br>
      <b>argName1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.argName1#<br>
      <b>argID1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.argID1#<br>
      <b>amount:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.amount#<br>
      <b>balance:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.balance#<br>
      <b>reason:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.reason#<br><br><br>
</cfloop>
</cfoutput>

 

by: XtianuPosted on 2007-08-10 at 10:12:16ID: 19671725

Did a copy & paste of your code, just to start tinkering with it and got the following error:

An error occured while Parsing an XML document.  
The processing instruction target matching "[xX][mM][lL]" is not allowed.  
 
The error occurred in H:\wwwroot\iac\xml\fetch.cfm: line 18
 
16 : </api></cfsavecontent>
17 :
18 : <cfset MyXMLDoc = xmlParse(XMLFile)>
19 :
20 : <cfset xmlRows = xmlSearch(MyXMLDoc,"/api/result/rowset/row")>
 

 

by: SBennettPosted on 2007-08-10 at 10:14:47ID: 19671751

make sure your xml file starts with at <?xml version="1.0"?> tag

 

by: XtianuPosted on 2007-08-10 at 10:15:19ID: 19671757

You're fast on comments! :) Can I borrow your brain? It seems handy


An error occured while Parsing an XML document.  
Content is not allowed in prolog.  
 
The error occurred in H:\wwwroot\xml\fetch.cfm: line 7
 
5 : <cfhttp url="http:// remove server url /xml/test.xml" method="GET"></cfhttp>
6 :
7 : <cfset MyXMLDoc = xmlParse(cfhttp.filecontent)>
8 :
9 : <cfset xmlRows = xmlSearch(MyXMLDoc,"/api/result/rowset/row")>

 

 

by: SBennettPosted on 2007-08-10 at 10:20:26ID: 19671809

make sure there are not spaces or anything before the xml document declaration (<?xml version="1.0"?> ) the xml document declaration shoulb the the veryfirst character xmlparse sees in the string.

you can also use the trim() function to remove whitespace that might come before it ifyou think your xml files might have it.

 <cfset MyXMLDoc = xmlParse(trim(cfhttp.filecontent))>

 

by: SBennettPosted on 2007-08-10 at 10:21:08ID: 19671820

I'd let you have my brain, except i'm a little attached to it..... but for the right price....

 

by: XtianuPosted on 2007-08-10 at 10:24:41ID: 19671851

Still the same error message.

XML file:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<api version="1">
    <currentTime>2007-06-21 17:49:22</currentTime>
    <result>
        <rowset name="entries" key="refID">
            <row date="2007-06-15 14:13:00" refID="59149" refTypeID="54" ownerName1="test1" ownerID1="150337897" ownerName2="test2" ownerID2="1000131" argName1="" argID1="0" amount="-7.93" balance="190210393.87" reason=""/>
                  <row date="2007-06-16 13:14:00" refID="59149" refTypeID="54" ownerName1="test3" ownerID1="150337897" ownerName2="test4" ownerID2="1000132" argName1="" argID1="0" amount="-7.93" balance="190210393.87" reason=""/>
        </rowset>
    </result>
    <cachedUntil>2007-06-21 17:49:32</cachedUntil>
</api>
-- end of file

code beeing used:
<cfhttp url="http://removed/xml/test.xml" method="GET"></cfhttp>

<cfset MyXMLDoc = xmlParse(trim(cfhttp.filecontent))>

<cfset xmlRows = xmlSearch(MyXMLDoc,"/api/result/rowset/row")>

<cfoutput>
<cfloop from="1" to="#arraylen(xmlRows)#" index="i">
      <cfset RowXML = xmlparse(xmlRows[i])>
      <b>date:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.date#<br>
      <b>refID:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.refID#<br>
      <b>refTypeID:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.refTypeID#<br>
      <b>ownerName1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerName1#<br>
      <b>ownerID1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerID1#<br>
      <b>ownerName2:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerName2#<br>
      <b>ownerID2:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.ownerID2#<br>
      <b>argName1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.argName1#<br>
      <b>argID1:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.argID1#<br>
      <b>amount:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.amount#<br>
      <b>balance:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.balance#<br>
      <b>reason:</b> #RowXML.row.XmlAttributes.reason#<br><br><br>
</cfloop>
</cfoutput>

Wonder what the going price for brains is these days ..

 

by: XtianuPosted on 2007-08-10 at 10:53:40ID: 19672084

Hrm.

Copied it over to another dev server and it worked. Difference beeing one runing CFM7.0.2, the other runing CFM8. So it's all working fine now - awesome, thanks! :)

 

by: SBennettPosted on 2007-08-10 at 11:32:22ID: 19672395

CF8 is more forgiving with xml

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...