How to pretty print the XML.

[Priyanka_77]

I wan to develop one function which takes the XML as an input and returns an well formatted XML with indentation, just like how we do pretty print.

How can i do that?
Example:
<level1>
<level2>
<apple>content</apple>
<boo>something else</boo>
<level3>
<baba>other things</baba>
<level3>
<foo>hello</foo>
<something/>
<level2>
<level1>

Well formatted XML:
<level1>

 <level2>
   <apple>content</apple>
   <boo>something else</boo>
   <level3>
     <baba>other things</baba>
   </level3>
   <foo>hello</foo>
   <something />
  </level2>
</level1>

- sub levels are indented
- if the tag has no other tag the closing is at the end of line

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@Priyanka_77 

ServiceNow doesn't have any function for that.

You will have to build your own solution

Something like this

var uglyXml = '<level1><level2><apple>content</apple><boo>something else</boo><level3><baba>other things</baba></level3><foo>hello</foo><something/></level2></level1>';
var pretty = prettyPrintXML(uglyXml);
gs.info('\n' + pretty);

function prettyPrintXML(xmlInput) {
    // Remove spaces between tags
    xmlInput = xmlInput.replace(/>\s*</g, '><');
  
    var formatted = '';
    var indent = '';
    var indentStep = '  '; // 2 spaces per level
  
    // Split by tags, but keep them
    var xmlArr = xmlInput.replace(/</g, '~::~<').split('~::~');
    for (var i = 0; i < xmlArr.length; i++) {
        var node = xmlArr[i];
        if (!node.trim()) continue;
      
        if (node.match(/^<\//)) { // Closing tag: </foo>
            indent = indent.substring(0, indent.length - indentStep.length);
            formatted += indent + node + '\n';
        } else if (node.match(/^<.*\/>$/)) { // Self-closing tag: <foo/>
            formatted += indent + node + '\n';
        } else if (node.match(/^<[^!?][^>]*>$/)) { // Opening tag: <foo>
            formatted += indent + node + '\n';
            indent += indentStep;
        } else { // Text, comment, declaration
            formatted += indent + node + '\n';
        }
    }
    return formatted.trim();
}

Output:

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@Priyanka_77 

Hope you are doing good.

Did my reply answer your question?

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.

[Priyanka_77]

Hi Ankur,

the tag should end on the same line.  Currently, it is ending on new line.
e.g. <apple> fruit </apple>

and not <apple> fruit

</apple>

[Ankur Bawiskar · Accepted solution]

@Priyanka_77 

this worked fine for me

function prettyPrintXML(xml) {
    xml = xml.replace(/>\s+</g, '><').trim(); // Remove whitespace between tags

    var result = '';
    var indentStep = '  ';
    var indent = '';

    // Split into nodes with regex, preserving text between tags
    var re = /(<[^>]+>|[^<]+)/g;
    var nodes = [];
    var match;
    while (match = re.exec(xml)) {
        // Remove empty text nodes
        if (match[0].trim() === '') continue;
        nodes.push(match[0]);
    }

    var i = 0;
    while (i < nodes.length) {
        var node = nodes[i];

        // Open tag
        var openTagMatch = node.match(/^<([a-zA-Z0-9_:.-]+)[^>]*>$/);
        if (openTagMatch) {
            // Check for the pattern: <tag>text</tag>
            if (
                i + 2 < nodes.length &&
                !nodes[i + 1].match(/^</) && // next node is text
                nodes[i + 2].match(new RegExp('^</'+openTagMatch[1]+'>\\s*$')) // and next-next node is matching close tag
            ) {
                result += indent + node + nodes[i + 1].trim() + nodes[i + 2] + '\n';
                i += 3;
                continue;
            } else {
                result += indent + node + '\n';
                indent += indentStep;
                i++;
                continue;
            }
        }

        // Close tag
        if (node.match(/^<\/[a-zA-Z0-9_:.-]+>/)) {
            indent = indent.substring(0, indent.length - indentStep.length);
            result += indent + node + '\n';
            i++;
            continue;
        }

        // Self-closing tag
        if (node.match(/^<[^>]+\/>$/)) {
            result += indent + node + '\n';
            i++;
            continue;
        }

        // Text or other stuff
        result += indent + node.trim() + '\n';
        i++;
    }
    return result.trim();
}

// EXAMPLE USAGE:
var uglyXml = '<level1><level2><apple>content</apple><boo>something else</boo><level3><baba>other things</baba></level3><foo>hello</foo><something/></level2></level1>';
gs.info('\n' + prettyPrintXML(uglyXml));

Output:

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.