How to Efficiently Read XML Data with Tag Values in Python using xml.etree.ElementTree

Описание: Discover how to read XML files in Python and check for specific tag values using `xml.etree.ElementTree` in this comprehensive guide.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/68181445/ asked by the user 'Letoncse' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2414345/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/68192481/ provided by the user 'Lenormju' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/11384184/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: Python xml read if have tag value using xml.etree.ElementTree

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
How to Efficiently Read XML Data with Tag Values in Python using xml.etree.ElementTree

When working with XML data in Python, you may encounter scenarios where you need to check if a specific tag has a non-null value. This is particularly useful when dealing with structured data, as it allows you to filter out entries based on their content. In this guide, we’ll guide you through a solution using Python's built-in library xml.etree.ElementTree to read an XML file and determine if the "TypeOfVessel" tag has a value.

The Problem

You might have an XML file representing a collection of records, and you need to check if the "TypeOfVessel" tag in each record is present or not. If "TypeOfVessel" is null (or missing), you will want to skip or highlight that particular record. Let’s look at the structure of our XML data:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

The goal is to read through this XML structure and print out the regime names along with information about whether or not the "TypeOfVessel" tag is filled.

The Solution

To tackle this task, we can utilize the xml.etree.ElementTree library in Python. Let's break down the solution step-by-step.

Step 1: Parse the XML File

First, we need to load the XML file and parse its contents.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Here, we’re using ET.parse() to read the XML file, and findall() to retrieve all entries of the <ConsolidatedList> tag.

Step 2: Checking Tag Values

Next, we will loop through the entries and check the "TypeOfVessel" tag for its value. To find out if it’s missing or present, we can check the tag’s attributes.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Here, we retrieve the RegimeName and check if TypeOfVessel is marked as nil, indicating a missing tag. We then print out the results.

Step 3: Alternate Memory Efficient Parsing

If you're dealing with large XML files and want to keep memory usage low, consider using event-based parsing with Python generators. Here’s an example:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This function reads the XML file in smaller chunks and yields the entries that have a non-null "TypeOfVessel".

Step 4: Final Output Function

Finally, we can define a simple function to handle the valid vessel records.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

When executed, this code will output:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

In this guide, we explored how to read XML data in Python to check for specific tag values using the xml.etree.ElementTree library. You learned how to parse XML files, check if tags are missing, and even employ memory-efficient parsing techniques. This knowledge will prove invaluable when working with structured data formats like XML, ensuring you can efficiently extract the information you need.

Happy coding!