Which is the easiest approach to get & interpret a XML file response from a PHP script?

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Best XML Parser for PHP
Using JAXB with Google Android

I need to add a simple functionality into my Android app.

I must connect to this fictional script: http://test/getMagazinesList.php

The script will return me a XML file like this:

<magazines>
 <magazine title="APP 1" id="1">
  <description>Prueba real</description>
   <miniature>http://web/miniature.jpg</miniature>
 </magazine>
 <magazine title="APP 2" id="2">
  <description>Prueba real 2</description>
   <miniature>http://web/miniature2.jpg</miniature>
 </magazine>
 <magazine title="APP 3" id="3">
  <description>Prueba real 3</description>
   <miniature>http://web/miniature3.jpg</miniature>
 </magazine>
</magazines>

The objective is to store all the info of the XML in a List of these MagazinePreview objects:

public class MagazinePreview {
String title;
String id;
String description;
String miniatureUrl;
Bitmap miniature;
public MagazinePreview(String title, String id, String description,
        String miniatureUrl) {
    super();
    this.title = title;
    this.id = id;
    this.description = description;
    this.miniatureUrl = miniatureUrl;
    }   
}

Which is the easiest approach to connect to that PHP and get the XML and interpret it storing the info on the List of MagazinePreview class objects?

Thanks

and many more suitable duplicates in the Related section to the right. Please use the search function before asking. [Do your homework.](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/ask-advice) — Gordon, Mar 15 '12 at 09:05
You can refer here too. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4624440/sending-a-response-from-php-to-an-android-java-mobile-app — Calvin, Mar 15 '12 at 09:08
@Pableras84 "Easiest way" is not constructive. As far as I can tell the OP is simply asking how to process XML and we got answers to that for any language. — Gordon, Mar 15 '12 at 09:09

Alexander van Oostenrijk · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-15T13:42:15.933

You can use Simple XML for this.

Adorn your MagazinePreview class with these annotations:

public class MagazinePreview 
{
  @Attribute
  String title;
  @Attribute
  String id;
  @Element
  String description;
  @Element(name="miniatura")
  String miniatureUrl;
  Bitmap miniature;
  public MagazinePreview(String title, String id, 
                         String description, String miniatureUrl) 
  {
    super();
    ...
  }   
}

Now add a class for your collection of magazines. Add a method that performs deserialization of an XML string, instantiating your objects as it does so:

@Root
public class MagazinePreviews
{
  @ElementList(name="magazines")
  ArrayList<MagazinePreviews> previews;

  public static MagazinePreviews Load(String xml)
  {
    Serializer serializer = new Persister();
    return serializer.read(MagazinePreviews.class, xml);
  }
}

This will get you a MagazinePreviews instance with your MagazinePreview instances in it. Simple XML does all the heavy lifting. It will use the annotations (@Element, @Attribute) to know which data to place in which fields.

You'll still need a way to connect to your PHP server script. Assuming it's a script that simply returns a string of XML, you could use this:

public String getXML() throws Exception
{
  StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
  HttpClient httpclient = new DefaultHttpClient();
  HttpGet httpget = new HttpGet("myscript.php");
  HttpResponse response = httpclient.execute(httpget);
  int statuscode = response.getStatusLine().getStatusCode();
  if(statuscode == 200)
  {
    HttpEntity entity = response.getEntity();
    InputStream content = entity.getContent();
    BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(content));
    String line;
    while ((line = reader.readLine()) != null)  builder.append(line);               
  }
  else throw new Exception("HTTP error: " + String.valueOf(statuscode));
  return builder.toString();
}

This code calls your PHP script on the server, retrieves the response (assumed to be an XML string), or throws an error if the request fails.

can i use SimpleXML on a commercial app without any restrictions? — NullPointerException, Mar 15 '12 at 09:31
why "@Element(name="miniatura")" before String miniatureUrl; ?? Also, why title & id are atributes but description is an element? — NullPointerException, Mar 15 '12 at 09:36
You can use SimpleXML without any restrictions. You must use an `@Attribute` annotation for XML attributes, and an `@Element` annotation for XML elements. I use `@Element(name="miniatura")` for `String miniatureUrl' since the field name is different from the one used in the XML. — Alexander van Oostenrijk, Mar 15 '12 at 10:25
Thanks, i understand it better now. The problem now is how can i transform the String xml that i obtain with your last method, into the objects magazinepreview. How can i achieve that last thing? — NullPointerException, Mar 15 '12 at 11:04
Call the `MagazinePreviews.Load(String xml)` method, of course. — Alexander van Oostenrijk, Mar 15 '12 at 12:18

Which is the easiest approach to get & interpret a XML file response from a PHP script?

1 Answers1