SimpleXmlSerializer

A simple Android tool to help create XML from Java objects and also read XML Strings and convert into java objects.

Download

Add the dependency in Gradle:

dependencies {
    compile 'com.github.tibagni:simple-xml-serializer:1.0.0'
}

Package is available in jcenter

Usage

SimpleXmlSerializer is a very simple and easy-to-use tool.

Serializing an existing Java Object

Suppose you have the following Java class:

public class Product {
    private String name;
    private String description;
    private double price;
    
    // getters and setters ...
}

If you want to convert this simple class into XML, all you have to do is add a few annotations:

@XmlClass
public class Product {
    @XmlField("Name")
    private String name;

    @XmlField("Description")
    private String description;

    @XmlField("Price")
    private double price;
    
    // getters and setters ...
}

And tell XmlSerializer to do the job:

private String toXml(Product product) throws IllegalAccessException {
    XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer();
    return serializer.serialize(product);
}

Deserializing an Object

To convert an XML String into a Java Object, it is just as simple. Below code will convert the following xml:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Product>
  <Description>Product Description</Description>
  <Name>Product Name</Name>
  <Price>43.1</Price>
</Product>

into an instance of Product (as defined above). Just run the following code:

private Product fromXml(String xml) throws XmlDeserializationException {
    XmlDeserializer deserializer = new XmlDeserializer(Product.class);
    return (Product) deserializer.deserialize(xml);
}

Complex Objects

The examples above show how to serialize and deserialize a simple Object containing only primitive types (and String). You are not limited to it. It is also possible to serialize/deserialize nested objects and objects with lists. Check the app module for a detailed exapmple of use. Below is an example of a more complex structure that you can use:

@XmlClass
public class Product {
    @XmlField("Name")
    private String name;

    @XmlField("Description")
    private String description;

    @XmlField("Price")
    private double price;
    
    // getters and setters ...
}
...
@XmlClass
public class ShoppingCartItem {
    @XmlObject("Product")
    private Product product;

    @XmlField("Quantity")
    private int quantity;
    
    // getters and setters ...
}
...
@XmlClass
public class ShoppingCart {
    @XmlObjectList("Items")
    private List<ShoppingCartItem> items;

    @XmlField("Name")
    private String name;
    
    // getters and setters ...
}

Annotations

As shown in the examples above, there are 4 annotations to use:

@XmlClass

Used at class level. This annotation is used to tell a class represents Xml content

@XmlField("xmlTag")

Used at field level. This annotation is used to tell a certain field is part of the Xml content. Only primitive types and String

@XmlObject("xmlTag")

Used at field level. This annotation is used to tell a certain field is part of the Xml content. Only non-primitive types

@XmlObjectList("xmlTag")

Used at field level. This annotation is used to tell a list is part of the Xml content. Only java.util.List

@XmlObjects("xmlTag")

Used at field level. This annotation is used to tell a list is part of the Xml content. Only java.util.List The difference between @XmlObjects and @XmlObjectList is that @XmlObjectList has a tag for the list. See example below:

@XmlObjects:

<xml>
    <item>...</item>
    <item>...</item>
    <item>...</item>
</xml>

@XmlObjectList:

<xml>
    <xmlList>
        <item>...</item>
        <item>...</item>
        <item>...</item>
    </xmlList>
</xml>