JSON to XML Activity

Overview

The JSON to XML activity converts JSON documents to XML. Define your XML structure within jsonContent, and optionally configure namespaces, XML declaration, and output formatting options.

---

Activity Configuration

Option	Type	Default	Description
prettyPrint	boolean	false	Format output with indentation and newlines
skipEmptyElements	boolean	false	Exclude elements with empty string values
skipEmptyAttributes	boolean	false	Exclude attributes with empty string values
skipNullElements	boolean	true	Exclude elements with null values
skipNullAttributes	boolean	true	Exclude attributes with null values

Empty and Null Handling

Input:

{
  "jsonContent": {
    "Order": {
      "_attributes": {
        "id": "ORD-001",
        "priority": "",
        "region": null
      },
      "Name": "Test Order",
      "Description": "",
      "Notes": null
    }
  }
}

Output with defaults (skipEmpty*=false, skipNull*=true):

<Order id="ORD-001" priority="">
  <Name>Test Order</Name>
  <Description></Description>
</Order>

Output with skipEmptyElements=true, skipEmptyAttributes=true:

<Order id="ORD-001">
  <Name>Test Order</Name>
</Order>

---

Schema Structure

{
  "$schema": "https://platform.ivoyant.io/schemas/json-to-xml/v1.0.0",
  "_declaration": {
    "version": "1.0",
    "encoding": "UTF-8",
    "standalone": "yes"
  },
  "_namespaces": {
    "default": "http://example.com/orders",
    "cust": "http://example.com/customer"
  },
  "jsonContent": {
    "Order": {
      ...
    }
  }
}

Field	Required	Description
$schema	No	Schema reference for validation
_declaration	No	XML declaration. If omitted, no <?xml?> header is added
_namespaces	No	Namespace declarations. If omitted, produces simple XML
jsonContent	Yes	Your XML content definition

---

Basic Elements

JSON keys become XML element names. Simple values become text content.

JSON:

{
  "jsonContent": {
    "Order": {
      "OrderDate": "2024-01-15",
      "Status": "confirmed",
      "Total": 299.99
    }
  }
}

XML:

<Order>
  <OrderDate>2024-01-15</OrderDate>
  <Status>confirmed</Status>
  <Total>299.99</Total>
</Order>

---

Adding Attributes

Use _attributes to add XML attributes to an element.

JSON:

{
  "jsonContent": {
    "Order": {
      "_attributes": {
        "id": "ORD-2024-001",
        "status": "confirmed"
      },
      "OrderDate": "2024-01-15",
      "Customer": {
        "_attributes": { "id": "CUST-123" },
        "Name": "Acme Corp"
      }
    }
  }
}

XML:

<Order id="ORD-2024-001" status="confirmed">
  <OrderDate>2024-01-15</OrderDate>
  <Customer id="CUST-123">
    <Name>Acme Corp</Name>
  </Customer>
</Order>

---

Adding Namespaces

1. Declare namespaces in _namespaces (use default for the default namespace)
2. Use _ns on elements to apply a namespace prefix
3. Child elements inherit the parent's namespace prefix

JSON:

{
  "_namespaces": {
    "default": "http://example.com/orders",
    "cust": "http://example.com/customer"
  },
  "jsonContent": {
    "Order": {
      "_attributes": { "id": "ORD-001" },
      "Customer": {
        "_ns": "cust",
        "_attributes": { "id": "CUST-123" },
        "Name": "Acme Corp",
        "Email": "orders@acme.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

XML:

<Order xmlns="http://example.com/orders" xmlns:cust="http://example.com/customer" id="ORD-001">
  <cust:Customer id="CUST-123">
    <cust:Name>Acme Corp</cust:Name>
    <cust:Email>orders@acme.com</cust:Email>
  </cust:Customer>
</Order>

Note: Using an undeclared namespace prefix will result in an error.

---

Repeating Elements (Arrays)

Use JSON arrays for repeating XML elements.

JSON:

{
  "jsonContent": {
    "Order": {
      "Items": {
        "Item": [
          {
            "_attributes": { "sku": "WIDGET-001" },
            "Description": "Premium Widget",
            "Quantity": 5
          },
          {
            "_attributes": { "sku": "GADGET-002" },
            "Description": "Super Gadget",
            "Quantity": 2
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

XML:

<Order>
  <Items>
    <Item sku="WIDGET-001">
      <Description>Premium Widget</Description>
      <Quantity>5</Quantity>
    </Item>
    <Item sku="GADGET-002">
      <Description>Super Gadget</Description>
      <Quantity>2</Quantity>
    </Item>
  </Items>
</Order>

---

Special Content

Field	Purpose	Use Case
_text	Plain text content	Mixed content or explicit text
_cdata	CDATA section	Content with special characters (<, >, &)
_comment	XML comment	Documentation within XML

JSON:

{
  "jsonContent": {
    "Order": {
      "_comment": "Order notes section",
      "Message": {
        "_text": "Thank you for your order"
      },
      "Script": {
        "_cdata": "if (x < 10 && y > 5) { return true; }"
      }
    }
  }
}

XML:

<Order>
  <!-- Order notes section -->
  <Message>Thank you for your order</Message>
  <Script><![CDATA[if (x < 10 && y > 5) { return true; }]]></Script>
</Order>

---

Quick Reference

JSON	XML Result
"Name": "John"	<Name>John</Name>
"_attributes": { "id": "1" }	id="1" on element
"_ns": "cust"	cust: prefix on element and children
"Item": [{...}, {...}]	Multiple <Item> elements
"_text": "Hello"	Text content
"_cdata": "<raw>"	<![CDATA[<raw>]]>
"_comment": "Note"	<!-- Note -->

---

Complete Example

{
  "$schema": "https://platform.ivoyant.io/schemas/json-to-xml/v1.0.0",
  "_declaration": {
    "version": "1.0",
    "encoding": "UTF-8"
  },
  "_namespaces": {
    "default": "http://api.example.com/orders/v1",
    "cust": "http://api.example.com/customer/v1"
  },
  "jsonContent": {
    "Order": {
      "_attributes": {
        "id": "ORD-2024-00123",
        "status": "confirmed"
      },
      "OrderDate": "2024-01-15",
      "_comment": "Customer information",
      "Customer": {
        "_ns": "cust",
        "_attributes": { "id": "CUST-456" },
        "Name": "Acme Corporation",
        "Email": "orders@acme.com"
      },
      "Items": {
        "Item": [
          {
            "_attributes": { "sku": "WIDGET-001" },
            "Description": "Premium Widget",
            "Quantity": 10,
            "Price": 29.99
          }
        ]
      },
      "Notes": {
        "_cdata": "Rush order: Contact <ops@acme.com> for questions"
      }
    }
  }
}

XML Output:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Order xmlns="http://api.example.com/orders/v1" 
       xmlns:cust="http://api.example.com/customer/v1" 
       id="ORD-2024-00123" 
       status="confirmed">
  <OrderDate>2024-01-15</OrderDate>
  <!-- Customer information -->
  <cust:Customer id="CUST-456">
    <cust:Name>Acme Corporation</cust:Name>
    <cust:Email>orders@acme.com</cust:Email>
  </cust:Customer>
  <Items>
    <Item sku="WIDGET-001">
      <Description>Premium Widget</Description>
      <Quantity>10</Quantity>
      <Price>29.99</Price>
    </Item>
  </Items>
  <Notes><![CDATA[Rush order: Contact <ops@acme.com> for questions]]></Notes>
</Order>