A curated list of the best tools, libraries, tutorials, and more for all things XML-related.
- The XML Family (in a nutshell)
- Drafts and Community Advances
- Processing Libraries
- Command-Line Tools
- Online Tools
- Validation
- Native XML Databases
- XML-based Formats/Languages
- Community
- Tutorials
- Books
- VS Code Extensions
- Editors (validating)
- Browser Extensions
- Contribute
A list of W3C standards closely related to XML.
- Extensible Markup Language (XML) Specifications - XML 1.0, XML 1.1
- Annotated specification by Tim Bray.
- Namespaces in XML - Namespaces in XML 1.0, Namespaces in XML 1.1
- XML Information Set - an abstract data model for XML documents.
- Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) - a family of languages used for transforming and presenting XML documents.
- XSL-FO (Formatting Objects) - presentation layer for ormatting XML data for output to screen, paper, or other media.
- XSLT - a language for transforming XML documents into other XML documents, HTML, text, or other formats.
- XML Path Language (XPath) - a language used for navigating and selecting nodes in an XML document.
- XML Validation:
- Document Type Definition (DTD) - a set of rules that define the legal building blocks of an XML document.
- W3C XML Schema Definitions (XSD) - a language for describing the structure and content of XML documents.
- Standard Attributes:
- Linking XML resources:
- XML Inclusions (XInclude) - a standard for merging XML documents via inclusion.
- XML Pointer Language (XPointer) - a language for addressing and referencing specific parts of a document.
- XML Linking Language (XLink) - a language for creating hyperlinks within documents.
- XForms - a standard for creating web forms.
- XML Signature - a standard for digital signatures.
- XML Encryption - a standard for encrypting XML data.
- XML Key Management Specification (XKMS) - a protocol for managing cryptographic keys within XML applications.
- XQuery - a language for querying XML data.
- XProc - a language for defining XML processing pipelines.
A collection of actively developed drafts and community-driven XML-related projects.
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| DOM | Libraries that support building or navigating XML trees via the Document Object Model. |
| SAX | Libraries that use event-driven parsing, emitting parsing events (start tag, end tag, etc.) instead of building an in-memory tree. |
| Validation | Support for XML schema validation (DTD, XSD, Relax NG, etc.). |
| XPath | Libraries that support querying XML documents using XPath expressions. |
| XSLT | Libraries with support for XML transformation using XSLT stylesheets. |
| Serialization | Libraries that convert between native data structures and XML (marshal/unmarshal). |
💡 Use these tags to quickly identify what capabilities each library provides. 💡
| Library Name | Language | Use Cases | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| libxml2 | C | DOM, SAX, Validation, XPath, XSLT | Comprehensive XML toolkit with support for various standards. |
| expat | C | SAX | Stream-oriented parser suitable for event-driven applications. |
| libxml++ | C++ | DOM, SAX, Validation, XPath, XSLT | C++ wrapper for libxml2 providing an object-oriented API. |
| pugixml | C++ | DOM, XPath | Lightweight and fast XML parser with XPath support. |
| TinyXML | C++ | DOM | Simple and small XML parser for C++ applications. |
| RapidXML | C++ | DOM | High-performance XML parser with in-situ parsing capabilities. |
| Xerces-C++ | C++ | DOM, SAX, Validation | Full-featured XML parser with support for various XML standards. |
| System.Xml | C# | DOM, SAX, Validation, XPath, XSLT, Serialization | .NET's comprehensive XML processing library. |
| Dart XML | Dart | DOM | Lightweight library for parsing and building XML documents. |
| encoding/xml | Go | Serialization | Standard library for encoding and decoding XML. |
| xml-conduit | Haskell | DOM, Streaming | Provides parsing and rendering functions for XML with streaming support. |
| Haskell XML Toolbox | Haskell | DOM, Validation, XPath | Collection of tools for processing XML with Haskell. |
| JAXP | Java | DOM, SAX, Validation, XPath, XSLT | Java API for XML Processing supporting various standards. |
| dom4j | Java | DOM, XPath | Flexible XML framework for Java applications. |
| JDOM | Java | DOM | Java-based document object model for XML that is easy to use. |
| VTD-XML | Java | DOM, XPath | High-performance XML parser with non-extractive parsing. |
| Xerces2-J | Java | DOM, SAX, Validation | Java version of Xerces with comprehensive XML support. |
| DOMParser | JavaScript | DOM | Built-in browser API for parsing XML documents. |
| xml-js | JavaScript | DOM | Converts XML text to JavaScript objects and vice versa. |
| xml2js | JavaScript | DOM | Simple XML to JavaScript object converter. |
| fast-xml-parser | JavaScript | DOM | Fast and lightweight XML parser for JavaScript. |
| XmlUtil | Kotlin | DOM | Utility functions for XML processing in Kotlin. |
| XML::Parser | Perl | SAX | Perl module for parsing XML documents. |
| XML::LibXML | Perl | DOM, XPath, Validation | Interface to the libxml2 library for Perl. |
| XML::Simple | Perl | DOM | Simple API for reading and writing XML. |
| SimpleXML | PHP | DOM | Provides a simple way to access XML elements. |
| xml.etree.ElementTree | Python | DOM | Lightweight XML parser and tree builder. |
| lxml | Python | DOM, XPath, XSLT, Validation | Powerful and feature-rich XML processing library. |
| xml.dom.minidom | Python | DOM | Minimal implementation of the Document Object Model interface. |
| NokoGiri | Ruby | DOM, XPath, XSLT | HTML, XML, SAX, and Reader parser with XPath and CSS selector support. |
| REXML | Ruby | DOM | Pure Ruby XML processor conforming to the XML 1.0 specification. |
| xml-rs | Rust | SAX | Event-based XML parser for Rust. |
| quick-xml | Rust | SAX | Fast and low-level XML reader and writer. |
| scala-xml | Scala | DOM | XML processing library for Scala. |
| SWXMLHash | Swift | DOM | Simple XML parser for Swift. |
| AEXML | Swift | DOM | Lightweight XML parser for iOS and macOS. |
A collection of command-line tools for XML processing.
- xmllint - a multifaceted XML tool that comes with libxml2.
- xmlstarlet - a set of utilities for querying, editing, validating, and transforming XML documents.
- xq - beautifier and content extractor.
- dasel - query and modify data structures using standart selector strings. Supports XML among others.
- graphtage - semantically compare and merge tree-like structures.
- HTML-XML-utils - a collection of utilities for XML/HTML manipulation.
- Saxon - XML processor supporting XSLT 3.0, XQuery 3.1, XPath 3.1, and XSD 1.1. (Note: only the HE version is free.)
- tidy (libtidy) - correct and clean-up HTML and XML documents.
- xsltproc (libxslt) - XSLT processor for the application of stylesheets to XML documents.
A small excerpt of the many online tools for XML processing.
- FreeFormatter XML Tools - Formatter, Validator, XSD Generator, XML-to-JSON, XSL Transformer, XML Escape
- JSON Formatter XML Tools - Formatter, Minify, Viewer, XML Pretty Print, Validator, Editor, Parser
- Code Beautify XML Tools - Coverter, Generator, Difftool, Minify, Editor, Parser, Validator, Viewer
- ExtendsClass XML Tools - Difftool, Formatter, Generator, Validator, XSD Generator
- XMLable XML Tools - Formatter, Validator, XSD Generator, XPath tester, Difftool, Generator, XSL Transformation
- Document Type Definition (DTD)
- W3C XML Schema Definitions (XSD) - Primer, Part 1, Part 2
- Relax NG
- Part of DSDL - the ISO/IEC 19757-2 standard.
- Additional resources: Wiki, Tutorial
- Schematron
- Part of DSDL - the ISO/IEC 19757-3 standard.
- Additional resources: Wiki, Tutorial
A list of XML databases that store and query XML data natively.
A curated list of popular formats and languages that use the XML syntax (often defined via a schema). A more extensive, but less curated list can be found here.
❗ The goal for this section is to have a list of established formats with links to resources, such as specifications, schemas, and tutorials. Feel free to contribute! ❗
- Analytical Information Markup Language(AnIML) - XML standard for analytical chemistry and biological data.
- Atom - a web feed format.
- CDF Markup Language (CDFML)
- CellML - a language for describing mathematical models.
- Chemical Markup Language (CML)
- Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)
- DocBook - a semantic markup language for technical documentation.
- Digital Weather Markup Language (DWML)
- Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language (ebXML) - a set of specifications for electronic business.
- Encoded Archival Description (EAD) - astandard for encoding archival finding aids.
- FictionBook - an e-book format.
- Geography Markup Language (GML) - a language for expressing geographical features.
- GraphML - format for describing graphs.
- MathML - a language for describing mathematical notation.
- Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS)
- News Industry Text Format (NITF) - a standard for news content.
- Wiki, NITF 3.6 XSD (other versions available here)
- Outline Processor Markup Language (OPML) - a format for outlines.
- PhyloXML - a language for describing phylogenetic trees (or networks) and associated data.
- RSS - a web feed format.
- Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
- Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML) - a reformulation of HTML.
- XSpec - a unit test and behaviour-driven development (BDD) framework for XSLT, XQuery, and Schematron.
- XML.com - a site for XML resources, tutorials, and news.
- XML.org - a community-driven site for XML resources.
- r/xml - a subreddit for XML discussions.
- XML @ Stack Overflow - XML-related discussions on Stack Overflow.
- XML Prague - an annual conference on markup languages and data on the web.
- Balisage - an annual conference devoted to descriptive markup
- Markup UK - a conference about XML and other markup technologies
- Declarative Amsterdam - a conference on the technologies and methods used for declarative programming and data
- XML Summer School - a week-long event comprised of courses for XML and related technologies
- Michael Kay's Blog / Saxon Diaries
- DeltaBlog - DeltaXML
- XML Aficionado
- XML Press Blog
- Oxygen XML Blog
- Altova's Blog
- Inera's Blog
- XSL-List - mailing list for XSLT questions and applications.
- Schematron - mailing list for Schematron discussions.
- XML-DEV - active mailing list on XML.org.
- In defense of XML by Nicolas Fränkel.
A list of tutorials that provide a good introduction to the XML ecosystem.
- W3Schools XML Tutorial - covers XML, XPath, XSLT, XQuery, DTD, XSD, AJAX, DOM, and several XML-based web services.
- Tutorials Point XML Tutorial - beginners intro to XML and related technologies.
- Javatpoint XML Tutorial - covers XML, XML validation, XPath, XQuery, and XSLT.
- XMLFiles Tutorials and Guides - covers basics, XSL, DTD, DOM, RSS feeds, SEO, XBRL, XHTML, and other awesome articles.
Note that many of these books are available online for free - a quick Google search should suffice. 😉
- XML: Visual QuickStart Guide by Kevin Howard Goldberg
- Learning XML by Erik Ray
- XML in a Nutshell by Elliotte Rusty Harold, W. Scott Means
- An Introduction to XML and Web Technologies by Anders Møller, Michael I. Schwartzbach
- XML for Dummies - Ed Tittel, Frank Boumphrey, Lucinda Dykes
- Beginning XML - Joe Fawcett, Danny Ayers, Liam R. E. Quin
- Sams Teach Yourself XML in 24 Hours by Michael Morrison
- Professional XML - Didier Martin, Michael Kay, Stephen F. Mohr
- XML (Red Hat) - support for creating and editing documents, based on the LemMinX XML Server
- Auto Rename Tag - Auto rename paired HTML/XML tags
- Auto Close Tag - Automatically add HTML/XML close tag
- XML Tools - XML Formatting, XQuery, and XPath Tools for Visual Studio Code
- C# XML Documentation Comments - Generate XML documentation comments
- SVG Preview - Live preview of SVG files
- Pretty XML - XML formatter
- XML Toolkit - Syntax and well-formedness validation
These are standalone XML editors with the inherent capability to validate XML against a DTD or schema. Browser-based XML editors (such as under Browser Extensions) and general text editors like Notepad++ and Vim are not included.
- XML Copy Editor - GPLv2 license.
- XML Notepad - MIT license.
- XMLPad
- XML Tree - Displays XML data in a user friendly way.
- XML Plus - XML Viewer
- XML Formatter - in-browser formatter for XML
- XML Editor - XML code editor and validator
- Night XML - dark mode XML viewer
- XML Tools - collection of tools for XML - conversion, formatting, minification, etc.
- XML Formatter - another XML formatter
Contributions are welcome! Read the contribution guidelines first.