How does revAppendXML work?

[John Patten]

Thank for the tip Sarah!

I tried your suggestion and the strange thing is I get an error after: 

revAppendXML targetXMLFile, "StudentURL_table", tXMLdata 

However, when I ask it to dump out the xml file it appears to have appended the xml files but, I think, in the wrong format.

Here's what it creates:
-------------------------snip-------------------------
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<StudentURL_table>
  <URL IDnum="1">
    <subject> Art</subject>
    <key_words> Fine Art</key_words>
    <Grade> 5</Grade>
    <Standard> Creativity</Standard>
    <Title> SPARK Site</Title>
    <Description> This site is great for introducing students to the varied definitions of fine art and expression.</Description>
    <Submitted_by> John Art</Submitted_by>
    <emailAddress> art at mail.com</emailAddress>
    <school> Orchard School</school>
    <WebAddress> www.kqed.org/spark</WebAddress>
  </URL>
  <URL IDnum="2">
    <subject> Art</subject>
    <key_words> San Fracicso, Museum of Modern Art</key_words>
    <Grade> 5</Grade>
    <Standard> VAPA</Standard>
    <Title> SFMOMA</Title>
    <Description> The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art</Description>
    <Submitted_by> John Art</Submitted_by>
    <emailAddress> art at mail.com</emailAddress>
    <school> Orchard School</school>
    <WebAddress> www.sfmoma.org</WebAddress>
  </URL>
  <StudentURL_table>
    <URL IDnum="1">
      <subject> Art</subject>
      <key_words> Fine Art</key_words>
      <Grade> 5</Grade>
      <Standard> Creativity</Standard>
      <Title> SPARK Site</Title>
      <Description> This site is great for introducing students to the varied definitions of fine art and expression.</Description>
      <Submitted_by> John Art</Submitted_by>
      <emailAddress> art at mail.com</emailAddress>
      <school> Orchard School</school>
      <WebAddress> www.kqed.org/spark</WebAddress>
    </URL>
    <URL IDnum="2">
      <subject> Art</subject>
------------------------------------snip------------------

And it ends file with:

-----------------------------------snip---------------------
  <WebAddress>www.sfmoma.org</WebAddress>
    </URL>
    <URL IDnum="3">
      <subject> Art</subject>
      <key_words> Fine Art</key_words>
      <Grade> 5</Grade>
      <Standard> Creativity</Standard>
      <Title> SPARK Site</Title>
      <Description> This site is great for introducing students to the varied definitions of fine art and expression.</Description>
      <Submitted_by> John Art</Submitted_by>
      <emailAddress> art at mail.com</emailAddress>
      <school> Orchard School</school>
      <WebAddress>www.kqed.org/spark</WebAddress>
    </URL>
  </StudentURL_table>
</StudentURL_table>
------------------------------------snip-----------------------


I was hoping that revAppendXML would renumber the attributes, I think that's what they are called, i.e. "<URL IDnum=3"> I guess that is not the case. But what is strange is I get the "xmlerr" message after the first revAppendXML command, but at the end it shows all the appends to the original XML file...???

Thanks!

John Patten
SUSD


> 
> 
> ... 
> 
> I want to take these multiple XML files and combine them into one large xml file with the same format. 
> 
> I was thinking I could do something like this: 
> 
>  answer folder "Select XML folder" as sheet 
>   if it = "" then exit mouseUp 
>   set the defaultFolder to it 
> 
> 
>   put the files  into tFiles 
>   put the number of lines of tFiles into tNumberofXMLFiles 
>   put line 1 of tFiles into theFileName 
>   put URL ("file:" & theFileName) into tData 
> 
> get revCreateXMLTree(tData,true,true,true) 
> 
> put the result into targetXMLFile 
> 
> 
> put 1 into x 
> repeat tNumberOfXMLFiles 
> 
> 
>   revAppendXML targetXMLFile,"/StudentURL_table/",URL "file:" & line x of tFiles 
>   add 1 to x 
>   end repeat 
> -- 
> Put revXMLText(targetXMLFile,,true) 
> 
> end mouseUp 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------- 
> 
> However, I appear to be misunderstanding what revAppendXML does, or how to use it correctly. 


>I can't see any major problem with what you are doing, except possibly 
>for the specification of the parentNode for the revAppendXML command. 
>Try leaving out the /'s. 

>I would also recommend doing it in 2 stages: read the file into a 
>variable, then append the variable. e.g. 

 > put URL ("file:" & line x of tFiles) into tXMLdata 
  >revAppendXML targetXMLFile, "StudentURL_table", tXMLdata 

>I always surround the file stuff with brackets before using put or get 
>URL. It seems to be more reliable. 

>And after each XML command or function, check the result and see if it 
>contains "xmlerr". 

>HTH, 
>Sarah