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The TBIXML class provides XML data import with automatic structure detection, attribute handling, and support for multiple XML engines.

​
Quick Start

uses BI.XMLData, BI.DataItem;

var
  Data: TDataItem;
  
// Import XML file
Data := TBIXML.FromFile('data.xml');

// Import from text
var
  XML: TBIXML;
XML := TBIXML.Create;
try
  Data := XML.ImportText('<products><product name="Widget" price="19.99"/></products>');
finally
  XML.Free;
end;

​
Key Methods

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ImportText

Import from XML string: 
function ImportText(const Text: String): TDataItem;
Example: 
var
  XMLText: String;
  
XMLText := '<catalog>' +
  '<book id="1">' +
    '<title>Pascal Programming</title>' +
    '<author>John Doe</author>' +
    '<price>29.99</price>' +
  '</book>' +
'</catalog>';

Data := XML.ImportText(XMLText);
BIGrid1.Data := Data;

​
Import from TStrings

function Import(const Strings: TStrings): TDataArray;
Example: 
var
  DataArray: TDataArray;
  
DataArray := XML.Import(Memo1.Lines);
Data := TBISource.FromData(DataArray);

​
Parse

Validate XML without full import: 
function Parse(const Text: String): Boolean;
Example: 
if XML.Parse(XMLString) then
  ShowMessage('Valid XML')
else
  ShowMessage('Invalid XML');

​
Import from Folder

function Import(const Folder: String; Recursive: Boolean = False): TDataArray;
Example: 
XML.IncludePattern := '*.xml';
DataArray := XML.Import('C:\\XMLData', True);

​
XML Structure Handling

​
Elements

XML elements become data items: 
<customers>
  <customer>
    <name>John Smith</name>
    <email>[email protected]</email>
  </customer>
</customers>

Data := TBIXML.FromFile('customers.xml');
CustomerName := Data['customers']['customer']['name'].TextData[0];

​
Attributes

Attributes are imported as separate columns: 
<products>
  <product id="101" name="Widget" price="19.99"/>
  <product id="102" name="Gadget" price="29.99"/>
</products>

Data := TBIXML.FromFile('products.xml');
Products := Data['products']['product'];

// Access attributes
ProductID := Products['id'].Int32Data[0];
ProductName := Products['name'].TextData[0];

​
Nested Elements

Automatic master-detail relationships: 
<orders>
  <order id="1">
    <customer>John</customer>
    <items>
      <item product="Widget" qty="2"/>
      <item product="Gadget" qty="1"/>
    </items>
  </order>
</orders>

Data := TBIXML.FromFile('orders.xml');
Order := Data['orders']['order'];
Items := Order['items']['item'];

BIGrid1.Data := Order;
BIGrid2.Data := Items; // Detail grid

​
XML Engines

TBIXML supports multiple XML parser engines: 
uses BI.XMLData.MSXML;  // Windows default
uses BI.XMLData.FPC;    // FreePascal
uses BI.XMLData.OXml;   // OmniXML
uses BI.XMLData.Omni;   // Alternative

// Set custom engine
TBIXML.EngineClass := TMsXML;

​
Create Custom Engine

var
  XMLEngine: TXmlEngine;
  XML: TBIXML;
  
XMLEngine := TBIXML.CreateParser;
XML := TBIXML.CreateEngine(XMLEngine);
try
  Data := XML.ImportText(XMLString);
finally
  XML.Free;
end;

​
Configuration Options

​
Hierarchical Mode

XML.Hierarchical := True;  // Default - preserve structure
XML.Hierarchical := False; // Create flat master-detail

​
Exclude Nodes

Skip specific XML nodes: 
XML.ExcludeNodes := ['metadata', 'header', 'footer'];
Example: 
var
  XML: TBIXML;
  
XML := TBIXML.Create;
try
  XML.ExcludeNodes := ['xmlns', 'xsi'];
  Data := XML.ImportFile('document.xml');
finally
  XML.Free;
end;

​
QuotedBooleans

XML.QuotedBooleans := True; // "true"/"false"
XML.QuotedBooleans := False; // true/false

​
Advanced Examples

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Import with Progress

var
  XML: TBIXML;
  
XML := TBIXML.Create;
try
  XML.OnProgress := procedure(Sender: TObject; 
                              Percent: Integer; 
                              var Cancel: Boolean)
    begin
      ProgressBar1.Position := Percent;
      if UserCanceled then
        Cancel := True;
    end;
    
  Data := XML.ImportFile('large_document.xml');
finally
  XML.Free;
end;

​
Handle Import Errors

XML.OnError := function(Sender: TObject; 
                        const ErrorMsg: String): Boolean
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add('Error: ' + ErrorMsg);
    Result := True; // Continue import
  end;

​
Mixed Content

<book>
  <title>XML Guide</title>
  <chapters>
    <chapter num="1">Introduction</chapter>
    <chapter num="2">Getting Started</chapter>
  </chapters>
</book>

Data := TBIXML.FromFile('book.xml');
Chapters := Data['book']['chapters']['chapter'];

// Access both attributes and text
ChapterNum := Chapters['num'].Int32Data[0];
ChapterTitle := Chapters.TextData[0];

​
Export to XML

Use TBIXMLExport to save data as XML: 
uses BI.XMLData;

var
  Export: TBIXMLExport;
  
Export := TBIXMLExport.Create;
try
  Export.Data := MyData;
  Export.Emit := TBIXMLEmit.Header; // Include XML header
  
  Export.SaveToFile('output.xml');
finally
  Export.Free;
end;

​
Export Options

type
  TBIXMLEmit = (Header, Simple);
  
Export.Emit := TBIXMLEmit.Header; // <?xml version="1.0"?>
Export.Emit := TBIXMLEmit.Simple; // No header

​
File Format Detection

// Check if file is XML
if TBIXML.Supports('.xml') then
  Data := TBIXML.FromFile(FileName);

// Get file filter for dialogs
OpenDialog1.Filter := TBIXML.FileFilter.ToString;
// Returns: 'XML files|*.xml'

​
Common XML Patterns

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SOAP Response

<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">
  <soap:Body>
    <GetCustomersResponse>
      <customers>
        <customer id="1" name="John"/>
      </customers>
    </GetCustomersResponse>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

Data := TBIXML.FromFile('response.xml');
Customers := Data['Envelope']['Body']['GetCustomersResponse']['customers'];

​
RSS Feed

<rss version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>My Blog</title>
    <item>
      <title>Post Title</title>
      <link>http://example.com/post</link>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2024 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Data := TBIXML.FromFile('feed.xml');
Items := Data['rss']['channel']['item'];
BIGrid1.Data := Items;

​
Common Issues

Add namespaces to exclude list:
XML.ExcludeNodes := ['xmlns', 'xsi'];
Attributes are automatically imported as separate columns. Check the column names.
Empty elements are marked as Missing data:
if Data['field'].Missing[0] then
  // Handle missing value
Set the FPC engine explicitly:
uses BI.XMLData.FPC;
TBIXML.EngineClass := TFPCXML;

​
See Also

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