Converting XML to CSV makes it easier to open or view structurally complicated files. The structure of the XML file is represented in a way that is convenient to process by computer but not user-friendly for humans, because large amounts of data are very difficult to understand or read visually. That is why, it is simpler to convert XML file to CSV table format and open it straight in Text editor or Excel.

Data Validation

Validation and reading of source files comes first. The data structure of the XML is examined for errors during the validation process. If numerous errors are found, we would be unable to process such a document.

Data Parsing

To parse XML to CSV, we import the XML data file, read and comprehend the data structure, and then extract the data from the XML.

Data Transformation

After the data has been extracted, it can then be changed from XML-based representation to table-based representation like in CSV format.

The data transformed by the XML to CSV converter is based on the following rules:

• Each tag represents a single table column
• Each attribute represents a single table column
• The text data is combined based on the upper-level tags

Saving into a CSV

Data is saved into a CSV file once it has been transformed into a table and subsequently combined based on converter rules.

XML stands for "Extensible Markup Language". It is a markup language built to transfer and store data. It can be edited on any test editor. Also, it is both human and machine-readable.

Tags

Tags are the core of Extensible Markup Language. The tags define the context of elements in XML.

The names of tags should be well stated, starting with a character and not a number.

For example:

• valid: <Products>
• not valid: <1stWeekData>

Start and End tags

Every non-empty XML element begins by a start-tag (or opening tag). Below is an example of a start tag:

<Products>

Every element with a start tag must also have an end-tag (or closing tag). The following is an example of an end tag:

</Products>

Root Element

The root element is the start-tag and end-tag, and the remaining content should be contained in the start-tag and end-tag of the root element.

For instance,

<Products>
..xml content here
</Products>

Special Characters Escaping

The following is how special characters like <, >, &, ' and " should be escaped in Extensible Markup Language:

• &lt; represents "<"
• &gt; represents ">"
• &amp; represents "&"
• &apos; represents "'"
• &quot; represents '"'

XML Encoding

The first line of a document is the encoding:

We support all encoding formats. The "UTF-8" encoding is the most widely used.

File Format Information

More information about XML format can be found on the following resources:

• XML file format at File.org
• XML file format at FILExt.com

CSV stands for Comma-Separated Values. It is a text document that can be edited in any Text Editor. It represents data in a way that is both human-readable and machine-readable.

The following extensions can be found on files in the Excel format, depending on the program used to create them:

• .csv
• .tsv
• .txt

CSV Delimiter

One of the following mostly used characters could be the delimiter of values in the CSV:

• Comma , (used by default), sample data: column1,column2,column3
• Tabulation character, sample data: column1  column2  column3. Such format can be named as Tab-Separated Values and it has .tsv file extension
• Vertical bar |, sample data: column1|column2|column3
• Semicolon ;, sample data: column1;column2;column3

File Format Information

Additional information about CSV file format can be found on the following resources:

• CSV file format at File.org
• CSV file format at FILExt.com

Our XML to CSV Converter can be used to convert large files with additional data processing (data filtering and fields mapping).

Visit the following link to read the use-case for our client: Custom Converter Use Case: Conversion of Large XML file to CSV.