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XMLAppender

Assembles several XML documents into one.

The transformer has two input ports, one accepting a single XML document, and another accepting multiple XML fragments.

By default, the XMLAppender works by inserting every incoming XML fragment to the end of the main XML document. The Append Path In Document and Append Fragments As parameters may be used to control where the fragments are inserted in the document.

Input Ports

ClosedDocument

Input features containing the main XML document.

ClosedFragment

Input features containing the XML fragments.

Output Ports

ClosedOutput

This is the output for the main XML document with the appended fragments.

ClosedUnusedDocument

Multiple main documents are allowed only if the Group By parameter is used, otherwise duplicate main documents are output via this port. The main documents are considered a duplicate of each other when the values of their composite Group By key equal.

ClosedUnusedFragment

Fragments with no corresponding Group By main XML document are output via this port.

Parameters

Transformer

ClosedGroup By

Use this parameter to organize multiple main documents and fragments into groups. Multiple main XML documents are allowed when their composite Group By key differ. Unused documents and fragments, those without corresponding keys, are routed to the UnusedDocument and UnusedFragment ports, respectively.

ClosedParallel Processing Level

Note: How parallel processing works with FME: see About Parallel Processing for detailed information.

This parameter determines whether or not the transformer should perform the work across parallel processes. If it is enabled, a process will be launched for each group specified by the Group By parameter.

Parallel Processing Levels

Parameter Number of Processes
No Parallelism 1
Minimal coresThe processor, or CPU, is the physical part of the computer that performs mathematical calculations. It is the most important part of a computer system. Traditional processors have only one core on the processor, meaning that at any given time, only one set of calculations is being performed. If a processor is dual-core, this means the single chip contains hardware for two processors, now called cores to distinguish them from the single chip, running simultaneously, side by side. (Source: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5730257_computer-core-processors_.html) / 2
Moderate exact number of cores
Aggressive cores x 1.5
Extreme cores x 2

For example, on a quad-core machine, minimal parallelism will result in two simultaneous FME processes. Extreme parallelism on an 8-core machine would result in 16 simultaneous processes.

You can experiment with this feature and view the information in the Windows Task Manager and the Workbench Log window.

ClosedInput is Ordered by Group

Yes: This transformer will process input groups in order. Changes on the value of the Group By parameter on the input stream will trigger batch processing on the currently accumulating group. This will improve overall speed if groups are large/complex, but could cause undesired behavior if input groups are not truly ordered.

No: This is the default behavior. Processing will only occur in this transformer once all input is present.

XML Document

ClosedXML Document Input

Selecting from the list enables that selection's corresponding parameter:

  • Attribute with XML Document: Choose the attribute containing the main XML document.
  • XML Document Filename: Browse to the XML file.
ClosedAppend Fragment As

This parameter controls how the fragments are inserted into the document in relation to a selected or matched element. The possible values for the parameter are:

  • Preceding Children
  • Succeeding Children
  • Preceding Siblings
  • Succeeding Siblings

The values are to be understood in relation to the selected or matched element, which is specified by the Append Path In Document parameter.

The default value for this parameter is Succeeding Children.

ClosedAppend Path In Document

This parameter specifies a single element, or a path to a single element, in the document. Each element in the path is separated by a forward slash, ‘/’. A wildcard, ‘*’, may also be used as the prefix or local-name of the element, e.g., ‘*:e’, ‘p:*’, or just ‘*’, which translates to ‘*:*’.

The parameter’s default value is the empty string. This will match or select the root element.

Consider the following XML document:

<data>

<metadata>…</metadata>

<initialize>…</initialize>

<!--Insert XML fragments here -->

<finalize>…</finalize>

</data>

To insert fragments after the <initialize> element we can either:

1) Specify Append Path In Document as "data/initialize", and

2) Set Append Fragments As to Succeeding Siblings

or:

1) Specify Append Path In Document as "data/finalize", and

2) Set Append Fragments As to Preceding Siblings

XML Fragment

ClosedXML Fragment Input

Selecting from the list enables that selection's corresponding parameter:

  • Attribute with XML Fragment: Choose the attribute containing the XML Fragment.
  • XML Fragment Filename: Browse to the XML file.

XML Output

ClosedXML Output Type

Selecting from the list enables that selection's corresponding parameter:

  • Attribute with XML Output: Choose the attribute to hold the appended results.
  • XML Output File: Specifies the file to contain the appended results.
ClosedOutput Encoding

This parameter is used to select the encoding for the appended results.

Pretty Printing

ClosedPretty Print

The parameter specifies if the XML output should be pretty-printed with indentation.

ClosedIndent Size

This parameter specifies the size of a single indentation.

ClosedReplace Tabs with Spaces

By default, the tab character is used for pretty printing, use this parameter to replace the tabs with spaces.

ClosedText Indent

By default, the text within a tag is left untouched. If this parameter is set to Yes, the text will be pretty printed. If a tag contains both a text value element and another nested tag element, the second of either the text value or nested tag will not be pretty printed. The example below shows a block of XML code on the left along with its pretty printed output on the right.

 

Example Pretty Printed

<example>

<example>

text value

text value #text value is the first element

<nestedTag>

<nestedTag> #<nestedTag> is the second element

some value

some value

</nestedTag>

</nestedTag>

</example>

</example>

Editing Transformer Parameters

Using a set of menu options, transformer parameters can be assigned by referencing other elements in the workspace. More advanced functions, such as an advanced editor and an arithmetic editor, are also available in some transformers. To access a menu of these options, click beside the applicable parameter. For more information, see Transformer Parameter Menu Options.

Transformer Categories

XML

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