What is the difference between LabVIEW's built-in XML functions and EasyXML?

[Jim Kring]

With JKI's EasyXML VIs, you can create and parse any XML data type, including those defined by you, your co-workers, other companies, or industry standards bodies (like ATML, XDF, Open Office XML, etc.). And, you don't have to understand everything there is to know about XML or XML parsers. We've made creating and parsing XML so easy that anyone can do it!

 

With LabVIEW's built-in XML functions, you can only create XML data types that conform to the LabVIEW's XML data schema, which is defined by NI in this schema file:

vi.libUtilityLVXMLSchema.xsd

Or, think of it this way...

 

JKI's EasyXML VIs:

convert

specific LabVIEW data types

to and from

any XML data type

.

LabVIEW's built-in XML functions:

convert

any LabVIEW type

to and from a

specific XML data type

.

Let's look at a simple example, where the following cluster is converted to XML using both NI's functions and EasyXML:

 

XML data generated by LabVIEW's built-in XML functions:

<Cluster>
<Name>My XML Data</Name>
<NumElts>2</NumElts>
<DBL>
<Name>My Number</Name>
<Val>1.23000</Val>
</DBL>
<Boolean>
<Name>My Boolean</Name>
<Val>1</Val>
</Boolean>
</Cluster>

 

XML data generated by JKI's EasyXML VIs:

<My_XML_Data>
 <My_Number>1.23</My_Number>
 <My_Boolean>TRUE</My_Boolean>
</My_XML_Data>

 

As you can see, the EasyXML output is much more compact and allows you to define your own XML schema.