Cross-Browser Javascript XML Parsing

Question

Are there any cross-browser / cross-platform ways to parse XML files in Javascript?

Answer 1

The following will work in all major browsers, including IE 6:

var parseXml;  if (typeof window.DOMParser != "undefined") {     parseXml = function(xmlStr) {         return ( new window.DOMParser() ).parseFromString(xmlStr, "text/xml");     }; } else if (typeof window.ActiveXObject != "undefined" &&        new window.ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM")) {     parseXml = function(xmlStr) {         var xmlDoc = new window.ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM");         xmlDoc.async = "false";         xmlDoc.loadXML(xmlStr);         return xmlDoc;     }; } else {     throw new Error("No XML parser found"); } 

Example usage:

var xml = parseXml("<foo>Stuff</foo>"); alert(xml.documentElement.nodeName); 

Live demo:

var parseXml;    if (typeof window.DOMParser != "undefined") {      parseXml = function(xmlStr) {          return ( new window.DOMParser() ).parseFromString(xmlStr, "text/xml");      };  } else if (typeof window.ActiveXObject != "undefined" &&         new window.ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM")) {      parseXml = function(xmlStr) {          var xmlDoc = new window.ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM");          xmlDoc.async = "false";          xmlDoc.loadXML(xmlStr);          return xmlDoc;      };  } else {      throw new Error("No XML parser found");  }    var xml = parseXml("<foo>Stuff</foo>");  document.body.innerHTML = "Root element: " + xml.documentElement.nodeName;

Answer 2

Consider using jQuery.parseXML.

Note that old JQuery's code (pre 2.x) is essentially identical to one proposed in the accepted answer and can be found at http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.9.1.js, partial version below:

// Cross-browser xml parsing parseXML: function( data ) {     ...     try {         if ( window.DOMParser ) { // Standard             tmp = new DOMParser();             xml = tmp.parseFromString( data , "text/xml" );         } else { // IE             xml = new ActiveXObject( "Microsoft.XMLDOM" );             xml.async = "false";             xml.loadXML( data );         }     } catch( e ) {         xml = undefined;     }     ... } 

Starting JQuery 2.x code changed to skip ActiveX branch, if you still need it - use older version of JQuery or inline ActiveX parsing. Partial code from http://code.jquery.com/jquery-2.0.0.js:

// Cross-browser xml parsing parseXML: function( data ) {     var xml, tmp;     .....     // Support: IE9     try {         tmp = new DOMParser();         xml = tmp.parseFromString( data , "text/xml" );     } catch ( e ) {         xml = undefined;     }     ..... },