xml viewer for linux [closed]

Question

I want to view large XML files. I tried XML Copy Editor but it displays XML data just in one line means it is not showing it in proper format. I saw screenshots of XML Copy Editor on Google which look quite good.

Does anybody have an idea how do I view XML file in XML Copy Editor in proper format?

Or any other good XML viewer for Ubuntu?

Answer 1

None of you guys suggesting Emacs, Vim, Geany or other text editor have clearly not worked with enterprise level XML data...

To get a touch with reality please take some averagely complex OpenDocument (Open/Libre Office ".odt" file, preferably with some tables and images) and try to edit that with your Emacs or Vim. Try to create a new with all the required fields pre-filled. Create a new table, or insert a new image. With a good XML editor all you need is "Right click -> Insert".

Unfortunately good XML editors cost money. XMLSpy from Altova is about 1000 U.S. dollars, OxygenXML bit less.

Answer 2

Combining xmllint and less was a great intuition (kudos for @kokosing) and yes, it is possible to have syntax highlighting with less! Here is the full, workable solution:

xmllint --format yourfile | highlight --syntax=xml --out-format=xterm256 | less -R -N 

The trick is to use:

1. Another utility to do the syntax hightlighting (highlight can do it).
2. Use the -R (raw) option in less so that it respects the escape sequences; N simply provides line numbering, which is nice.

It worked surprisingly well, so I published the solution on github with a bash script, under the name xmlshow.

Note: Next time you use less, I suggest that you press hto (re-)discover its amazing range of features.