Non-nested XML-Tag with attributes using groovy.xml.MarkupBuilder

[Chris Baron]

Hi,
a question about Groovy's MarkupBuilder:
how to generate non-nested XML-Tag with attributes?

 
<test>
   <mytag id="1">Gnnrf</mytag> 
</test>
 

I'd expect a syntax like

def writer = new StringWriter()
def builder = new groovy.xml.MarkupBuilder(writer)
builder.setDoubleQuotes(true)
builder.test {
    mytag(id:"1"){"Gnnrf" }
}
println writer.toString()

But that doesn't work.
Thanks cb

[Jon Dickinson]

Hi Chris,

The following should work:

def writer = new StringWriter()  
def builder = new groovy.xml.MarkupBuilder(writer)  
builder.setDoubleQuotes(true)  
builder.test {  
    mytag(id:"1", "Gnnrf")
}  
println writer.toString() 

The key being mytag(id:"1", "Gnnrf")

Cheers,
Jon.

[Chris Baron]

Yip it works. Thanks Jon!

Could you please explain, why in this case one doesn't use a closure but a hmm... method-parameter?

Thanks cb

[Jon Dickinson]

It's all down to the createNode methods on the BuilderSupport class in Groovy.

protected Object createNode(Object name);
protected Object createNode(Object name, Object value);
protected Object createNode(Object name, Map attributes);
protected Object createNode(Object name, Map attributes, Object value);

Every method call you make on a builder must map to one of the createNode methods on the BuilderSupport class. So the available options are:

builder.myNode
builder.myNode('Gnnrf')
builder.myNode(id:'1', class:'show')
builder.myNode(id:'1', class:'show', 'Gnnrf')

Where myNode = name in the createNode method.

To answer your question, it's down to the implementation of the MarkupBuilder, it uses the value argument as text content of the current node.

Here's the overview of builders from the Groovy site: http://groovy.codehaus.org/Builders. Here's an article I wrote on builders when I was starting to get into Groovy, if your interested: http://javaboutique.internet.com/tutorials/gbuilder/

Cheers,
Jon.

[Chris Baron]

Thanks a lot Jon !