Question

Can Javascript directly handle an xml file requested via AJAX. I have a server side xml file and need to populate fields from this xml. Can i say ‘directly read “xmlfile.xml” (on server)’ and then extract values in javascript from the response received and populate as required? Can you explain with example if possible?

Answer 1

If you can use jQuery, you can simply perform an XML AJAX call, and respond with the static file.

 <script type="application/javascript">
 $(function() {
     $('#get-xml a').click(function() {
         $.ajax({
             type: "GET",
             url: "xmlfile.xml",
             dataType: "xml",
             success: function(xml) {
                 $(xml).find('label').each(function(){
                     // your code. some example code bellow
                     var id_text = $(this).attr('id')
                     var name_text = $(this).find('name').text()

                     $('<li></li>')
                         .html(name_text + ' (' + id_text + ')')
                         .appendTo('#get-xml ol');
                 });
             }
         });
     });
 });
 </script>

Just be carefull:

Note: If you specify the dataType option described below, make sure the server sends the correct MIME type in the response (eg. xml as “text/xml”). Sending the wrong MIME type can lead to unexpected problems in your script.