Question

I am making a reader for a program that I use. The info is exported in a custom filetype (.BSMX). When I open the file up in notepad it is a bunch of tags similar in structure to XML. Im wondering how I can parse the file like you would a XML file in order to store the data into a custom object to use the data.

Edit: heres a section of the file and how its formatted, its not XML and doesnt have the xml code at the top

            <_MOD_>2012-03-23</_MOD_>
            <F_E_NAME>FUggin Hiccups BIAB</F_E_NAME>
            <F_E_MASH_VOL>896.0000000</F_E_MASH_VOL>
            <F_E_TUN_MASS>35.2000000</F_E_TUN_MASS>
            <F_E_BOIL_RATE_FLAG>1</F_E_BOIL_RATE_FLAG>
            <F_E_TUN_SPECIFIC_HEAT>0.1200000</F_E_TUN_SPECIFIC_HEAT>
            <F_E_TUN_DEADSPACE>0.0000000</F_E_TUN_DEADSPACE>
            <F_E_TUN_ADJ_DEADSPACE>0</F_E_TUN_ADJ_DEADSPACE>
            <F_E_CALC_BOIL>1</F_E_CALC_BOIL>
            <F_E_BOIL_VOL>894.7200000</F_E_BOIL_VOL>
            <F_E_BOIL_TIME>60.0000000</F_E_BOIL_TIME>
            <F_E_OLD_EVAP_RATE>10.0000000</F_E_OLD_EVAP_RATE>
            <F_EQUIP_39>1</F_EQUIP_39>
            <F_E_BOIL_OFF>96.0000000</F_E_BOIL_OFF>
            <F_E_TRUB_LOSS>128.0000000</F_E_TRUB_LOSS>
            <F_E_COOL_PCT>4.0000000</F_E_COOL_PCT>
            <F_E_TOP_UP_KETTLE>256.0000000</F_E_TOP_UP_KETTLE>
            <F_E_BATCH_VOL>640.0000000</F_E_BATCH_VOL>
            <F_E_FERMENTER_LOSS>64.0000000</F_E_FERMENTER_LOSS>
            <F_E_TOP_UP>0.0000000</F_E_TOP_UP>
            <F_E_EFFICIENCY>67.4000000</F_E_EFFICIENCY>
            <F_E_HOP_UTIL>100.0000000</F_E_HOP_UTIL>
        </F_R_EQUIPMENT>

Answer 1

Since your file contents resemble XML, you could best try SAXParser.
You can make a custom ContentHandler with this, so you basically specify your tags, and you can code yourself how the file will be parsed.

Otherwise if SAXParser doesn’t work (no xml file), you must parse it by hand, or better, make the file structured like an xml file.