pygxml

streaming parser using gjson-style path queries over XML. Rust core (quick-xml) + PyO3.

The original GJSON: tidwall/gjson

Installation

pip install pygxml

Usage examples

import pygxml

xml = """<store>
  <book id="b1"><title>XML in a Nutshell</title><price>30</price></book>
  <book id="b2"><title>The Cathedral and the Bazaar</title><price>20</price></book>
  <book id="b3"><title>Programming Rust</title><price>45</price></book>
</store>"""

# Single-shot path query — returns a typed Result.
pygxml.get(xml, "store.book").type_                         # list (3 books)
pygxml.get(xml, "store.book.0.title").to_str()             # 'XML in a Nutshell'
pygxml.get(xml, "store.book.1.@id").to_str()               # 'b2'
pygxml.get(xml, "store.book.#").to_int()                   # 3
[str(r) for r in pygxml.get(xml, "store.book.#.title")]    # ['XML in a Nutshell', ...]

# A bare child name with multiple matches AND a follow-on step is rejected:
# the user must pick `.N` (single) or `.#` (each).
pygxml.get(xml, "store.book.title")                         # ValueError

# Filters
pygxml.get(xml, "store.book.#(price>=30).title").to_str()           # 'XML in a Nutshell'
[str(r) for r in pygxml.get(xml, "store.book.#(price>=30)#.title")] # all matches
pygxml.get(xml, 'store.book.#(@id=="b2").title').to_str()           # 'The Cathedral...'

# Modifiers
pygxml.get(xml, "store.book.#.title|@count").to_int()               # 3

# Result.get(...) — descend into a captured element fragment.
book = pygxml.get(xml, "store.book.0")
book.get("title").to_str()                                # 'XML in a Nutshell'
book.get("@id").to_str()                                  # 'b1'
book.get("price").to_int()                                # 30

# parse(data) — wrap the input as a top-level Result for chained navigation.
r = pygxml.parse(xml)
r.get("store.book.0.title").to_str()                      # 'XML in a Nutshell'
r.get("store.book.#(price>=30)#.title").value             # [Result('XML in a Nutshell'), Result('Programming Rust')]

# get_many — scan the document once and return multiple Results.
title, price = pygxml.get_many(xml, ["store.book.0.title", "store.book.0.price"])

# compile() — pre-compile a path for reuse across many documents.
path = pygxml.compile("store.book.0.title")
path.get(xml).to_str()                                    # 'XML in a Nutshell'

# Compiled paths can also be passed to get_many / get_many_bytes / get_many_buffer.
title_path = pygxml.compile("store.book.0.title")
price_path = pygxml.compile("store.book.0.price")
title, price = pygxml.get_many(xml, [title_path, price_path])

# mmap input — true zero-copy on huge files. parse(mm) keeps the mmap by
# reference, so subsequent .get() calls re-borrow it without copying.
import mmap
with open('huge.xml', 'rb') as f, mmap.mmap(f.fileno(), 0, access=mmap.ACCESS_READ) as mm:
    title = pygxml.parse(mm).get("store.book.0.title").to_str()

# Namespace prefix-aware match
pygxml.get(atom_xml, "atom:feed.atom:entry.atom:title").to_str()

# Validate well-formedness without raising.
pygxml.validate(xml)                                        # True

API

Module-level functions

Function	Description
get(xml, path)	Query xml (str) at path; returns Result
get_bytes(xml, path)	Query xml (bytes) at path; returns Result
get_buffer(xml, path)	Query xml (buffer protocol) at path; returns Result
get_many(xml, paths)	Query xml (str) at each path (str or Path); returns list[Result]
get_many_bytes(xml, paths)	Query xml (bytes) at each path (str or Path); returns list[Result]
get_many_buffer(xml, paths)	Query xml (buffer protocol) at each path (str or Path); returns list[Result]
parse(xml)	Parse the entire XML document into a Result
validate(xml)	True if xml is syntactically valid
compile(path)	Pre-compile a path expression; returns a Path

Result

get and parse return a Result. Result accessors

Properties

Property	Description
r.type_	Python type for this value: None, bool, int, float, str, list, dict
r.value	Value converted to the corresponding Python type: None / int / float / str / list[Result] / dict[str, Result]

gjson-style methods

Method	Description
r.exists()	True if the value was found in the XML
r.to_str()	String representation (text content for elements, or full XML for dict/list elements)
r.to_int(),r.to_float()	Typed coercions; return 0 / 0.0 when empty
r.to_bool()	gjson-style boolean coercion (see below); returns False when empty
r.get(path)	Sub-query relative to this value
r.get_many(paths)	Sub-query at multiple paths; returns list[Result]

Result.to_bool() follows gjson semantics:

• "1" / "true" → True; "0" / "false" → False
• "\"t\"" / "\"T\"" / "\"1\"" → True; "\"f\"" / "\"F\"" / "\"0\"" → False
• "\"true\"" / "\"TRUE\"" / "\"True\"" → True; "\"false\"" / "\"FALSE\"" / "\"False\"" → False
• Any other value: to_int() != 0 (non-numeric strings → False)
• Non-empty dict or list Result → True; empty Result → False

Result.get(path) only descends into element items — scalar items (attributes, #text, counts, modifier aggregates like @sum) have no children, so .get(...) against them yields an empty Result.

Pythonic methods

Syntax	Description
str(v),repr(v)	dict: <Result type=dict, keys=[...]>; list: <Result type=list, value=[...]>; others: str(v.value)
int(v)	64-bit Integer
float(v)	64-bit float
bool(v)	Equivalent to bool(v.value) — False for null/false/0/""/[]/{}
len(v)	Chars for String; element count for list/dict elements
v[key]	Subscript access
key in v	Key membership for dict; string match for list
iter(v)	Lazy iterator: chars for str; Results for list; keys for dict
v.keys()	Lazy KeysView of dict keys (raises TypeError for non-dict)
v.values()	Lazy ValuesView of dict values (raises TypeError for non-dict)
v.items()	Lazy ItemsView of (key, Result) pairs (raises TypeError for non-dict)
r == "x", r == ["a", "b"], r == other_result	Equality with str/list/Result

Path

compile(path) returns a Path — a compiled, reusable path expression. Using a pre-compiled Path avoids re-parsing the path string on every call, which matters when querying many documents with the same path.

Method	Description
p.get(data)	Query XML string data; equivalent to get(data, path)
p.get_bytes(data)	Query XML bytes data
p.get_buffer(data)	Query buffer-protocol data (mmap, bytearray, memoryview)

Path objects are also accepted wherever a path string is accepted: get_many, get_many_bytes, get_many_buffer, and Result.get_many.

Path syntax

syntax	meaning
a.b.c	Descend into child elements (local-name match, ignores namespaces)
a.0, a.1	N-th same-named sibling
a.#	Count of same-named siblings
a.#.b	Project b over all same-named siblings
*, ?	Wildcards in element name
@name	Attribute reference
#text	Explicit text content
\., \@	Escape
a.#(expr)	Filter, first match. expr ::= path op value
a.#(expr)#	Filter, all matches
path | @modifier	Apply modifier (@reverse, @first, @last, @count, @sort, @sort_n, @unique/@uniq, @flatten, @tostr, @sum, @avg/@mean, @min, @max)
prefix:local	Prefix-aware match — qualified-name literal compare (matches <atom:title>, not <rss:title>)
a.**.b	Descendant: match every b at any depth under a (XPath // equivalent)

A bare child name (no .N/.#/filter) is implicit: at the terminal position it returns every match (a list-shaped Result), but at a non-terminal position the engine raises ValueError if more than one element matches. To chain past a multi-match step, pick one (.0, .1, …) or project explicitly with .#. Single-match elements (e.g., a unique root element) chain transparently.

Result.get(path) follows the same rule: it requires the receiver to hold at most one element. To process every element of a multi-match Result, iterate (for item in result: item.get(...)).

Filter operators: == = != < <= > >= % (glob) !% (negative glob). Filter values: "string", number, true/false, or bare unquoted text.

Inputs

bytes, str, mmap.mmap, bytearray, memoryview — anything implementing the buffer protocol. bytes and mmap are zero-copy on the way in; str is copied once to UTF-8.

pygxml.parse(data) keeps a reference to the input object instead of copying it. Two consequences worth knowing:

• For mmap input, do not close the mmap while a Result derived from it is still in use — re-borrows during .get() / .str() will fault.
• For bytearray and other mutable buffers, mutations after parse(...) are observed by subsequent Result accesses.

pygxml.get(data, path) does not retain the input; captured element fragments inside the returned Result are owned copies.

License

MIT