[Omaha.pm] Beginning working with XML::Twig.

[Dan Linder <dan@linder.org>]

Ok, after finding that http://www.mirod.org/ is the only remaining XML::Twig documentation site (after http://search.cpan.org/dist/XML-Twig/Twig_pm.slow), I'm having trouble getting started.

(My XML file and some broken code is below.)

What I want to do is parse the XML file (around 300KB), and check the "time_of_last_rate_dp" section of each "instance" to compare with the check_starttime time in the beginning of the XML file.

I've got the simple code that can pull in the XML file, but I can't determine how to "walk" through the XML tree.  I thought I'd use the "findnodes()" or "children()" subroutines, but that's not quite it...

Anyone want to throw me some additional subroutines I need to grok?

Thanks,

Dan

=== begin code ===

#!perl -w

#

# Required modules:

# XML::Twig - perl -MCPAN -e "install XML::Twig"

#

use strict;

use XML::Twig;

my $filename = shift || die ("Must supply an XML file to parse.");

my $twig = XML::Twig->new(

pretty_print => 'indented'

);

$twig->parsefile($filename);

my $root = $twig->root;

# twig->print works fine and regurgitates the whole XML file...

$twig->print;

# This doesn't work...the "$instance" is a HASH.

foreach my $instance ($root->children('instance')) {

printf ("Found: $instance\n");

}

=== end code ===

Here is a portion of the XML file:

=== begin XML ===

<collection_status>

  <primary_server>10.10.10.11</primary_server>

  <check_interval time="720">720</check_interval>

  <check_starttime time="1307366104">06/06/11 09:15:04</check_starttime>

  <check_endtime time="1307366110">06/06/11 09:15:10</check_endtime>

  <instance>

    <motype_id>42815</motype_id>

    <motype_name>My MO Type name</motype_name>

    <inst_id>119863</inst_id>

    <device>

        <device_id>545</device_id>

        <device_name>My device name</device_name>

    </device>

    <agent>

        <agent_id>10248</agent_id>

        <agent_name>AABBCC (alpha)</agent_name>

        <agent_status>Active</agent_status>

    </agent>

    <name>Test+%28GOOGLE%29</name>

    <collect>TRUE</collect>

    <config>300</config>

    <time_of_last_rate_dp time="0">1969/12/31 16:00:00</time_of_last_rate_dp>

  </instance>

  <instance>

    <motype_id>28451</motype_id>

    <motype_name>HPUX FileSystem</motype_name>

    <inst_id>25251</inst_id>

    <device>

        <device_id>34</device_id>

        <device_name>NEHPX001</device_name>

    </device>

    <agent>

        <agent_id>10033</agent_id>

        <agent_name>NEHPX001</agent_name>

        <agent_status>Active</agent_status>

    </agent>

    <name>%2Foracle%2FEPP%2Foraarch</name>

    <collect>TRUE</collect>

    <config>300</config>

    <time_of_last_rate_dp time="0">1969/12/31 16:00:00</time_of_last_rate_dp>

  </instance>

</collection_status>

=== end XML ===

--
***************** ************* *********** ******* ***** *** **
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"
    (Who can watch the watchmen?)
    -- from the Satires of Juvenal
"I do not fear computers, I fear the lack of them."
    -- Isaac Asimov (Author)
** *** ***** ******* *********** ************* *****************