Library for generating class hierarchy with Magritte descriptions from XML
# DEPRECATED
This project is deprecated.
# XML Magritte Generator
[](https://travis-ci.org/peteruhnak/xml-magritte-generator) [](https://coveralls.io/github/peteruhnak/xml-magritte-generator?branch=master)
With this library you can take a "nice" XML and generate Pharo class hierarchy with Magritte Descriptions for each variable.
I use [Magritte XML Bindings](https://github.com/magritte-metamodel/XML-Bindings/), which gives the hierarchy free XML import/export.
The generator will try to guess basic types (Boolean, Integer, Float, String), and the relationship between the parent and child elements (attribute, collection (oneToMany), reference (oneToOne)).
For example if you feed it "nice" XMLs like this one
```xml
<machine id="12">
<version value="1.2.7" />
<anyOnline>false</anyOnline>
<nodes>
<node id="node-1">
<isOnline>false</isOnline>
<address>
<host>127.0.0.1</host>
<port>80</port>
</address>
</node>
</nodes>
</machine>
```
it will exhaust class hierarchy and populate it with the content
## Unsupported
Since it is mostly magic, it doesn't always work, for example in the scenarios below.
Note that it may fail in a variety of unforeseen circumstances, so feel free to [open an issue](https://github.com/peteruhnak/xml-magritte-generator/issues).
#### Namespaces / namespaced names:
I didn't look much into how namespaces are actually propagated through the document; not just prefixing, but also NS inheriting. With consistent document the names can be easily mapped.
```xml
<xmi:element />
<element xml:attr="value" />
```
#### Elements with non-uniform repeating children:
Because I use the `container` element as variable name to hold `child` references.
This is ok:
```xml
<root>
<container>
<child />
<child />
</container>
</root>
```
This is not ok:
```xml
<root>
<container>
<child />
<child />
<otherThing />
</container>
</root>
```
#### Cross-tree references
This is much easier for XMI, but for generic XML there's a lot of ambiguity.
Maybe a type override specifying that `source` and `target` are `#REF` ids to `/state-machien/states/state`.
```xml
<state-machine>
<states>
<state id="10" />
<state id="15" />
</states>
<transitions>
<transition source="10" target="15" />
</transitions>
<state-machine>
```
## Usage
Use the generator along those lines:
*`dom` is an instance of `XMLDocument`*
### Generator
```smalltalk
gen := XOGStructureGenerator new.
"optional attributes, they have their default values"
gen packageName: 'MachineGenerated'.
gen classPrefix: 'XXX'. "to avoid name conflicts"
gen rootClassName: 'MXObject'. "a class from which all the classes will inherit"
"run the generator; this will NOT create the code yet"
gen processDocument: dom.
"retrieve CBChangesSet¹, so additional modifications can be performed"
changes := gen changes.
(CBChangesBrowser changes: changes refactoringChanges) open.
```
¹ Documentation on CBChangesSet is available in [Changes Builder project](https://github.com/peteruhnak/pharo-changes-builder)
## Connecting with XML nodes
**NOTE** that all the generated classes must contain this method:
```
descriptionContainer
<magritteContainer>
^ super descriptionContainer
xmlElementName: self class xmlElementName;
yourself
```
you can either:
* use `'MXObject'` which implements it
* add the method to your own root class
* use `TMXDescription` trait
* do whatever you want
## Reading / Writing
### XML → Object
```smalltalk
obj := XXXClassForRootElement new magritteDescription fromXmlNode: dom root.
```
### Object → XML
```smalltalk
obj magritteDescription toXmlDocument: obj.
```
### Inference
The inferencers guess the element/attribute value type (String, Boolean, ...) as well as their type that relates them to their attributes and children (list, complex, inlined, ...).
```smalltalk
types := XOGTypeClassification new classificationFor: dom.
valueTypes := XOGValueTypeInference new inferDocument: dom.
classification := XOGElementClassification new classifyTypes: types andValues: valueTypes.
```
## Installation
```smalltalk
Metacello new
baseline: #XMLMAGenerator;
repository: 'github://peteruhnak/xml-magritte-generator/repository';
load
```
Dependencies:
```smalltalk
BaselineOfXMLMAGenerator project latestVersion projects asArray collect: #name. "#('XMLParser' 'XPath' 'Magritte' 'MagritteXMLBindings' 'ChangesBuilder')"
```