<aside> <img src="/icons/stars_purple.svg" alt="/icons/stars_purple.svg" width="40px" /> This article from PythonForBeginners.com explains how to convert XML files to YAML files in Python. It includes an introduction to XML and YAML, as well as step-by-step instructions for converting XML strings and files to YAML strings and files using Python modules such as xmltodict and yaml. The article also provides examples of XML and YAML files and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using each format.

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XML and YAML are two of the most used file formats in software engineering. Sometimes, we need to convert an XML file to YAML or vice versa. This article discusses how to convert XML string or file to YAML format in Python.

Table of Contents

1. What is XML Format?
2. What is the YAML File Format?
3. Convert XML String to YAML String in Python
4. XML String to YAML File in Python
5. Convert XML File to YAML String in Python
6. Convert XML File to YAML File in Python
7. Conclusion

What is XML Format?

XML is a markup language used for encoding documents in a human and machine-readable format. It defines elements using tags, which enclose content and can have attributes for additional information. XML is commonly used for data exchange and defining data formats between different systems. It can be verbose and complex compared to other formats, such as JSON or YAML.

Following is an XML document that contains the data of an employee.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<employee>
  <name>John Doe</name>
  <age>35</age>
  <job>
    <title>Software Engineer</title>
    <department>IT</department>
    <years_of_experience>10</years_of_experience>
  </job>
  <address>
    <street>123 Main St.</street>
    <city>San Francisco</city>
    <state>CA</state>
    <zip>94102</zip>
  </address>
</employee>

This XML string represents an employee record. It starts with an XML declaration specifying the version of the standard XML.

• The root element is <employee>, which contains child elements for the employee’s name, age, job, and address.
• The employee’s name is contained in the <name> element, and their age is contained in the <age> element.
• The <job> element contains child elements for the employee’s job title, department, and years of experience.
• The <address> element contains child elements for the employee’s street address, city, state, and zip code.