xml_serializer

A build_runner code generator for XML (de)serialization - the XML counterpart of json_serializable.

Annotate a class, run the build, and get a .g.dart part file with $TFromXml / $TToXml functions. No reflection, no hand-written parsing.

Install

This is the codegen side, so it goes in dev_dependencies:

dart pub add xml_annotator
dart pub add dev:xml_serializer dev:build_runner

Requires Dart SDK ^3.10.0.

Quick start

Annotate a class and declare the generated part:

import 'package:xml_annotator/runtime.dart';
import 'package:xml_annotator/xml_annotator.dart';

part 'reading.g.dart';

@XmlSerializer()
@XmlRoot('reading')
class Reading {
  @XmlAttribute()
  final String station;

  @XmlElement()
  final double temperature;

  Reading({required this.station, required this.temperature});

  // The seams that bridge to the generated functions.
  factory Reading.fromXml(XmlElementNode e) => $ReadingFromXml(e);
  void toXml(XmlBuilder b) => $ReadingToXml(this, b);
}

Generate the code:

dart run build_runner build
# while iterating:
dart run build_runner watch --delete-conflicting-outputs

Round-trip a value:

final xml = writeXmlDocument(
  Reading(station: 'KSEA', temperature: 18.4).toXml,
  declaration: false,
);
// <reading station="KSEA"><temperature>18.4</temperature></reading>

final back = Reading.fromXml(parseXmlDocument(xml));

What gets generated

For each annotated class T, the part file defines two top-level functions:

T    $TFromXml(XmlElementNode element);  // read
void $TToXml(T value, XmlBuilder b);     // write

Configuration

By default the generator runs on every file under lib/. To narrow it, add a build.yaml:

targets:
  $default:
    builders:
      xml_serializer:
        generate_for:
          - lib/models/**

License

MIT © Kawaljeet Singh