JSON to XML Converter

The models do not line up

JSON has objects, arrays, strings, numbers, booleans and null. XML has elements, attributes and text, with no native types at all. Converting means deciding how each JSON construct maps onto XML, and there is no single correct answer, which is why two converters can produce different but equally valid output from the same input.

Arrays are the main problem

XML has no array construct. A JSON array becomes repeated sibling elements, which works but loses a distinction: an array of one element and a single value produce identical XML. Converting back, a parser cannot tell whether items should be an array or an object unless it is told. This is why round-tripping JSON through XML and back does not reliably return the original shape.

Element names have rules JSON keys do not

An XML element name cannot begin with a digit, cannot contain spaces, and cannot start with the letters xml in any casing. JSON keys have none of those restrictions. A key like 2024 results or user name has to be escaped or renamed, and how a converter handles that determines whether the output is valid XML at all.

The root element is invented

XML requires exactly one root element. A JSON document that is an array, or an object with several top-level keys, has no natural root, so the converter must add one. That element is not in your data; it is an artefact of the format.

Types disappear

Everything in XML text content is a string. The number 42, the string 42 and the boolean true all become text. Preserving types requires either an XML Schema or type attributes on each element, both of which add considerable noise. Whatever consumes the XML has to know what to expect.

Escaping is mandatory

Ampersands, angle brackets and quotes in JSON string values must be escaped as entities or the XML is malformed. This is the most common bug in hand-rolled converters, and it surfaces the moment a value contains a URL with query parameters.

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