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Discover how to preserve HTML tags while writing XML files using Python's ElementTree with step-by-step guidance and best practices.
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How to Keep HTML Tags Intact When Writing XML with Python's ElementTree

When working with XML data in Python, you might encounter situations where you need to maintain specific formatting, such as HTML tags or special character representations. This can become particularly challenging when your XML-writing tools, like Python's xml.etree.ElementTree, automatically convert these formats during the writing process. In this guide, we will explore how to ensure that your HTML elements remain unchanged when writing XML to disk.

The Problem

One common scenario is needing to replicate a target XML structure that includes HTML tags and special characters. For instance, if you need your XML document to include fields formatted like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

However, when you attempt to write text to the file using ElementTree's .write() method, you may encounter issues where:

HTML tags are converted to character entities like <br/>.

Special characters are displayed as symbols, rather than their encoded references.

This discrepancy can lead to output that looks like this instead:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

The main questions that arise from this problem are:

Can I modify my code to preserve the original format?

Is it advisable to keep such HTML content within XML, or should it be reconsidered?

The Solution

Understanding the text Property

First, we need to clarify a fundamental aspect of the ElementTree library. The text property of an XML element can only hold plain text. This means that you cannot use it to insert both text and structured sub-elements, like HTML tags.

Step-by-Step Implementation

Instead of replacing the text directly, we can create a new title element and insert it into the XML structure. Here’s how to do this:

Parse the XML Document:

Begin by reading your XML template file:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Remove the Old Title Element:

If you already have a title element, you'll want to remove it before adding your new one:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Create and Insert the New Title Element:

Prepare the new title content, ensuring you maintain the HTML tags correctly, and create an element from it:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Prettifying the Output:

For readability, especially in XML files, you can use the ET.indent() function (requires Python 3.9):

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Writing the Output to Disk:

Finally, to properly encode your file, use US-ASCII to ensure HTML tags remain intact:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Example Output

After running the above code, your example_mod.xml should now reflect:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

Using the ElementTree module to handle XML with HTML tags can be tricky, but by creating new elements instead of modifying existing ones, you can preserve the desired formatting.

Best Practices

Maintain Compatibility: Consider whether it is essential to keep HTML tags in an XML document since it may not align perfectly with the philosophy of XML.

Communicate with Your Team: If you are working in a team environment, discuss whether such practices are acceptable or if there are alternative approaches to formatting XML.

Overall, while it is possible to include HTML within XML using Python, weighing the implications and communicating with peers will ensure best outcomes.