Overview
xmlstream is a lightweight, event-driven XML parser for Dart and Flutter that processes XML documents using a SAX (Simple API for XML) approach. It streams XML data incrementally, making it efficient for large files by emitting events as elements, attributes, and text are encountered. This reduces memory usage compared to loading entire documents into memory. Ideal for parsing structured data in real-time or handling streaming XML sources.
Use cases
- Parsing large XML files efficiently
- Real-time XML data processing
- Streaming XML from network requests
- Handling XML in low-memory environments
- Integrating with APIs that return XML
- Building XML-based protocols
Key features
- Event-based parsing model
- Low memory footprint
- Supports streaming input
- SAX-style event callbacks
- Cross-platform compatibility
- Simple, intuitive API
Suitable for
- Developers working with large XML datasets
- Apps requiring real-time XML processing
- Projects with memory constraints
- Networked applications consuming XML feeds
- Tools parsing configuration or data files in XML format
Considerations
- Not suitable for random access to XML nodes
- Requires handling of events manually
- Limited to sequential parsing
- No built-in support for XML schemas
- Best used when order and flow matter over structure