xml to array in ruby - ruby-on-rails

Question

I am new to ruby and rails programming and I need to parse an xml file that I get as a response and store the station names in an array. A sample of the xml is as follows :
<Stations>
<Station>
<Code>HT</Code>
<Type>knooppuntIntercitystation</Type>
<Namen>
<Kort>Den Bosch</Kort>
<Middel>'s-Hertogenbosch</Middel>
<Lang>'s-Hertogenbosch</Lang>
</Namen>
<Land>NL</Land>
<UICCode>8400319</UICCode>
<Lat>51.69048</Lat>
<Lon>5.29362</Lon>
<Synoniemen>
<Synoniem>Hertogenbosch ('s)</Synoniem>
<Synoniem>Den Bosch</Synoniem>
</Synoniemen>
</Station>
<Station>
<Code>HTO</Code>
<Type>stoptreinstation</Type>
<Namen>
<Kort>Dn Bosch O</Kort>
<Middel>Hertogenbosch O.</Middel>
<Lang>'s-Hertogenbosch Oost</Lang>
</Namen>
<Land>NL</Land>
<UICCode>8400320</UICCode>
<Lat>51.700553894043</Lat>
<Lon>5.3183331489563</Lon>
<Synoniemen>
<Synoniem>Hertogenbosch Oost ('s)</Synoniem>
<Synoniem>Den Bosch Oost</Synoniem>
</Synoniemen>
</Station>
</Stations>
I need to get the Code and the Lang name in an array of hashes or just the lang name in an array.
How can I do that in ruby ?
thanks in advance

Answer 1

you can use
hash = Hash.from_xml(xml)
Refrence doc:
http://apidock.com/rails/v4.0.2/Hash/from_xml/class

Answer 2

Here's a solution which doesn't require Rails but a small gem (xml-simple) :
# gem install xml-simple
require 'xmlsimple'
stations = XmlSimple.xml_in(xml, :ForceArray => ['Station', 'Synoniem'])
codes_and_langs = stations['Station'].map{|station| {:code => station["Code"], :lang => station.fetch("Namen",{})["Lang"]}}
puts codes_and_langs.inspect
#=> [{:code=>"HT", :lang=>"'s-Hertogenbosch"}, {:code=>"HTO", :lang=>"'s-Hertogenbosch Oost"}]
If you are using Rails or have Rails installed :
require 'active_support/core_ext/hash' # <- Use this line for non-Rails Ruby scripts.
hash = Hash.from_xml(xml)
root_node = hash["Stations"] || {}
stations = root_node["Station"] || []
codes_and_langs = stations.compact.map do |station|
{
:code => station["Code"],
:lang => station.fetch('Namen',{})['Lang']
}
end
puts codes_and_langs.inspect
#[{:code=>"HT", :lang=>"'s-Hertogenbosch"}, {:code=>"HTO", :lang=>"'s-Hertogenbosch Oost"}]
just_langs = stations.compact.map do |station|
station.fetch('Namen',{})['Lang']
end
puts just_langs.inspect
# ["'s-Hertogenbosch", "'s-Hertogenbosch Oost"]
Hash#fetch is used to avoid an exception if "Namen" isn't defined.
Here's xml variable for both scripts :
xml="<Stations>
<Station>
<Code>HT</Code>
<Type>knooppuntIntercitystation</Type>
<Namen>
<Kort>Den Bosch</Kort>
<Middel>'s-Hertogenbosch</Middel>
<Lang>'s-Hertogenbosch</Lang>
</Namen>
<Land>NL</Land>
<UICCode>8400319</UICCode>
<Lat>51.69048</Lat>
<Lon>5.29362</Lon>
<Synoniemen>
<Synoniem>Hertogenbosch ('s)</Synoniem>
<Synoniem>Den Bosch</Synoniem>
</Synoniemen>
</Station>
<Station>
<Code>HTO</Code>
<Type>stoptreinstation</Type>
<Namen>
<Kort>Dn Bosch O</Kort>
<Middel>Hertogenbosch O.</Middel>
<Lang>'s-Hertogenbosch Oost</Lang>
</Namen>
<Land>NL</Land>
<UICCode>8400320</UICCode>
<Lat>51.700553894043</Lat>
<Lon>5.3183331489563</Lon>
<Synoniemen>
<Synoniem>Hertogenbosch Oost ('s)</Synoniem>
<Synoniem>Den Bosch Oost</Synoniem>
</Synoniemen>
</Station>
</Stations>
"