XmlPullParser name expected exception

Question

I try to read a XML file created by my app using this code:

XmlPullParser xpp = factory.newPullParser();
xpp.setInput(new StringReader(data));
int eventType = xpp.getEventType();

while(eventType != XmlPullParser.END_DOCUMENT)
{
    switch(eventType)
    {
        case XmlPullParser.START_TAG:
        {
            String tagName = xpp.getName();
            // do something
            break;
        }
        case XmlPullParser.TEXT:
        {
            // get text...
            break;
        }
        case XmlPullParser.END_TAG:
        {
            // do something
            break;
        }
    }

    eventType = xpp.next();
}

but at first, when eventType is START_DOCUMENT, next() function throws exception: org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParserException: name expected (position:START_TAG @2:2 in java.io.StringReader@41084cc8)

Do you have any idea why?

Here is my XML file:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8' standalone='yes' ?>
<0>
  <createTime>1419453655800</createTime>
  <editTime>1419453655800</editTime>
  <color>2</color>
  <text>ooooo</text>
</0>
<1>
  <createTime>1419453586197</createTime>
  <editTime>1419453605679</editTime>
  <color>1</color>
  <text>uuuuuuuuu</text>
</1>
<2>
  <createTime>1419453358866</createTime>
  <editTime>1419453597124</editTime>
  <color>2</color>
  <text>yyyyyyyyyy</text>
</2>

Your XML document is not well formed as it does not have a single root element. You should fix this before trying to parse it. — kjhughes, Jan 06 '15 at 21:38
So, should I move all elements in a dummy root and everything will work? I'll try it — Mustafa Chelik, Jan 06 '15 at 21:40
Yes, minimally you'll need a single root element. (It's technically not even XML without a single root element, which is required to be well-formed.) If any other problems arise, let us know. Thanks. — kjhughes, Jan 06 '15 at 21:45
Also, make your numbered tags start with a letter such as e1, e2, etc. — kjhughes, Jan 06 '15 at 21:53

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:57

1

Make your XML well-formed by giving it a single root element and making element names start with letters, not numbers:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8' standalone='yes' ?>
<top>
  <e0>
    <createTime>1419453655800</createTime>
    <editTime>1419453655800</editTime>
    <color>2</color>
    <text>ooooo</text>
  </e0>
  <e1>
    <createTime>1419453586197</createTime>
    <editTime>1419453605679</editTime>
    <color>1</color>
    <text>uuuuuuuuu</text>
  </e1>
  <e2>
    <createTime>1419453358866</createTime>
    <editTime>1419453597124</editTime>
    <color>2</color>
    <text>yyyyyyyyyy</text>
  </e2>
</top>

edited May 23 '17 at 11:57

Community

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answered Jan 06 '15 at 22:25

kjhughes

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You were right. It worked after inserting text before numbers. But I have a question: when I call getName function, I get end-line and space characters as well. Is it normal? – Mustafa Chelik Jan 06 '15 at 22:43
1

No, that's not normal. For START_TAG, END_TAG, and ENTITY_REF events, `getName()` should return Strings, which should never have spaces or newlines; for other events, `getName(`) should return null. I'd post a new question with a [**Minimal, Complete, and Verifiable Example (MCVE)**](http://stackoverflow.com/help/mcve) that specifically shows `getName()` returning EOL and spaces. – kjhughes Jan 07 '15 at 02:30
You are right. When a tag doesn't have text (like or ) getText() returns "\n ". Sorry but I didn't get your last sentence. Thank you – Mustafa Chelik Jan 07 '15 at 20:22

XmlPullParser name expected exception

1 Answers1