Hello,

I am attempting to parse valid XML data as a string and output the result as a complex data structure (a hash of hashes and arrays) which I can then use to reference individual data elements.

I have written a small function to perform this task, which almost works. It runs without error and it does return a hash that I can reference.

The problem is that a few of the hash keys have been truncated. That is, they are missing the last character. The majority of keys, however appear fine.

I am using valid XML and the problem appears to be intermittent, although the fields affected are always the same (company_name, fee_lines, address_2, etc.)

Here is the code i'm using:

#!/usr/bin/perl -w

use strict;
use 5.24.1;
use Data::Dumper qw(Dumper);
use XML::Mini::Document;

$Data::Dumper::Terse=1;

my($xml)='<insert valid xml string here>';

my($hash_ref)=&convert_xml_to_hash($xml);

my $data=eval($hash_ref);

say Dumper($data);

exit;

sub convert_xml_to_hash
{
    my($xml)=(@_);
    my($hash)={};

    if($xml)
    {
        my($xml_object)=XML::Mini::Document->new();
        $xml_object->parse($xml);

        my($output)=$xml_object->toHash();
        $hash=Dumper($output);
    }
    return($hash);
}
[download]

Here is a sample of the output:

...

'billing_address' => {
     'province' => 'New Brunswick',
     'city' => 'Moncton',
     'company_nam' => '',                   # Should be company_name
     'phone' => '5065551212',
     'address_' => '',                      # Should be address_2
     'country_code' => 'CA',
     'first_name' => 'Joe',
     'address_1' => '123 Somestreet',
     'email' => 'someone@somewhere.com',
     'country' => 'Canada',
     'postal_code' => 'E4E 4E4',
     'last_name' => 'Blow',
      'province_code' => 'NB'
     },
     'fee_line' => '',                      # should be fee_lines
     'shipping_tax' => '0.00',
...
[download]

At first I thought that they were just some careless typos, but after some investigation I realized that was not the case.

Any insight into this problem or a nudge in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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