But why should you need to go through an XML file to put your data into a hash?

If you tell us how the hash should look like, it is quite certain someone will find a way to do it directly.

for that you need a DTD-file

It's way better to use XMLSchema. In fact it seems the OP wants to model datatypes and how do you want to do that with a DTD? Unless you want to go down the DT4DTD road. DTDs are considered legacy nowadays. Of course it's all academic because as you indicate yourself there is no case for using XML:)

Cheers

Harry

DTDs are considered legacy nowadays

Hehe, I am legacy myself ...

CountZero

A program should be light and agile, its subroutines connected like a string of pearls. The spirit and intent of the program should be retained throughout. There should be neither too little or too much, neither needless loops nor useless variables, neither lack of structure nor overwhelming rigidity." - The Tao of Programming, 4.1 - Geoffrey James

Most people wouldn't drive from their home in Los Angeles, to New York, and back to Los Angeles to visit their next door neighbor. If you want to convert that data to a hash, why do you have to take a trip to XML along the way? And what do you want the XML to look like? What is the specification (DTD)?

For that matter, what do you want the hash to look like? I see an array (param :, param :, param :) of hashes of arrays. But maybe I should squint a little harder.

Update: lol, I think CountZero and I must have been drinking the same Kool-Aid.

nm_pavan:

You should be able to turn that into an XML document something like this:

use strict;
use warnings;
my $XML = "";
while (<DATA>) {
   chomp;
   $XML .= "<line$.>$_</line$.>";
}
print join("",
   '<?xml version="1.0">',
   '<document>',
   $XML,
   '</document>'
);
__DATA__
param :PREFIX|numeric|sTAP|null
param :CLK_PERIOD|numeric|10000|null
param :STAP_NUMBER_OF_BITS_FOR_SLICE||16|null
param :STAP_SIZE_OF_EACH_INSTRUCTION|numeric|8|8-100
param :STAP_ENABLE_VERCODE|boolean|0
[download]

Note: I'm assuming your data doesn't include characters that need encoding. If it does, be sure to visit CPAN and get the appropriate encoding modules and encode the data before including it in your XML string.

Parsing XML into a hash has been beaten to death, so you can use search to find appropriate nodes. I could do it for you, but as others have mentioned, it's a bit far to go since you just want a hash. To convert to a hash directly would be simpler:

use strict;
use warnings;
use Data::Dumper;
my %Hash = ();
while (<DATA>) {
   chomp;
   $Hash{line$.} = $_;
}
print Dumper(\%Hash);
__DATA__
param :PREFIX|numeric|sTAP|null
param :CLK_PERIOD|numeric|10000|null
param :STAP_NUMBER_OF_BITS_FOR_SLICE||16|null
param :STAP_SIZE_OF_EACH_INSTRUCTION|numeric|8|8-100
param :STAP_ENABLE_VERCODE|boolean|0
[download]

Pretty easy, yes?

Of course, it's utterly useless, as I'm sure neither the XML document nor the hash are structured the way you want. But as you don't specify what you're looking for, and show no particular interest in doing it (as evidenced by the amount of effort shown), it at least fills the stated requirements...

Of course, the code is untested, so if there are any errors, you get to fix 'em.

</snarky-mode>

...roboticus

When your only tool is a hammer, all problems look like your thumb.