Re^3: Testing database updates.

I dare say that I will soon have to pass the XML output

XML? Did you choose that format? Looking at the help from my copy of sqllite3 XML isn't even an option:

.mode MODE ?TABLE?     Set output mode where MODE is one of:
                         csv      Comma-separated values
                         column   Left-aligned columns.  (See .width)
                         html     HTML <table> code
                         insert   SQL insert statements for TABLE
                         line     One value per line
                         list     Values delimited by .separator strin
+g
                         tabs     Tab-separated values
                         tcl      TCL list elements
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Unless you chose HTML? Or did they add an XML option recently?

Choosing XML over the ,dump SQL format (IMO) is a big mistake. The SQL format is so simple to manipulate and compare:

sqlite> .dump onegb
PRAGMA foreign_keys=OFF;
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
CREATE TABLE onegb ( alpha varchar, no varchar, hex varchar, bin varch
+ar );
INSERT INTO "onegb" VALUES('nvbqurkn','05812224','42295f70','"Mƒp®Iÿ&#
+9618;SpæÕ¦&#9500;ƒ±¦c²NBÍ¹sÙ-¼&#9488;ºâ5ó<Ú="');
INSERT INTO "onegb" VALUES('xzpviekv','72456229','fd245120','"ª¿.&#957
+1;¡ù©=àô²Ð&#9571;j&#8215;Èl&#9565;°¾©&#9619;º§~zo=¬fIí&#9516;Z"');
INSERT INTO "onegb" VALUES('qrkhwqwl','43135665','316f7a36','"æe&#9559
+;´Í&#9492;&#9580;&#9524;&#9562;&#9556;¸Éwf±Û6lòêqc¸&#9604;iZñƒ&#9508;
+}E&#8962;¤&#9508;"');
...
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(Okay. That's not the most complex schema in the world; but one advantage of sqlite for this kind of thing is that it actually uses very few different datatypes.)

Whereas comparing XML is a nightmare. Less so I suppose if you don't have to worry about the attributes/nested sub-items equivalence -- I assume that however you are generating the XML, it at least produce consistent XML.

I think you are making hard work for yourself using XML, but as I said above somewhere, it is your choice. Good luck :)

With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday'

Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.

"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".

In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

The start of some sanity?

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Re^4: Testing database updates. by chrestomanci (Priest) on Apr 20, 2012 at 08:09 UTC
I think you miss understood me. I am not using XML as a dump format for my database. I am using the default export format of SQL insert statements. The reason I need to parse XML, is because the script I am re-factoring emits results in the form of XML and text files as well as inserts into a database. I need to make sure the file output is functionally identical as well as the database output. In terms of comparing the XML, I think using XMLin will be sufficient, as most of the consumers of the XML files are other perl scripts (that I don't control), so if the before and after XML is identical as far as XML::Simple is concerned, then it should be acceptable to those consuming perl scripts.	[reply]

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Re^4: Testing database updates.
by chrestomanci (Priest) on Apr 20, 2012 at 08:09 UTC

I think you miss understood me. I am not using XML as a dump format for my database. I am using the default export format of SQL insert statements.

The reason I need to parse XML, is because the script I am re-factoring emits results in the form of XML and text files as well as inserts into a database. I need to make sure the file output is functionally identical as well as the database output.

In terms of comparing the XML, I think using XMLin will be sufficient, as most of the consumers of the XML files are other perl scripts (that I don't control), so if the before and after XML is identical as far as XML::Simple is concerned, then it should be acceptable to those consuming perl scripts.

[reply]