Re^6: XML cleanup - regex or ?

[dHarry]

I don't disagree with you, I didn't get what you mean by "XML error" and I'm afraid I still don't get it. If you mean that with "missing attributes" you can still parse the file because it remains "well formed" I agree. A XML parser can parse any wellformed XML document, otherwise it would not be compliant. Missing attributes won't make a difference. In order for a XML document to be wellformed you need at least a root element though. What got me on the wrong foot is that the OP mentions he knows what attributes to expect, I sort of assumed he has schema(s) and/or DTD(s) and therefore a validating parser. Validation is optional of course.

[ikegami]

I'm afraid I still don't get it.

He said he can't use an XML parser since he's getting XML parsing errors. If he correctly reported the problem, then he's mistaken. He's not getting XML parsing errors, so he can use an XML parser (as demonstrated). That's all I said.

If he is getting XML parsing errors, then he misreported the problem in the OP. Crafting a regular expression would probably be the simplest solution, but we can't help him craft one without knowing what it should do.