What is the best way to create a deep clone of an XMLDocument Object using Javascript?

I am currently working on a project that involves parsing an XML file into an XMLDocument object using the browser's implementation of an XML parser, like this:

new DOMParser().parseFromString(text,"text/xml");

However, I have encountered a situation where I need to create a copy of the current XMLDocument object in another variable.

My question is: how can I create a deep clone of the parsed XML object?

Thank you for your help!

Answer №1

To create a deep clone of a Node object in JavaScript, you can use the cloneNode(true) method inherited from the Node interface:

var d2 = d.cloneNode(true);

For example:

var d = new DOMParser().parseFromString(
  "<root><x><y></y></x></root>",
  "text/xml"
);
// Prove it's a deep clone by removing `y` from `x`:
console.log("d before", d.documentElement.firstChild.children.length);
var x = d.documentElement.firstChild;
var d2 = d.cloneNode(true);
x.removeChild(x.firstChild);
console.log("d after", d.documentElement.firstChild.children.length);
console.log("d2 after", d2.documentElement.firstChild.children.length);


Eugene Ryabtsev points out that the prolog information from an XML document is not cloned, which is an important consideration.

The prolog information includes:

  • The XML version
  • The standalone flag
  • The encoding

Out of these, only the standalone flag may be relevant. The version is typically 1.0 as per specifications, and the encoding is less pertinent for an in-memory document. However, if you need to preserve the standalone flag, you can manually copy it after using cloneNode:

d2.xmlStandalone = d.xmlStandalone;

This will ensure that the standalone flag is also copied over along with the rest of the Node content.

Answer №2

Don't overcomplicate it, just utilize the power of Serializer along with DOMParser.

duplicateXML=function(xmlData) {
    var stringifiedXML = (new XMLSerializer()).serializeToString(xmlData.getRootNode())
    return new window.DOMParser().parseFromString(stringifiedXML, "text/xml")
};

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