NodeJS XMLDOM - Set DOM value lost upon serialization

Question

NodeJS XMLDOM - Set DOM value lost upon serialization

I am using nodejs xmldom module to call a SOAP service. Before calling the service, I have to set the phone number

The code is as follows

    var fs = require('fs');
    var xmldoc = fs.readFileSync('req.xml', 'utf8');

    var DOMParser = require('xmldom').DOMParser;
    var doc = new DOMParser().parseFromString(
        xmldoc
        ,'text/xml');

    //change phone number from xxxxxx to 83834324838 (dummy)
    doc.getElementsByTagName('msisdn').item(0).firstChild.nodeValue = '83834324838';

    var phone = doc.getElementsByTagName('msisdn').item(0).firstChild.nodeValue;

    // logs 83834324838
    console.log(phone);

    // serialize DOM back to xml
    var XMLSerializer = require('xmldom').XMLSerializer;
    var serializedXML = new XMLSerializer().serializeToString(doc);

    var inspect = require('util').inspect;

    //!!serialized XML doesnt have the 83834324838
    console.log(inspect(serializedXML, {
        colors: true,
        depth: Infinity
    }));


    //call to SOAP service

The variable serializedXML does not have the phone number that I set (83834324838). I checked DOM documentation and I see that the way I am setting the msisdn/phone_number is right (console.log(phone) proves that). But once serialize the DOM back into XML string, I just lose the new number.

At wits end here. Can anyone please take a stab at this?

javascript
xml
node.js
dom

Answer 1

It's a bug in the XMLDOM module:

https://github.com/jindw/xmldom/issues/33

I imagine there are other Node.js modules that do the job. How about libxmljs? (Disclaimer: found through a quick search. I've never used it.)

Answer 2

Ok, as Tim has already pointed out, there is a bug in xmldom that stands unresolved so far. This is how I circumvented the bug.

        var fs = require('fs');
        var DOMParser = require('xmldom').DOMParser;
        var XMLSerializer = require('xmldom').XMLSerializer;
        var request = require('request');


        var xml = fs.readFileSync('soap_reqs/req.xml', 'utf8');


        var serializedXML = manipulateDOM({
            xml: xml,
            nodes: [{
                    parent: 'parent_node',
                    child: 'phone_number',
                    value: '83834324838'
                }, {
                    parent: 'another_parent_node_whose_child_you_want_to_change',
                    child: 'childnode',
                    value: 'xmlsucks'
                }

            ]

        });



        var inspect = require('util').inspect;

        console.log(inspect(serializedXML, {
            colors: true,
            depth: Infinity
        }));

Answer 3

Instead of:

node.nodeValue = "New value";

I did the following:

var parentNode = node.parentNode;
parentNode.removeChild(node);
var newElm = doc.createTextNode("New value");
parentNode.appendChild(newElm);

And it works fine!