Ruby to_xml with repeating same nodes - ruby

Question

I would like to generate something like:
<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>
<Test>
<Car>
<engine>A</engine>
<wheels>4</wheels>
</Car>
<Car>
<engine>B</engine>
<wheels>2</wheels>
</Car>
</Test>
but doing:
{"Car"=>[{"engine"=>"A", "wheels"=>"4"}, {"engine"=>"B", "wheels"=>"2"}]}.to_xml(:root => "Test")
returns:
<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>
<Test>
<Car type=\"array\">
<Car>
<engine>A</engine>
<wheels>4</wheels>
</Car>
<Car>
<engine>B</engine>
<wheels>2</wheels>
</Car>
</Car>
</Test>
You see, I don't want the parent node "<Car type=\"array\">"
Any idea how to achieve this?
Thank you!

Answer 1

For this simple case you can use Array#to_xml like so
values = {"Car"=>[{"engine"=>"A", "wheels"=>"4"}, {"engine"=>"B","wheels"=>"2"}]}.values.pop
#=> [{"engine"=>"A", "wheels"=>"4"}, {"engine"=>"B", "wheels"=>"2"}]
values.to_xml(:root => "Test", skip_types: true, children: "Car")
#=>"<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>\n<Test>\n <Car>\n <engine>A</engine>\n <wheels>4</wheels>\n </Car>\n <Car>\n <engine>B</engine>\n <wheels>2</wheels>\n </Car>\n</Test>\n"
So More Concisely
{"Car"=>[{"engine"=>"A", "wheels"=>"4"}, {"engine"=>"B", "wheels"=>"2"}]}.values.pop.to_xml(:root => "Test", skip_types: true, children: "Car")
Will Return
<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>
<Test>
<Car>
<engine>A</engine>
<wheels>4</wheels>
</Car>
<Car>
<engine>B</engine>
<wheels>2</wheels>
</Car>
</Test>
Array#to_xml allows you to pass in root and children options so you can name the root "Test" and the children "Car" as requested. If this was just an example and the case is more complex then there could be concerns with this in which case I would recommend looking at builder which allows you immense control over nodes and their naming conventions.

Answer 2

How about utilizing the :skip_types => true option?
{"Car"=>[{"engine"=>"A", "wheels"=>"4"}, {"engine"=>"B", "wheels"=>"2"}]}.to_xml(:root => "Test", :skip_types => true)