TSV To XML / JSON Converter

Converting TSV (Tab-Separated Values) to XML or JSON is a common task when you need to represent your tabular data in these structured, widely-used formats. XML and JSON are both commonly used for data interchange, APIs, and configuration files.

Why Convert TSV to XML / JSON?
✅ Data Interchange: XML and JSON are the go-to formats for APIs, web services, and configuration files.
✅ Structured Data: Both formats allow for nested data structures, making it easy to represent more complex data.
✅ Compatibility: Many systems, applications, and programming languages support JSON and XML natively.

Example of TSV to XML and JSON Conversion:
TSV Input:
tsv

name age city
Alice 30 New York
Bob 25 Los Angeles
Charlie 35 Chicago
Converted to XML:
xml

<records>
<record>
<name>Alice</name>
<age>30</age>
<city>New York</city>
</record>
<record>
<name>Bob</name>
<age>25</age>
<city>Los Angeles</city>
</record>
<record>
<name>Charlie</name>
<age>35</age>
<city>Chicago</city>
</record>
</records>
Converted to JSON:
json

{
"records": [
{
"name": "Alice",
"age": 30,
"city": "New York"
},
{
"name": "Bob",
"age": 25,
"city": "Los Angeles"
},
{
"name": "Charlie",
"age": 35,
"city": "Chicago"
}
]
}
How to Convert TSV to XML or JSON:
1. Using Python for TSV to XML / JSON Conversion:
You can use Python to convert TSV to XML or JSON with the help of libraries such as csv, xml.etree.ElementTree, and json.

For XML Conversion:

python

import csv
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

# Open the TSV file
with open('data.tsv', mode='r') as tsv_file:
tsv_reader = csv.DictReader(tsv_file, delimiter='\t')

# Create the root of the XML structure
root = ET.Element('records')

# Iterate through the rows and add them to XML
for row in tsv_reader:
record = ET.SubElement(root, 'record')
for field, value in row.items():
child = ET.SubElement(record, field)
child.text = value

# Convert to string and write to XML file
tree = ET.ElementTree(root)
tree.write('output.xml')
For JSON Conversion:

python

import csv
import json

# Open the TSV file
with open('data.tsv', mode='r') as tsv_file:
tsv_reader = csv.DictReader(tsv_file, delimiter='\t')

# Convert to a list of dictionaries
records = [row for row in tsv_reader]

# Create a dictionary for JSON
data = {"records": records}

# Write to JSON file
with open('output.json', 'w') as json_file:
json.dump(data, json_file, indent=4)
How the Code Works:
Read the TSV File: The csv.DictReader() is used to read the TSV file into a dictionary format.
Create XML Structure: For XML, the xml.etree.ElementTree module is used to create XML tags for each row and field.
Create JSON Structure: For JSON, the data is stored in a dictionary with a key records holding a list of row dictionaries.
Write Output: Both scripts then write the data into their respective files (output.xml or output.json).
2. Using Online Tools:
If you'd rather not write code, you can use online tools to convert TSV to XML or JSON:

TSV to XML:

ConvertCSV TSV to XML
CSVJSON TSV to XML
TSV to JSON:

ConvertCSV TSV to JSON
CSVJSON TSV to JSON
These tools will automatically generate the XML or JSON format from your TSV file.

When to Convert TSV to XML / JSON:
When you need to import data into systems that require structured formats (e.g., APIs, databases, or web services).
When working with applications that handle XML or JSON for configuration or data interchange.
When you want to make the data more readable or manipulatable in a programming context.