Libxml2
Free software library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
libxml2 is a software library for parsing XML documents. It is also the basis for the libxslt library which processes XSLT-1.0 stylesheets.
| libxml2 | |
|---|---|
| Original author | The GNOME Project |
| Initial release | September 23, 1999 |
| Stable release | |
| Written in | C |
| Operating system | cross-platform[2][3] |
| Type | XML parser, XML validator |
| License | MIT License |
| Website | xmlsoft |
| Repository | |
Description
Written in the C programming language, libxml2 provides bindings to C++, Ch,[4] XSH, C#, Python, Swift, Kylix/Delphi and other Pascals, Ruby, Perl, Common Lisp,[5] and PHP.[6] It was originally developed for the GNOME project, but can be used outside it. libxml2's code is highly portable[7] since it only depends on standard ANSI C libraries[8] and it is available under the MIT license.[3]
It includes the command-line utility xmllint and an HTML parser.[9]
As of June 2025, libxml2 was being maintained by a single person, Nick Wellnhofer. [10]
While the maintainer is an unpaid volunteer, the library is used in commercial software. In June 2025, Wellnhofer declared that he will treat security problem reports as normal bugs, fixed when there is time. In taking this stance, Wellnhofer hoped to encourage commercial users of the library to contribute work or money for maintenance.[11]
On 15 September 2025, Wellnhofer announced that he was stepping down as maintainer.[12][13]
See also
- libxslt (the LibXML2's XSLT module)
- XML validation
- Comparison of HTML parsers
- Expat (library)
- Saxon XSLT
- Xerces
- GNOME Project
