lxml is a Python library that stands for "Pythonic XML processing with lxml". It is a powerful and efficient library used for processing XML and HTML documents. lxml provides easy-to-use and high-performance APIs for handling XML parsing, querying, validation, and serialization.
With lxml, users can parse XML files or strings, either from a local file or over the internet. It supports multiple parsing modes, such as "XML" for regular XML parsing, "HTML" for parsing HTML documents, and "ETree" mode for compatibility with the ElementTree API.
lxml offers XPath and CSS selectors for querying XML and HTML documents. These selectors allow users to extract specific elements or attributes from the parsed documents efficiently. It also supports schema-based validation using RelaxNG or DTD, ensuring the correctness of the XML data.
The library provides a comprehensive API for creating, modifying, and serializing XML documents. Users can add, delete, and update elements, attributes, and text content within the parsed documents effortlessly. lxml also offers various serialization options, allowing users to convert XML documents to strings, files, or streams.
lxml is known for its speed and memory efficiency, making it a popular choice for handling large or complex XML and HTML documents. It is widely used in various domains, including web scraping, data extraction, data transformation, and web development. Its simplicity, performance, and extensive feature set make it an essential tool for XML processing in the Python ecosystem.
