How to parse/assign data?

[along4theride]

I'm a web designer not a programmer, need help.

I'm trying to create an interface to a custom search database. I use either a POST or GET and am returned an XML response.

How do I parse this XML? How do I assign the results to variables? I would like to use Java to do this unless there is an easier way. The result is always structured with the same fields (however sometimes items do return with some null data) but how to I grab the returning result and process it?

Thanks!

[along4theride]

I was able to use Python and it worked great!

[elgemcdlf]

Seems like everything I find when doing a search is web based. I would think finding a solution to your specific needs would be easy. The w3c site is loaded. Personally I would stay away from Java. While crossplatform the cost of being crossplatform is high and what do you need crossplatform abilities for when reading XML? You don't. Think of XML as HTML and it should start to clear up providing you know how to write HTML and not WYSIWYG. You should be starting here:

http://www.w3schools.com/xml/default.asp