Specify the Output Format for Configuration Data in a Junos XML Protocol Session
In a Junos XML protocol session with a device running Junos
OS, to request information about a configuration on a routing, switching,
or security platform, a client application encloses the <get-configuration> element in an <rpc> tag. The client application can specify the formatting of the configuration
data returned by the Junos XML protocol server by setting optional
attributes in the <get-configuration> tag.
To request that the Junos XML protocol server return
configuration information in Junos XML-tagged output, the client application
either includes the format="xml" attribute
in the <get-configuration/> tag or opening <get-configuration> tag or omits the attribute completely.
The Junos XML protocol server returns Junos XML-tagged output by default,
except when the compare attribute is included.
<rpc>
<get-configuration/>
<!-- OR -->
<get-configuration>
<!-- tag elements for the configuration elements to return -->
</get-configuration>
</rpc>To request that the Junos XML protocol server return
configuration information as formatted ASCII text instead of tagging
it with Junos XML tag elements, the client application includes the format="text" attribute in the <get-configuration/> tag or opening <get-configuration> tag.
<rpc>
<get-configuration format="text"/>
<!-- OR -->
<get-configuration format="text">
<!-- tag elements for the configuration elements to return -->
</get-configuration>
</rpc>Starting in Junos
OS Release 15.1, the client application includes the format="set" attribute in the <get-configuration/> tag or opening <get-configuration> tag to request that the Junos XML protocol server return configuration
information as configuration mode set commands instead
of Junos XML tag elements. The client application
encloses the request in an <rpc> tag
element.
<rpc>
<get-configuration format="set"/>
<!-- OR -->
<get-configuration format="set">
<!-- tag elements for the configuration elements to return -->
</get-configuration>
</rpc>Starting in Junos OS Release 14.2, a client application
can request that the Junos XML protocol server return configuration
information in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format. To return
configuration data in JSON format instead of tagging it with Junos
XML tag elements, the client application includes the format="json" attribute in the <get-configuration/> tag or opening <get-configuration> tag. The client application encloses the request in an <rpc> tag element.
<rpc>
<get-configuration format="json"/>
<!-- OR -->
<get-configuration format="json">
<!-- tag elements for the configuration elements to return -->
</get-configuration>
</rpc>For information about the tag elements to enclose in the <get-configuration> tag element, see Specifying the Scope of Configuration Data to Return
in a Junos XML Protocol Session.
Regardless of which output format they request, client
applications use Junos XML tag elements to represent the configuration
elements to display. The format attribute
controls the format of the Junos XML protocol server’s output
only.
When the application requests Junos XML tag elements,
the Junos XML protocol server encloses its output in <rpc-reply> and <configuration> tag elements. For information about the attributes in the opening <configuration> tag, see Specifying the Source for Configuration Information Requests in a
Junos XML Protocol Session.
<rpc-reply xmlns:junos="URL">
<configuration attributes>
<!-- Junos XML tag elements representing configuration elements -->
</configuration>
</rpc-reply>When the application requests formatted ASCII output,
the Junos XML protocol server formats its response in the same way
that the CLI show configuration command displays configuration
data—it uses the newline character, tabs, braces, and square
brackets to indicate the hierarchical relationships between configuration
statements. The server encloses formatted ASCII configuration statements
in <rpc-reply> and <configuration-text> tag elements.
<rpc-reply xmlns:junos="URL">
<configuration-text>
<!-- formatted ASCII configuration statements -->
</configuration-text>
</rpc-reply>
When the application requests configuration mode set commands, the Junos XML protocol server formats its response
in the same way that the CLI show configuration | display
set command displays configuration data. The server encloses
the data in <rpc-reply> and <configuration-set> tag elements.
<rpc-reply xmlns:junos="URL">
<!-- configuration mode commands -->
</rpc-reply>
When the application requests JSON format, the Junos
XML protocol server encloses the JSON data in <rpc-reply> and <configuration-json> tag elements.
<rpc-reply xmlns:junos="URL">
<configuration-json>
<!-- JSON configuration data -->
</configuration-json>
</rpc-reply>
Starting in Junos OS Release 16.1, devices running Junos OS emit JSON-formatted configuration data using a new default implementation for serialization.
Starting in Junos OS Releases 16.1R4, 16.2R2, and 17.1R1, integers in Junos OS configuration data emitted in JSON format are not enclosed in quotation marks. In earlier releases, integers in JSON configuration data are treated as strings and enclosed in quotation marks.
The format attribute can be combined
with one or more of the following other attributes in the <get-configuration/> tag or opening <get-configuration> tag:
comparewith the valuecompare="rollback"and withrollback="0". When you compare the candidate configuration to the active configuration (rollback="0"), you can display the differences in formats other than text by including the appropriate value for theformatattribute in the request. You can display the differences in XML format starting in Junos OS Release 15.1R1, and you can display the differences in JSON format starting in Junos OS Release 16.1R1.commit-scriptswith a value ofcommit-scripts="apply"orcommit-scripts="apply-no-transients". Thecommit-scripts="view"attribute returns Junos XML-tagged output by default, even if theformat="text"attribute is included, since this is the format that is input to commit scripts.database, which is described in Specifying the Source for Configuration Information Requests in a Junos XML Protocol Sessioninheritand optionallygroupsandinterface-ranges, which are described in Specifying the Output Format for Configuration Groups and Interface Ranges Using the Junos XML Protocol
It does not make sense to combine the format="text" attribute with the changed attribute
(described in Requesting Change Indicators
for Configuration Elements Using the Junos XML Protocol) or to include it after requesting an indicator for identifiers
(described in Requesting Identifier Indicators
for Configuration Elements Using the Junos XML Protocol). The change and identifier indicators appear only in Junos XML-tagged
and JSON output.
An application can request Junos-XML tagged output, formatted
ASCII text, configuration mode set commands, or JSON output
for the entire configuration or any portion of it. For instructions
on specifying the amount of data to return, see Specifying the Scope of Configuration Data to Return
in a Junos XML Protocol Session.
The following example shows how to request formatted ASCII output
from the [edit policy-options] hierarchy level in
the candidate configuration.
format="set" attribute in the <get-configuration/> tag or opening <get-configuration> tag to request that the Junos XML protocol server return configuration
information as configuration mode set commands instead
of Junos XML tag elements.