XML::Simple will do the job nicely. The following code
#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;
use Data::Dumper;
use XML::Simple;
my $xml = XMLin('login.xml');
print Dumper($xml);
produces as output on your example:
$VAR1 = {
'LOGIN' => {
'firstName' => 'Alice',
'_AgeAtApplicationYears' => '33',
'phone' => '111-111-1111',
'state' => 'HI',
'zip' => '11111',
'userName' => 'testUser',
'lastName' => 'Firstimer',
'address' => '111 test street'
}
};
To access e.g. the 'state' attribute, use
$xml->{LOGIN}->{state}
Hope this helps, -gjb-
Update: What you call 'embedded tags' are actually termed attributes in XML speak ;)