XML structured output
The objective of the XML structured output is to return data to users in structures that are easier to parse than the blob of text returned by the older scripts. The best part is that we can take advantage of this feature transparently in our scripts using the standard functions provided by the Nmap API and the stdnse library. If you are considering sending your NSE script to get it included with official Nmap releases, I highly recommend making your scripts support the structured output.
Note
The official documentation of the stdnse and nmap libraries can be found here:
Implementing structured output in your scripts
Lua tables are perfect data structures ...
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