def parse(xml_input, encoding=None, expat=expat, process_namespaces=False,
          namespace_separator=':', disable_entities=True, **kwargs):
    """Parse the given XML input and convert it into a dictionary.

    `xml_input` can either be a `string`, a file-like object, or a generator of strings.

    If `xml_attribs` is `True`, element attributes are put in the dictionary
    among regular child elements, using `@` as a prefix to avoid collisions. If
    set to `False`, they are just ignored.

    Simple example::

        >>> import xmltodict
        >>> doc = xmltodict.parse(\"\"\"
        ... <a prop="x">
        ...   <b>1</b>
        ...   <b>2</b>
        ... </a>
        ... \"\"\")
        >>> doc['a']['@prop']
        u'x'
        >>> doc['a']['b']
        [u'1', u'2']

    If `item_depth` is `0`, the function returns a dictionary for the root
    element (default behavior). Otherwise, it calls `item_callback` every time
    an item at the specified depth is found and returns `None` in the end
    (streaming mode).

    The callback function receives two parameters: the `path` from the document
    root to the item (name-attribs pairs), and the `item` (dict). If the
    callback's return value is false-ish, parsing will be stopped with the
    :class:`ParsingInterrupted` exception.

    Streaming example::

        >>> def handle(path, item):
        ...     print('path:%s item:%s' % (path, item))
        ...     return True
        ...
        >>> xmltodict.parse(\"\"\"
        ... <a prop="x">
        ...   <b>1</b>
        ...   <b>2</b>
        ... </a>\"\"\", item_depth=2, item_callback=handle)
        path:[(u'a', {u'prop': u'x'}), (u'b', None)] item:1
        path:[(u'a', {u'prop': u'x'}), (u'b', None)] item:2

    The optional argument `postprocessor` is a function that takes `path`,
    `key` and `value` as positional arguments and returns a new `(key, value)`
    pair where both `key` and `value` may have changed. Usage example::

        >>> def postprocessor(path, key, value):
        ...     try:
        ...         return key + ':int', int(value)
        ...     except (ValueError, TypeError):
        ...         return key, value
        >>> xmltodict.parse('<a><b>1</b><b>2</b><b>x</b></a>',
        ...                 postprocessor=postprocessor)
        OrderedDict([(u'a', OrderedDict([(u'b:int', [1, 2]), (u'b', u'x')]))])

    You can pass an alternate version of `expat` (such as `defusedexpat`) by
    using the `expat` parameter. E.g:

        >>> import defusedexpat
        >>> xmltodict.parse('<a>hello</a>', expat=defusedexpat.pyexpat)
        OrderedDict([(u'a', u'hello')])

    You can use the force_list argument to force lists to be created even
    when there is only a single child of a given level of hierarchy. The
    force_list argument is a tuple of keys. If the key for a given level
    of hierarchy is in the force_list argument, that level of hierarchy
    will have a list as a child (even if there is only one sub-element).
    The index_keys operation takes precendence over this. This is applied
    after any user-supplied postprocessor has already run.

        For example, given this input:
        <servers>
          <server>
            <name>host1</name>
            <os>Linux</os>
            <interfaces>
              <interface>
                <name>em0</name>
                <ip_address>10.0.0.1</ip_address>
              </interface>
            </interfaces>
          </server>
        </servers>

        If called with force_list=('interface',), it will produce
        this dictionary:
        {'servers':
          {'server':
            {'name': 'host1',
             'os': 'Linux'},
             'interfaces':
              {'interface':
                [ {'name': 'em0', 'ip_address': '10.0.0.1' } ] } } }

        `force_list` can also be a callable that receives `path`, `key` and
        `value`. This is helpful in cases where the logic that decides whether
        a list should be forced is more complex.
    """
    handler = _DictSAXHandler(namespace_separator=namespace_separator,
                              **kwargs)
    if isinstance(xml_input, _unicode):
        if not encoding:
            encoding = 'utf-8'
        xml_input = xml_input.encode(encoding)
    if not process_namespaces:
        namespace_separator = None
    parser = expat.ParserCreate(
        encoding,
        namespace_separator
    )
    try:
        parser.ordered_attributes = True
    except AttributeError:
        # Jython's expat does not support ordered_attributes
        pass
    parser.StartNamespaceDeclHandler = handler.startNamespaceDecl
    parser.StartElementHandler = handler.startElement
    parser.EndElementHandler = handler.endElement
    parser.CharacterDataHandler = handler.characters
    parser.buffer_text = True
    if disable_entities:
        try:
            # Attempt to disable DTD in Jython's expat parser (Xerces-J).
            feature = "http://apache.org/xml/features/disallow-doctype-decl"
            parser._reader.setFeature(feature, True)
        except AttributeError:
            # For CPython / expat parser.
            # Anything not handled ends up here and entities aren't expanded.
            parser.DefaultHandler = lambda x: None
            # Expects an integer return; zero means failure -> expat.ExpatError.
            parser.ExternalEntityRefHandler = lambda *x: 1
    if hasattr(xml_input, 'read'):
        parser.ParseFile(xml_input)
    elif isgenerator(xml_input):
        for chunk in xml_input:
            parser.Parse(chunk,False)
        parser.Parse(b'',True)
    else:
        parser.Parse(xml_input, True)
    return handler.item
Parse the given XML input and convert it into a dictionary.

    `xml_input` can either be a `string`, a file-like object, or a generator of strings.

    If `xml_attribs` is `True`, element attributes are put in the dictionary
    among regular child elements, using `@` as a prefix to avoid collisions. If
    set to `False`, they are just ignored.

    Simple example::

        >>> import xmltodict
        >>> doc = xmltodict.parse(\"\"\"
        ... <a prop="x">
        ...   <b>1</b>
        ...   <b>2</b>
        ... </a>
        ... \"\"\")
        >>> doc['a']['@prop']
        u'x'
        >>> doc['a']['b']
        [u'1', u'2']

    If `item_depth` is `0`, the function returns a dictionary for the root
    element (default behavior). Otherwise, it calls `item_callback` every time
    an item at the specified depth is found and returns `None` in the end
    (streaming mode).

    The callback function receives two parameters: the `path` from the document
    root to the item (name-attribs pairs), and the `item` (dict). If the
    callback's return value is false-ish, parsing will be stopped with the
    :class:`ParsingInterrupted` exception.

    Streaming example::

        >>> def handle(path, item):
        ...     print('path:%s item:%s' % (path, item))
        ...     return True
        ...
        >>> xmltodict.parse(\"\"\"
        ... <a prop="x">
        ...   <b>1</b>
        ...   <b>2</b>
        ... </a>\"\"\", item_depth=2, item_callback=handle)
        path:[(u'a', {u'prop': u'x'}), (u'b', None)] item:1
        path:[(u'a', {u'prop': u'x'}), (u'b', None)] item:2

    The optional argument `postprocessor` is a function that takes `path`,
    `key` and `value` as positional arguments and returns a new `(key, value)`
    pair where both `key` and `value` may have changed. Usage example::

        >>> def postprocessor(path, key, value):
        ...     try:
        ...         return key + ':int', int(value)
        ...     except (ValueError, TypeError):
        ...         return key, value
        >>> xmltodict.parse('<a><b>1</b><b>2</b><b>x</b></a>',
        ...                 postprocessor=postprocessor)
        OrderedDict([(u'a', OrderedDict([(u'b:int', [1, 2]), (u'b', u'x')]))])

    You can pass an alternate version of `expat` (such as `defusedexpat`) by
    using the `expat` parameter. E.g:

        >>> import defusedexpat
        >>> xmltodict.parse('<a>hello</a>', expat=defusedexpat.pyexpat)
        OrderedDict([(u'a', u'hello')])

    You can use the force_list argument to force lists to be created even
    when there is only a single child of a given level of hierarchy. The
    force_list argument is a tuple of keys. If the key for a given level
    of hierarchy is in the force_list argument, that level of hierarchy
    will have a list as a child (even if there is only one sub-element).
    The index_keys operation takes precendence over this. This is applied
    after any user-supplied postprocessor has already run.

        For example, given this input:
        <servers>
          <server>
            <name>host1</name>
            <os>Linux</os>
            <interfaces>
              <interface>
                <name>em0</name>
                <ip_address>10.0.0.1</ip_address>
              </interface>
            </interfaces>
          </server>
        </servers>

        If called with force_list=('interface',), it will produce
        this dictionary:
        {'servers':
          {'server':
            {'name': 'host1',
             'os': 'Linux'},
             'interfaces':
              {'interface':
                [ {'name': 'em0', 'ip_address': '10.0.0.1' } ] } } }

        `force_list` can also be a callable that receives `path`, `key` and
        `value`. This is helpful in cases where the logic that decides whether
        a list should be forced is more complex.