@classmethod
def parse(cls, nessus_data, data_type='XML', strict=False):
    """
        Parses a Nessus data file
        :param nessus_data The datafile to be parsed
        :param data_type File format (XML by default)
        :param strict Forces strict parsing of report objects which may be invalid
        """
    nessusobj = None
    if not isinstance(nessus_data, str):
        raise Exception(
            'Wrong nessus_data type given as argument: Nessus data should be provided as strings'
            )
    if nessus_data and data_type == 'XML':
        nessusobj = cls._parse_xml(nessus_data, strict)
    else:
        raise Exception(
            'No or unknown data type provided. Please check documentation for supported data types.'
            )
    return nessusobj
