All about JAXP, Part 1

By Brett McLaughlin
2005-07-15


XML processing toolkit facilitates parsing and validation
The Java API for XML Processing (JAXP) lets you validate, parse, and transform XML using several different APIs. JAXP provides both ease of use and vendor neutrality. This article, the first of a two-part series introducing JAXP, shows you how to take advantage of the API's parsing and validation features. Part 2 will cover XSL transformations using JAXP.Java technology and XML are arguably the most important programming developments of the last five years. As a result, APIs for working with XML in the Java language have proliferated. The two most popular -- the Document Object Model (DOM) and the Simple API for XML (SAX) -- have generated a tremendous amount of interest, and JDOM and data-binding APIs have followed (see Resources). Understanding even one or two of these APIs thoroughly is quite a task; using all of them correctly makes you a guru. However, more and more Java developers are finding that they no longer need extensive knowledge of SAX and DOM -- thanks largely to Sun Microsystems' JAXP toolkit. The Java API for XML Processing (JAXP) makes XML manageable for even beginning Java programmers while still providing plenty of heft for advanced developers. That said, even advanced developers who use JAXP often have misconceptions about the very API they depend on.

This article assumes that you have some basic knowledge of SAX and DOM. If you're new to XML parsing, you might want to read up on SAX and DOM first through online sources or skim through my book (see Resources). You don't need to be fluent in callbacks or DOM Nodes, but you should at least understand that SAX and DOM are parsing APIs. It would also help to have a basic understanding of their differences. This article will make a lot more sense once you've picked up these basics.

Tutorial Pages:
» XML processing toolkit facilitates parsing and validation
» JAXP: API or abstraction?
» Starting with SAX
» Dealing with DOM
» Performing validation
» Changing the parser
» Summary
» Resources


First published by IBM developerWorks

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