3.3 JAXP: Java API for XML Processing JAXP 1.

n How can applications use XML processors? n An interface for “plugging-in” and using XML
– A Java-based answer: through JAXP processors in Java applications
– includes packages
– An overview of the JAXP interface
» org.xml.sax: SAX 2.0 interface
» What does it specify?
» org.w3c.dom: DOM Level 2 interface
» What can be done with it?
» javax.xml.parsers:
» How do the JAXP components fit together?
initialization and use of parsers
[Partly based on tutorial “An Overview of the APIs” available at » javax.xml.transform:
http://java .sun.com/xml/jaxp/dist/1.1/docs/tutorial/overview initialization and use of transformers
/3_apis.html, from which also some graphics are borrowed] (XSLT processors)
n Included in JDK starting from vers. 1.4
SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 1 SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 2

JAXP: XML processor plugin (1) JAXP: XML processor plugin (2)

n Vendor-independent method for selecting n By default, reference implementations used

processor implementation at run time
– principally through system properties
javax.xml.parsers.SAXParserFactory ,
javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory , and
javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory
– For example:
System.setProperty(
"javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory",
"com.icl.saxon.om.DocumentBuilderFactoryImpl
");
– Apache Crimson/Xerces as the XML parser
– Apache Xalan as the XSLT processor
n Currently supported only by a few compliant
XML processors:
– Parsers: Apache Crimson and Xerces, Aelfred
– XSLT transformers: Apache Xalan, Saxon

SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 3 SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 4

JAXP: Functionality JAXP Parsing API

n Parsing using SAX 2.0 or DOM Level 2 n Included in JAXP package

n Transformation using XSLT javax.xml.parsers
– (We’ll perform stand-alone transformations later)
n Used for invoking and using SAX and
n Fixes features left unspecified in SAX 2.0 and
DOM parser implementations:
DOM Level 2
– control of parser validation and error handling SAXParserFactory spf =
– creation and saving of DOM Document objects SAXParserFactory.newInstance();

DocumentBuilderFactory dbf =
DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance();
SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 5 SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 6

1
JAXP: Using an SAX parser (1) JAXP: Using an SAX parser (2)

getXMLReader
n We’ve already used this:
SAXParserFactory spf =
SAXParserFactory.newInstance();
XML try {
SAXParser saxParser = spf.newSAXParser ();
XMLReader xmlReader =
saxParser.getXMLReader ();
} catch (Exception e) {
System.err.println(e.getMessage());
System.exit(1);
};

SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 7 SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 8

JAXP: Using a DOM parser (1) JAXP: Using a DOM parser (2)

n We’ve used this, too:

DocumentBuilderFactory dbf =
parse(
newDocument() DocumentBuilderFactory .newInstance ();
”f.xml”)
try { // to get a new DocumentBuilder:
documentBuilder builder =
dbf.newDocumentBuilder ();
} catch (ParserConfigurationException e) {
e.printStackTrace());
f.xml System.exit(1);
};

SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 9 SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 10

DOM building in JAXP JAXP: Controlling parsing

Document n Errors of DOM parsing can be handled

Builder
– by creating a SAX ErrorHandler, which implements
(Content
Handler) error, fatalError and warning methods, and
passing it with setErrorHandler to the
XML Error DOM Document DocumentBuilder
Reader Handler
XML (SAX DTD n Validation and namespace processing can be
Parser) Handler controlled, both for SAXParserFactories and
Entity DocumentBuilderFactories with
Resolver
setValidating(boolean) and
DOM on top of SAX - So what? setNamespaceAware(boolean)
SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 11 SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 12

2
JAXP Transformation API
n also known as TrAX
n Allows application to apply a Transformer to a
Source document to get a Result document
n Transformer can be created
– from XSLT transformation instructions (to be
discussed later)
– without instructions, which gives an identity
transformation (simply copies Source to Result)
SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces
JAXP Transformation Packages
n javax.xml.transform:
– Classes Transformer and
TransformerFactory; initialization similar
to parsers and parser factories
n Transformation Source object can be
– a DOM tree, an SAX XMLReader or an I/O stream
n Transformation Result object can be
– a DOM tree, an SAX ContentHandler or an I/O
stream
SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces
Serializing a DOM Document as XML text
n Identity transformation to an I/O stream Result:
TransformerFactory tFactory =
TransformerFactory.newInstance();
// Create an identity transformer:
Transformer transformer =
tFactory.newTransformer();
DOMSource source = new DOMSource(myDOMdoc);
StreamResult result =
new StreamResult(System.out);
transformer.transform(source, result);
SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces
JAXP: Using Transformers (1)
XSLT
13 SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 14
JAXP Transformation Packages (2)
n Classes to create Source and Result objects
from DOM, SAX and I/O streams defined in
packages
– javax.xml.transform.dom,
javax.xml.transform.sax, and
javax.xml.transform.stream
n An identity transformation from a DOM
Document to I/O stream a vendor-neutral
way to serialize DOM documents
– (the only option in JAXP)
15 SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 16
Other Java APIs for XML
n JDOM
– variant of W3C DOM; closer to Java object-
orientation (http://www.jdom.org/)
n DOM4J (http://www.dom4j.org/)
– roughly similar to JDOM; richer set of features
n JAXB (Java Architecture for XML Binding)
– compiles DTDs to DTD-specific classes that allow to
read, to manipulate and to write valid documents
– http://java.sun.com/xml/jaxb/
17 SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 18
3
JAXP: Summary

n An interface for using XML Processors

– SAX/DOM parsers, XSLT transformers
n Supports plugability of different
implementations
n Defines means to control validation, and
handling of parse errors (through SAX
ErrorHandlers)
n Defines means to write out DOM Documents
n Included in JDK 1.4
SDPL 2002 Notes 3: XML Processor Interfaces 19