JAXP introduction

JAXP is Java API for XML Processing.

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.

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. 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.