An Overview of the XML-APIs

Here we have  listed all  the major Java APIs for XML. But we will concentrate most on JAXP in our coming tutorials.

JAXP: Java API for XML Processing

This API  provides a common interface for creating and using the standard SAX, DOM, and XSLT APIs in Java, independent to vendor's implementation .

 

JAXB: Java Architecture for XML Binding

This standard defines a mechanism for writing out Java objects as XML (marshalling) and for creating Java objects from such structures (unmarshalling).

 

JDOM: Java DOM

An alternative to DOM, that creates a tree of objects from an XML structure. The resulting tree is much easier to use, and it can be created from an XML structure without a compilation step.

DOM4J

Although it is not on the JCP standards track, DOM4J is an open-source, object-oriented alternative to DOM that is in many ways ahead of JDOM in terms of implemented features. It is  an excellent alternative for Java developers who need to manipulate XML-based data.

 

JAXM: Java API for XML Messaging

The JAXM API defines a mechanism for exchanging asynchronous XML-based messages between applications. ("Asynchronous" means "send it - forget it".)

 

JAX-RPC: Java API for XML-based Remote Process Communications

The JAX-RPC API defines a mechanism for exchanging synchronous XML-based messages between applications. ("Synchronous" means "send a message and wait for the reply".)

 

JAXR: Java API for XML Registries

The JAXR API provides a mechanism for publishing available services in an external registry, and for consulting the registry to find those services.