This page discusses - The Simple API for XML (SAX) APIs

The Simple API for XML (SAX) APIs

     

The SAX Packages: The SAX parser is defined in the following packages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Package	Description
org.xml.sax	Defines the SAX interfaces. The name "org.xml" is the package prefix that was settled on by the group that defined the SAX API.
org.xml.sax.ext	Defines SAX extensions that are used when doing more sophisticated SAX processing, for example, to process a document type definitions (DTD) or to see the detailed syntax for a file.
org.xml.sax.helpers	Contains helper classes that make it easier to use SAX -- for example, by defining a default handler that has null-methods for all of the interfaces, so you only need to override the ones you actually want to implement.
javax.xml.parsers	Defines the SAXParserFactory class which returns the SAXParser. Also defines exception classes for reporting errors.

 javax.xml.parsers Package : Describing the main classes needed here 

SAXParser	Defines the API that wraps an XMLReader implementation class
SAXParserFactory	Defines a factory API that enables applications to configure and obtain a SAX based parser to parse XML documents

org.xml.sax Package : Describing few interfaces 

org.xml.sax.helpers Package  : Describing the needed interface 

Understanding SAX Parser

At the very first, create an instance of the SAXParserFactory class which  generates an instance of the parser. This parser wraps a SAXReader object. When the parser's parse() method is invoked, the reader invokes one of the several callback methods (implemented in the application). These  callback methods are defined by the interfaces ContentHandler, ErrorHandler, DTDHandler, and EntityResolver.

Brief description of the key SAX APIs:

SAXParserFactory

SAXParserFactory object creates an instance of the parser determined by the system property, using the class javax.xml.parsers.SAXParserFactory.

 

SAXParser

The SAXParser interface defines several kinds of parse() methods. Generally, XML data source and a DefaultHandler object is passed to the parser. This parser processes the XML file and invokes the appropriate method on the handler object.

 

SAXReader

The SAXParser wraps a SAXReader (may use SAXParser's getXMLReader() and configure it). It is the SAXReader which carries on the conversation with the SAX event handlers you define.

 

DefaultHandler

Not shown in the diagram, a DefaultHandler implements the ContentHandler, ErrorHandler, DTDHandler, and EntityResolver interfaces (with null methods).You override only the ones you're interested in.

 

ContentHandler

Methods like startDocument, endDocument, startElement, and endElement are invoked when an XML tag is recognized. This interface also defines methods characters and processingInstruction, which are invoked when the parser encounters the text in an XML element or an inline processing instruction, respectively.

 

ErrorHandler

Methods error, fatalError, and warning are invoked in response to various parsing errors. The default error handler throws an exception for fatal errors and ignores other errors (including validation errors). To ensure the correct handling, you'll need to supply your own error handler to the parser.

 

DTDHandler

Defines methods you will rarely call. Used while  processing a DTD to recognize and act on declarations for an unparsed entity.

 

EntityResolver

The resolveEntity method is invoked when the parser needs to identify the data referenced by a URI. .

     

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