XML Unleashed

The Anatomy of XML Parser Libraries in Java

People talk about an XML parser as if it's just one thing, but it isn't. In practice, parsers have many APIs, most of which do much more than just parse, and all of which may be thought of as parser APIs. Several of them may be provided by application components. In short, the meaning of "XML Parser Library" can vary wildly depending on who is talking.

At the center of any such library is something that the XML specification calls an XML processor, and on top of that are other API layers. From the perspective of the XML standard, such layers are all part of the application, even when most of the layers are library code. These layers may support features such as XML schema validation, XSLT transformation ...