Representing XML Content

This section describes how JAXB represents XML content as Java objects. Specifically, the topics in this section are as follows:

Binding XML Names to Java Identifiers

Java Representation of XML Schema

Binding XML Names to Java Identifiers

XML schema languages use XML names--strings that match the Name production defined in XML 1.0 (Second Edition) (http://www.w3.org/XML/) to label schema components. This set of strings is much larger than the set of valid Java class, method, and constant identifiers. To resolve this discrepancy, JAXB uses several name-mapping algorithms.

The JAXB name-mapping algorithm maps XML names to Java identifiers in a way that adheres to standard Java API design guidelines, generates identifiers that retain obvious connections to the corresponding schema, and is unlikely to result in many collisions.

Refer to Chapter 2 for information about changing default XML name mappings. See Appendix C in the JAXB Specification for complete details about the JAXB naming algorithm.

Java Representation of XML Schema

JAXB supports the grouping of generated classes and interfaces in Java packages. A package comprises:

A name, which is either derived directly from the XML namespace URI, or specified by a binding customization of the XML namespace URI

A set of Java content interfaces representing the content models declared within the schema

A Set of Java element interfaces representing element declarations occurring within the schema

An ObjectFactory class containing:

An instance factory method for each Java content interface and Java element interface within the package; for example, given a Java content interface named Foo, the derived factory method would be:

    public Foo createFoo() throws JAXBException;

Dynamic instance factory allocator; creates an instance of the specified Java content interface; for example:

         public Object newInstance(Class javaContentInterface)
         throws JAXBException;

getProperty and setProperty APIs that allow the manipulation of provider-specified properties

Set of typesafe enum classes

Package javadoc