JDOM is an open source library for working with a Java representation of an XML document. JDOM provides a way to represent that document for easy and efficient reading, manipulation, and writing. It has a straightforward API, is a lightweight and fast, and is optimized for the Java programmer.
JDOM is an open source library (hosted on gitub) for working with a Java representation of an XML document. JDOM provides a way to represent that document for easy and efficient reading, manipulation, and writing.
The major features of JDOM that make it easier to use are:
- it has a straightforward API
- it is lightweight and fast (relative to other in-memory models)
- the in-memory model of the document is always well-formed.
- it is optimized for the Java programmer.
- It uses standard Java collection structures instead of some other form of containers
- All Collections are correctly typed using Java Generics
- It provides simple and high-performance access to XML Parsers and 'outputters'
- it integrates well with data that is read from, or written to SAX, DOM, and StAX API's
While SAX (and sometimes DOM and StAX) can be used to build JDOM documents, the JDOM API is not like those. Still, JDOM is able to interface well with programs that expect SAX, StAX, or DOM input, or expect JDOM to provide such output.
JDOM is not a wrapper for the W3C's DOM, or another version of DOM. JDOM is a Java-based "document object model" for XML files. JDOM serves the same purpose as DOM, but is easier to use.
JDOM is not an XML parser (like Xerces). It is a document object model that uses XML parsers to build documents. JDOM's SAXBuilder class for example uses the SAX events generated by an XML parser to build a JDOM tree. The default XML parser used by JDOM is the JAXP-selected parser, but JDOM can use nearly any parser.
JDOM 2.0.0 was released in 2012 and introduced full support for Java Generics and an improved XPath interface as well as many other features.
JDOM 1.1.3 is still supported and even runs on Java 1.1.2
