XML-Java

XML was a well received new specification when it was first introduced by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in November 1996; now, combining it intrinsically with Java that is, making XML specified code part of a Java program as well as encoding Java semantics (or behavior) into XML markup promises to deliver easier and more innovative application computing' to the enterprise and beyond. According to Larry Cable and Mark Reinhold, senior staff engineers at Sun and presenters of the "XML in the Java Platform" technical session at the recent JavaOne Developer Conference, the main reason to pay attention to this technological marriage is that XML based syntax offers a flexible, standard, and robust solution for Java programming, and, conversely, Java applies a universal set of semantics to XML data.

Why to rely on java for XML jobs when so many other tools exist? It's possible to develop XML parsers and display engines in C and C++ and to write XML tools more quickly in languages like perl and JavaScript. However, Java is the best tool around for writing platform independent, network centric applications with elaborate set of features. Text processing power and security features are more efficient in Java.

Why XML Needs Java

Most information available in the electronic world isn't stored or presented in images, 3D graphics, movies, sound, or any other impressive multimedia format. It exists, instead, in the form of character based text on the Web, in databases, and elsewhere and text is most likely here to stay. XML allows developers to contextualize and interpret their data within a standard structure, so that one set of XML framed data can be combined with another without rebuilding the entire structure with each new addition or modification.

How Java Fits into the picture

XML provides a universal syntax for Java semantics (behavior). Simply put, this means that a developer can create descriptions for different types of data to make the data behave in various ways with Java programming code, and can later repeatedly use and modify those descriptions. Since XML and Java are both portable standards, the result of using the combination of the two technologies is portable, reusable data and portable behavior.

The full potential of what one can achieve with either XML or Java alone hasn't been fully tapped yet; to combine the two is to enter largely uncharted territory. Right now, the two main application areas of XML in Java are presentation oriented publishing and enterprise message oriented middleware. Specifically, XML can be combined with Java to produce such applications as complex Web documents, dynamic publishing, e commerce, enterprise application integration, and structured information management and retrieval.

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