Binding XML Schema to Java Classes with JAXB

Binding XML Schema to Java Classes with JAXB

Scott Fordin

The Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB) is a Java technology that enables you to generate Java classes from XML schemas. As part of this process, JAXB also provides methods for unmarshalling XML instance documents into Java content trees, and then marshalling Java content trees back into XML instance documents. Put another way, JAXB provides a fast and convenient way to bind XML schemas to Java representations, making it easy for Java developers to incorporate XML data and processing functions in Java applications.

What this all means is that you can leverage the flexibility of platform-neutral XML data in Java applications without having to deal with or even know XML programming techniques. Moreover, you can take advantage of XML strengths without having to rely on heavyweight, complex XML processing models like SAX or DOM. JAXB hides the details and gets rid of the extraneous relationships in SAX and DOM--generated JAXB classes describe only the relationships actually defined in the source schemas. The result is highly portable XML data joined with highly portable Java code that can be used to create flexible, lightweight applications and Web services.

This chapter describes the JAXB architecture, functions, and core concepts. You should read this chapter before proceeding to Chapter 10, which provides sample code and step-by-step procedures for using JAXB.

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