XJ: facilitating XML processing in Java

ABSTRACT

The increased importance of XML as a data representation format has led to several proposals for facilitating the development of applications that operate on XML data. These proposals range from runtime API-based interfaces to XML-based programming languages. The subject of this paper is XJ, a research language that proposes novel mechanisms for the integration of XML as a first-class construct into Java™. The design goals of XJ distinguish it from past work on integrating XML support into programming languages --- specifically, the XJ design adheres to the XML Schema and XPath standards. Moreover, it supports in-place updates of XML data thereby keeping with the imperative nature of Java. We have built a prototype compiler for XJ, and our preliminary experiments demonstrate that the performance of XJ programs can approach that of traditional low-level API-based interfaces, while providing a higher level of abstraction.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.3 Language Constructs and Features

Additional Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.7 DOCUMENT AND TEXT PROCESSING
      I.7.2 Document Preparation

General Terms:
Design, Languages

Keywords:
Java, XML, language design