by Jamie Rider

Created on: December 29, 2010   Last Updated: January 02, 2011

Java and XML are discrete tools that by virtue of their intended operating environment have a strong synergy. The primary reason that Java and XML mesh so well is that they were designed to do complimentary jobs in the same environment. In nature, it would be like the development of a symbiotic relationship. In computing, we call it the juncture platform independence meets open source coding.

The key to understanding why Java and XML mesh is recognizing the different roles they play in web design and development. Java is a platform independent programming language.

While its origins are with Sun Microsystems, a company currently dedicated to the intranet and Internet programming communities, versions of Java exist that run on everything from not-so smart phones to high-end Unix servers. XML is a standardized markup language for organizing data. It is centrally controlled with an established and universal standard by the World Wide Web Consortium. Like Java, it is very purely platform independent.

Programs need data to manipulate. Data is often inaccessible to the average user without the right software to provide an accessible interface. Where Java and XML mesh into a symbiotic working relationship: the world of the Application Programming Interface (API).

How APIs Foster The Java/XML Relationship

Java is by its very design modular. Because it is also Open Source, this means that developers tend to make their own modules available to other designers. Several critical APIs exist “in the wild” and foster the continued relationship of Java and XML.

Parsing APIs are ones that allow the Java to access the data within an XML document. Some of the primary modules that do this are JAXP, Xerces API, and JDOM. Each has a process by which it “reads” XML documents and organizes the data for use by other Java modules.

Web Services Calls are another critical aspect of the Java-XML relationship. APIs such as JAX-RPC, JAX-R and JAX-M allow Java programs to treat remotely accessed data as if it were in a local database. This speeds the transmission of data and avoids lost data as XML acts as the lingua franca between different applications.

Finally, modules such as JAXB allow Java applications to bind or “pull in” XML data at the opening of the application, converting the raw XML data into objects that can be accessed directly within the Java application instead of constantly making data calls. Taken together, these existing APIs are why Java and XML mesh, encouraging developers to continue to build on this very solid foundation.

The Road Forward

Both Java and XML are very intuitive development tools. Java has much of the power seen in core programming languages such as C++, while XML continues to have the advantage of the world-wide data handling standardization. While many other tools exist, these two will continue to dominate as platform-independent foundations for network and World Wide Web program development.

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