JiBX

JiBX is a framework for binding XML data to Java objects. JiBX project lets you work with data from XML documents using your own class structures. The JiBX framework handles all the details of converting your data to and from XML based on your instructions.

JiBX is designed to perform the translation between internal data structures and XML with very high efficiency, but still allows you a high degree of control over the translation process.

How does it manage this? JiBX uses binding definition documents to define the rules for how your Java objects are converted to or from XML (the binding). At some point after you've compiled your source code into class files you execute the first part of the JiBX framework, the binding compiler.

This compiler enhances binary class files produced by the Java compiler, adding code to handle converting instances of the classes to or from XML. After running the binding compiler you can continue the normal steps you take in assembling your application (such as building jar files, etc.). You can also skip the binding compiler as a separate step and instead bind classes directly at runtime, though this approach has some drawbacks.

The second part of the JiBX framework is the binding runtime. The enhanced class files generated by the binding compiler use this runtime component both for actually building objects from an XML input document (called unmarshalling, in data binding terms) and for generating an XML output document from objects (called marshalling). The runtime uses a parser implementing the XMLPull API for handling input documents, but is otherwise self-contained.

What is new in this release:

• Corrected several related issues in code generation from schema for schema using substitution groups, or group reference as base for complexType extension or restriction.
• Corrected code generation from schema when using the xml.xsd definitions from the http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace namespace.
• Corrected bug in schema validation which required a base='...' attribute for a simpleType restriction element (inline base type allowed as alternative).
• Fixed broken WSDL generation from Jibx2Wsdl, which generated empty definitions for output messages.
• Add support for xs:list types.
• Better naming algorithm for nested schema components (if only one child component, pass the outer name down to the child component).
• Fixed repeated-type="array" CodeGen customization.
• Corrected problem with using existing bindings with redundant includes with CodeGen (NPE).
• Changed Java 5 enum default serialization to use the name() method, rather than the toString() method.
• Changed Java 5 enum code generation from schema to add an xmlValue() method where needed to supply the actual text to be used in a document, rather than overriding toString().
• Fixed several problems with embedded schema components in CodeGen JavaDocs, including use of ref="..." attributes to components in other namespaces.

What is new in version 1.2.1:

• This release corrects problems found in code generation from schemas using unqualified element names, no-namespace schemas, < xs:appinfo > elements in schemas, and several other schema variations.
• It also includes basic documentation for the Jibx2Wsdl tool, and the Jibx2Wsdl examples go all the way to deployable Web services when used with Axis2 installations updated by using the update-axis2-1.4.X package.

What is new in version 1.2:

• Added support for binding and schema generation from Java code, and for binding and code generation from XML schema, with extensive customizations support for both.
• Added support for modular binding compiles, using a 'precompiled' attribute of the < include > element to flag that the included binding has already been separately compiled.
• Restructured binding compiler code generation to clean up method structure and avoid redundant code.
• Corrected code generation for abstract mapping references within a choice.
• Added error check for invalid first byte when reading UTF-8 stream directly.
• Added org.jibx.runtime.PrintInfo class to print binding information, made this the main class when the runtime jar is executed directly.
• Added XBIS encoding support for faster and more compact data exchange when both ends are using JiBX (compared to text XML).
• Improved exception message when unmodifiable class needs to be modified, to give both the class name and the path used to load the class.
• Added 'flag-method' property attribute to indicate the presence or absence of an element when unmarshalling.