Generate Java class from XML file, using XStream

java class xstream
Ulisse picture Ulisse · Sep 17, 2012 · Viewed 15.9k times · Source

I have many xml files and I would like to use XStream to manage them. Is it possible to generate java classes corresponding to my xml files using XStream?

Answer

dertoni picture dertoni · Sep 17, 2012

XStream is a software to serialize and deserialize a Java Object to and from XML. XStream uses Reflection for this. The class of the objects involved has to exist beforehand.

JAXB is a binding framework, which too does serialization and deserialization. JAXB has annotations to do this work. Bundled with the framework come tools to generate classes (complete with the already mentioned annotations) from an xsd (<-- declaration that describes how a specific xml document is structured).

So you can choose what fits your needs best. Defining classes on your own and use XStream or use JAXB (or other binding frameworks...) and the bundled tools to generate classes. Each variant has advantages and disadvantages... XStream is more flexible but JAXB more strict. JAXB brings additional tools, XStream is more like a tool itself...

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