JDOM Provides Fast, Easy Access to XML from Java
jdom.org Joins O'Reilly Network
04/27/2000Press Queries Only | |
| Contact: Ellen Maremont Silver (707) 829-6514 silver@oreilly.com http://www.oreillynet.com |
Sebastopol, CA -- JDOM (Java Document Object Model) is a new technology that enables Java developers to read, change, and write XML (Extensible Mark-up Language) data much more easily than ever before. Created by Jason Hunter and Brett McLaughlin, JDOM has just been released under an open source license. The JDOM Project has a website dedicated to promoting the understanding and use of JDOM (http://jdom.org), and the site has joined the O'Reilly Network, according to O'Reilly officials.
The site includes extensive documentation on the project, the JDOM code downloadable in both source and binary form, mailing lists, and information about related Java and XML projects. The O'Reilly Network will assist jdom.org by marketing the site and eventually, selling ads on the site.
JDOM is an XML technology optimized for the Java developer. All previous programming libraries and APIs (application programming interfaces) designed to interact with XML have been intended to work with multiple languages, which causes inefficiencies for Java programmers. JDOM uses the power of the Java language to make interacting with XML simpler and faster.
"Current API offerings for using XML from Java assume expertise in XML's darkest nooks and crannies, and often don't pay back this extra knowledge with usability," explained McLaughlin. "JDOM turns that paradigm around, allowing Java developers to leverage their existing knowledge of the Java language to quickly and easily manipulate XML data, without having to rattle off ten XML acronyms just to get started."
"JDOM isn't important just to Java developers," added Hunter. "Many companies are scrambling, trying to figure out how to get into XML; they have seasoned Java staffs but don't have an XML group. JDOM allows these companies, and their current developers, to start using XML immediately."
Both Hunter and McLaughlin are authors for O'Reilly & Associates. Hunter is author of O'Reilly's best-selling "Java Servlet Programming" (with William Crawford, 1998). McLaughlin is the author of O'Reilly's upcoming "Java and XML" (June, 2000) and "Enterprise Applications in Java" (4th quarter, 2000). Hunter also is CTO of K&A Software, where he specializes in Java training and consulting, and is publisher of the website Servlets.com, another affiliate of the O'Reilly Network. McLaughlin also works as an Enterprise Java consultant at Metro Information Services, where he specializes in distributed systems architecture.
About JDOM
JDOM is an open source API which provides an alternative to the more complicated APIs such as the Document Object Model (DOM) and the Simple API for XML (SAX). Unlike DOM and SAX, JDOM is optimized for the Java programmer, using standard Java programming idioms and taking advantage of Java language features. The result is a document model that is lightweight and powerful, and lets developers build from any source, including DOM and SAX parsers.
JDOM's open source license is the least restrictive license available, enabling developers to use JDOM in creating new products without requiring them to release their own products as open source. This is the license model used by the Apache Project, which created the Apache server.
James Davidson, author of the Java API for XML Parsers (JAXP) specification as well as the Servlet API 2.1 and 2.2 specifications, offered valuable feedback and support in the development of the JDOM API.
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