javax.xml.bind
Interface Unmarshaller

All Known Implementing Classes:

AbstractUnmarshallerImpl

public interface Unmarshaller

The Unmarshaller class governs the process of deserializing XML data into newly created Java content trees, optionally validating the XML data as it is unmarshalled. It provides the basic unmarshalling methods:

Unmarshalling from a File:

       JAXBContext jc = JAXBContext.newInstance( "com.acme.foo" );
       Unmarshaller u = jc.createUnmarshaller();
       Object o = u.unmarshal( new File( "nosferatu.xml" ) );
    

Unmarshalling from an InputStream:

       InputStream is = new FileInputStream( "nosferatu.xml" );
       JAXBContext jc = JAXBContext.newInstance( "com.acme.foo" );
       Unmarshaller u = jc.createUnmarshaller();
       Object o = u.unmarshal( is );
    

Unmarshalling from a URL:

       JAXBContext jc = JAXBContext.newInstance( "com.acme.foo" );
       Unmarshaller u = jc.createUnmarshaller();
       URL url = new URL( "http://beaker.east/nosferatu.xml" );
       Object o = u.unmarshal( url );
    

Unmarshalling from a StringBuffer using a javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamSource:

       JAXBContext jc = JAXBContext.newInstance( "com.acme.foo" );
       Unmarshaller u = jc.createUnmarshaller();
       StringBuffer xmlStr = new StringBuffer( "<?xml version="1.0"?>..." );
       Object o = u.unmarshal( new StreamSource( new StringReader( xmlStr.toString() ) ) );
    

Unmarshalling from a org.w3c.dom.Node:

       JAXBContext jc = JAXBContext.newInstance( "com.acme.foo" );
       Unmarshaller u = jc.createUnmarshaller();
 
       DocumentBuilderFactory dbf = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance();
       dbf.setNamespaceAware(true);
       DocumentBuilder db = dbf.newDocumentBuilder();
       Document doc = db.parse(new File( "nosferatu.xml"));

       Object o = u.unmarshal( doc );
    

Unmarshalling from a javax.xml.transform.sax.SAXSource using a client specified validating SAX2.0 parser:

       // configure a validating SAX2.0 parser (Xerces2)
       static final String JAXP_SCHEMA_LANGUAGE =
           "http://java.sun.com/xml/jaxp/properties/schemaLanguage";
       static final String JAXP_SCHEMA_LOCATION =
           "http://java.sun.com/xml/jaxp/properties/schemaSource";
       static final String W3C_XML_SCHEMA =
           "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema";

       System.setProperty( "javax.xml.parsers.SAXParserFactory",
                           "org.apache.xerces.jaxp.SAXParserFactoryImpl" );

       SAXParserFactory spf = SAXParserFactory.newInstance();
       spf.setNamespaceAware(true);
       spf.setValidating(true);
       SAXParser saxParser = spf.newSAXParser();
       
       try {
           saxParser.setProperty(JAXP_SCHEMA_LANGUAGE, W3C_XML_SCHEMA);
           saxParser.setProperty(JAXP_SCHEMA_LOCATION, "http://....");
       } catch (SAXNotRecognizedException x) {
           // exception handling omitted
       }

       XMLReader xmlReader = saxParser.getXMLReader();
       SAXSource source = 
           new SAXSource( xmlReader, new InputSource( "http://..." ) );

       // Setup JAXB to unmarshal
       JAXBContext jc = JAXBContext.newInstance( "com.acme.foo" );
       Unmarshaller u = jc.createUnmarshaller();
       ValidationEventCollector vec = new ValidationEventCollector();
       u.setEventHandler( vec );
       
       // turn off the JAXB provider's default validation mechanism to 
       // avoid duplicate validation
       u.setValidating( false )

       // unmarshal
       Object o = u.unmarshal( source );

       // check for events
       if( vec.hasEvents() ) {
          // iterate over events
       }
    

Unmarshalling XML Data

The JAXBContext object used to create this Unmarshaller was initialized with a contextPath which determines the schema derived content available to the Marshaller, Unmarshaller, and Validator objects it produces. If the JAXBContext object that was used to create this Unmarshaller does not have enough information to know how to unmarshal the XML content from the specified source, then the unmarshal operation will abort immediately by throwing a UnmarshalException.

Support for SAX2.0 Compliant Parsers

A client application has the ability to select the SAX2.0 compliant parser of their choice. If a SAX parser is not selected, then the JAXB Provider's default parser will be used. Eventhough the JAXB Provider's default parser is not required to be SAX2.0 compliant, all providers are required to allow a client application to specify their own SAX2.0 parser. Some providers may require the client application to specify the SAX2.0 parser at schema compile time. See unmarshal(Source) for more detail.

Validation and Well-Formedness

A client application can enable or disable the provider's default validation mechanism via the setValidating API. Sophisticated clients can specify their own validating SAX 2.0 compliant parser and bypass the provider's default validation mechanism using the unmarshal(Source) API.

For a more detailed definition of how validation errors and warnings are handled, see the Validator javadoc.

Supported Properties

There currently are not any properties required to be supported by all JAXB Providers on Unmarshaller. However, some providers may support their own set of provider specific properties.

Since:

JAXB1.0

See Also:

JAXBContext, Marshaller, Validator

Method Summary

ValidationEventHandler	getEventHandler() Return the current event handler or the default event handler if one hasn't been set.
java.lang.Object	getProperty(java.lang.String name) Get the particular property in the underlying implementation of Unmarshaller.
UnmarshallerHandler	getUnmarshallerHandler() Get an unmarshaller handler object that can be used as a component in an XML pipeline.
boolean	isValidating() Indicates whether or not the Unmarshaller is configured to validate during unmarshal operations.
void	setEventHandler(ValidationEventHandler handler) Allow an application to register a ValidationEventHandler.
void	setProperty(java.lang.String name, java.lang.Object value) Set the particular property in the underlying implementation of Unarshaller.
void	setValidating(boolean validating) Specifies whether or not the default validation mechanism of the Unmarshaller should validate during unmarshal operations.
java.lang.Object	unmarshal(java.io.File f) Unmarshal XML data from the specified file and return the resulting content tree.
java.lang.Object	unmarshal(InputSource source) Unmarshal XML data from the specified SAX InputSource and return the resulting content tree.
java.lang.Object	unmarshal(java.io.InputStream is) Unmarshal XML data from the specified InputStream and return the resulting content tree.
java.lang.Object	unmarshal(Node node) Unmarshal XML data from the specified DOM tree and return the resulting content tree.
java.lang.Object	unmarshal(Source source) Unmarshal XML data from the specified XML Source and return the resulting content tree.
java.lang.Object	unmarshal(java.net.URL url) Unmarshal XML data from the specified URL and return the resulting content tree.

Method Detail

unmarshal

public java.lang.Object unmarshal(java.io.File f)
                           throws JAXBException

Unmarshal XML data from the specified file and return the resulting content tree.

Parameters:

f - the file to unmarshal XML data from

Returns:

the newly created root object of the java content tree

Throws:

JAXBException - If any unexpected errors occur while unmarshalling

UnmarshalException - If the ValidationEventHandler returns false from its handleEvent method or the Unmarshaller is unable to perform the XML to Java binding. See Unmarshalling XML Data

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - If the file parameter is null

unmarshal

public java.lang.Object unmarshal(java.io.InputStream is)
                           throws JAXBException

Unmarshal XML data from the specified InputStream and return the resulting content tree. Validation event location information may be incomplete when using this form of the unmarshal API.

Parameters:

is - the InputStream to unmarshal XML data from

Returns:

the newly created root object of the java content tree

Throws:

JAXBException - If any unexpected errors occur while unmarshalling

UnmarshalException - If the ValidationEventHandler returns false from its handleEvent method or the Unmarshaller is unable to perform the XML to Java binding. See Unmarshalling XML Data

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - If the InputStream parameter is null

unmarshal

public java.lang.Object unmarshal(java.net.URL url)
                           throws JAXBException

Unmarshal XML data from the specified URL and return the resulting content tree.

Parameters:

url - the url to unmarshal XML data from

Returns:

the newly created root object of the java content tree

Throws:

JAXBException - If any unexpected errors occur while unmarshalling

UnmarshalException - If the ValidationEventHandler returns false from its handleEvent method or the Unmarshaller is unable to perform the XML to Java binding. See Unmarshalling XML Data

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - If the URL parameter is null

unmarshal

public java.lang.Object unmarshal(InputSource source)
                           throws JAXBException

Unmarshal XML data from the specified SAX InputSource and return the resulting content tree.

Parameters:

source - the input source to unmarshal XML data from

Returns:

the newly created root object of the java content tree

Throws:

JAXBException - If any unexpected errors occur while unmarshalling

UnmarshalException - If the ValidationEventHandler returns false from its handleEvent method or the Unmarshaller is unable to perform the XML to Java binding. See Unmarshalling XML Data

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - If the InputSource parameter is null

unmarshal

public java.lang.Object unmarshal(Node node)
                           throws JAXBException

Unmarshal XML data from the specified DOM tree and return the resulting content tree.

Parameters:

node - the document/element to unmarshal XML data from. The caller must support at least Document and Element.

Returns:

the newly created root object of the java content tree

Throws:

JAXBException - If any unexpected errors occur while unmarshalling

UnmarshalException - If the ValidationEventHandler returns false from its handleEvent method or the Unmarshaller is unable to perform the XML to Java binding. See Unmarshalling XML Data

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - If the Node parameter is null

unmarshal

public java.lang.Object unmarshal(Source source)
                           throws JAXBException

Unmarshal XML data from the specified XML Source and return the resulting content tree.

SAX 2.0 Parser Pluggability

A client application can choose not to use the default parser mechanism supplied with their JAXB provider. Any SAX 2.0 compliant parser can be substituted for the JAXB provider's default mechanism. To do so, the client application must properly configure a SAXSource containing an XMLReader implemented by the SAX 2.0 parser provider. If the XMLReader has an org.xml.sax.ErrorHandler registered on it, it will be replaced by the JAXB Provider so that validation errors can be reported via the ValidationEventHandler mechanism of JAXB. If the SAXSource does not contain an XMLReader, then the JAXB provider's default parser mechanism will be used.

This parser replacement mechanism can also be used to replace the JAXB provider's unmarshal-time validation engine. The client application must properly configure their SAX 2.0 compliant parser to perform validation (as shown in the example above). Any SAXParserExceptions encountered by the parser during the unmarshal operation will be processed by the JAXB provider and converted into JAXB ValidationEvent objects which will be reported back to the client via the ValidationEventHandler registered with the Unmarshaller. Note: specifying a substitute validating SAX 2.0 parser for unmarshalling does not necessarily replace the validation engine used by the JAXB provider for performing on-demand validation.

The only way for a client application to specify an alternate parser mechanism to be used during unmarshal is via the unmarshal(SAXSource) API. All other forms of the unmarshal method (File, URL, Node, etc) will use the JAXB provider's default parser and validator mechanisms.

Parameters:

source - the XML Source to unmarshal XML data from (providers are only required to support SAXSource, DOMSource, and StreamSource)

Returns:

the newly created root object of the java content tree

Throws:

JAXBException - If any unexpected errors occur while unmarshalling

UnmarshalException - If the ValidationEventHandler returns false from its handleEvent method or the Unmarshaller is unable to perform the XML to Java binding. See Unmarshalling XML Data

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - If the Source parameter is null

getUnmarshallerHandler

public UnmarshallerHandler getUnmarshallerHandler()

Get an unmarshaller handler object that can be used as a component in an XML pipeline.

The JAXB Provider can return the same handler object for multiple invocations of this method. In other words, this method does not necessarily create a new instance of UnmarshallerHandler. If the application needs to use more than one UnmarshallerHandler, it should create more than one Unmarshaller.

Returns:

the unmarshaller handler object

See Also:

UnmarshallerHandler

setValidating

public void setValidating(boolean validating)
                   throws JAXBException

Specifies whether or not the default validation mechanism of the Unmarshaller should validate during unmarshal operations. By default, the Unmarshaller does not validate.

This method may only be invoked before or after calling one of the unmarshal methods.

This method only controls the JAXB Provider's default unmarshal-time validation mechanism - it has no impact on clients that specify their own validating SAX 2.0 compliant parser. Clients that specify their own unmarshal-time validation mechanism may wish to turn off the JAXB Provider's default validation mechanism via this API to avoid "double validation".

Parameters:

validating - true if the Unmarshaller should validate during unmarshal, false otherwise

Throws:

JAXBException - if an error occurred while enabling or disabling validation at unmarshal time

isValidating

public boolean isValidating()
                     throws JAXBException

Indicates whether or not the Unmarshaller is configured to validate during unmarshal operations.

This API returns the state of the JAXB Provider's default unmarshal-time validation mechanism.

Returns:

true if the Unmarshaller is configured to validate during unmarshal operations, false otherwise

Throws:

JAXBException - if an error occurs while retrieving the validating flag

setEventHandler

public void setEventHandler(ValidationEventHandler handler)
                     throws JAXBException

Allow an application to register a ValidationEventHandler.

The ValidationEventHandler will be called by the JAXB Provider if any validation errors are encountered during calls to any of the unmarshal methods. If the client application does not register a ValidationEventHandler before invoking the unmarshal methods, then ValidationEvents will be handled by the default event handler which will terminate the unmarshal operation after the first error or fatal error is encountered.

Calling this method with a null parameter will cause the Unmarshaller to revert back to the default vefault event handler.

Parameters:

handler - the validation event handler

Throws:

JAXBException - if an error was encountered while setting the event handler

getEventHandler

public ValidationEventHandler getEventHandler()
                                       throws JAXBException

Return the current event handler or the default event handler if one hasn't been set.

Returns:

the current ValidationEventHandler or the default event handler if it hasn't been set

Throws:

JAXBException - if an error was encountered while getting the current event handler

setProperty

public void setProperty(java.lang.String name,
                        java.lang.Object value)
                 throws PropertyException

Set the particular property in the underlying implementation of Unarshaller. This method can only be used to set one of the standard JAXB defined properties above or a provider specific property. Attempting to set an undefined property will result in a PropertyException being thrown. See Supported Properties.

Parameters:

name - the name of the property to be set. This value can either be specified using one of the constant fields or a user supplied string.

value - the value of the property to be set

Throws:

PropertyException - when there is an error processing the given property or value

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - If the name parameter is null

getProperty

public java.lang.Object getProperty(java.lang.String name)
                             throws PropertyException

Get the particular property in the underlying implementation of Unmarshaller. This method can only be used to get one of the standard JAXB defined properties above or a provider specific property. Attempting to get an undefined property will result in a PropertyException being thrown. See Supported Properties.

Parameters:

name - the name of the property to retrieve

Returns:

the value of the requested property

Throws:

PropertyException - when there is an error retrieving the given property or value property name

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - If the name parameter is null