XStream - One of the best Java and XML Framework around

XStream is for sure one of the best Java and XML frameworks around. It offers great ease of use, simplistic approach and fun to work with.

From the authors “XStream is a simple library to serialize objects to XML and back again.”

Let me show you how simple it is:

String xml = xstream.toXML(domainObject);

That’s it!

Consider a simple domain object class:

	/**
	* XStream - One of the best Java and XML Framework around
	* http://codeoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/07/xstream-one-of-best-java-and-xml.html
	*/
	package smhumayun.codeoftheday.XStreamExample;
	import java.util.Date;
	/**
	* User domain object as an example
	*
	* User: smhumayun
	* Date: 7/12/13
	* Time: 7:53 PM
	*/
	public class User {
	private int id;
	private String name;
	private Date joiningDate;
	public User() {
	}
	public User(int id, String name, Date joiningDate) {
	this.id = id;
	this.name = name;
	this.joiningDate = joiningDate;
	}
	public int getId() {
	return id;
	}
	public void setId(int id) {
	this.id = id;
	}
	public String getName() {
	return name;
	}
	public void setName(String name) {
	this.name = name;
	}
	public Date getJoiningDate() {
	return joiningDate;
	}
	public void setJoiningDate(Date joiningDate) {
	this.joiningDate = joiningDate;
	}
	}

view raw User.java hosted with ❤ by GitHub

In order to convert or serialize that domain object to xml, all you have to do is following:

	/**
	* XStream - One of the best Java and XML Framework around
	* http://codeoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/07/xstream-one-of-best-java-and-xml.html
	*/
	package smhumayun.codeoftheday.XStreamExample;
	import com.thoughtworks.xstream.XStream;
	import java.util.Date;
	/**
	* Main Example class
	*
	* User: smhumayun
	* Date: 7/12/13
	* Time: 7:53 PM
	*/
	public class MainXStreamExample {
	public static void main(String[] args) {
	//Instantiate XStream
	XStream xstream = new XStream();
	//Instantiate and initialize any domain object of yours
	User user = new User(1, "Syed Muhammad Humayun", new Date(System.currentTimeMillis()));
	//Convert your domain object to XML instantly with a single statement call!
	System.out.println(xstream.toXML(user));
	}
	}

view raw MainXStreamExample.java hosted with ❤ by GitHub

The output of the above program is:

	<smhumayun.codeoftheday.XStreamExample.User>
	<id>1</id>
	<name>Syed Muhammad Humayun</name>
	<joiningDate>2013-07-12 23:45:34.83 UTC</joiningDate>
	</smhumayun.codeoftheday.XStreamExample.User>

view raw User.xml hosted with ❤ by GitHub

What if, you want to convert or deserialize the xml back to java object?

DomainObject domainObject = (DomainObject) xstream.fromXML(xml);

Some of the cool features of XStream includes:

• Ease of use. A high level facade is supplied that simplifies common use cases.
• No mappings required. Most objects can be serialized without need for specifying mappings.
• Performance. Speed and low memory footprint are a crucial part of the design, making it suitable for large object graphs or systems with high message throughput.
• Clean XML. No information is duplicated that can be obtained via reflection. This results in XML that is easier to read for humans and more compact than native Java serialization.
• Requires no modifications to objects. Serializes internal fields, including private and final. Supports non-public and inner classes. Classes are not required to have default constructor.
• Full object graph support. Duplicate references encountered in the object-model will be maintained. Supports circular references.
• Integrates with other XML APIs. By implementing an interface, XStream can serialize directly to/from any tree structure (not just XML).
• Customizable conversion strategies. Strategies can be registered allowing customization of how particular types are represented as XML.
• Error messages. When an exception occurs due to malformed XML, detailed diagnostics are provided to help isolate and fix the problem.
• Alternative output format. The modular design allows other output formats. XStream ships currently with JSON support and morphing.