Module java.xml
Package javax.xml.xpath

Class XPathFactory

java.lang.Object
javax.xml.xpath.XPathFactory
public abstract class XPathFactory
extends Object

An XPathFactory instance can be used to create XPath objects.

See newInstance(String uri) for lookup mechanism.

The XPathFactory class is not thread-safe. In other words, it is the application's responsibility to ensure that at most one thread is using a XPathFactory object at any given moment. Implementations are encouraged to mark methods as synchronized to protect themselves from broken clients.

XPathFactory is not re-entrant. While one of the newInstance methods is being invoked, applications may not attempt to recursively invoke a newInstance method, even from the same thread.

Since:
1.5

  • Field Details

  • Constructor Details

  • Method Details

    • newDefaultInstance

      public static XPathFactory newDefaultInstance()
      Creates a new instance of the XPathFactory builtin system-default implementation.
      Implementation Requirements:
      The XPathFactory builtin system-default implementation is only required to support the default object model, the W3C DOM, but may support additional object models.
      Returns:
      A new instance of the XPathFactory builtin system-default implementation.
      Since:
      9

    • newInstance

      public static XPathFactory newInstance()

      Get a new XPathFactory instance using the default object model, DEFAULT_OBJECT_MODEL_URI, the W3C DOM.

      This method is functionally equivalent to:

         newInstance(DEFAULT_OBJECT_MODEL_URI)

      Since the implementation for the W3C DOM is always available, this method will never fail.

      Returns:
      Instance of an XPathFactory.
      Throws:
      RuntimeException - When there is a failure in creating an XPathFactory for the default object model.

    • newInstance

      public static XPathFactory newInstance​(String uri) throws XPathFactoryConfigurationException

      Get a new XPathFactory instance using the specified object model.

      To find a XPathFactory object, this method looks the following places in the following order where "the class loader" refers to the context class loader:

      1. If the system property DEFAULT_PROPERTY_NAME + ":uri" is present, where uri is the parameter to this method, then its value is read as a class name. The method will try to create a new instance of this class by using the class loader, and returns it if it is successfully created.

      2. Use the configuration file "jaxp.properties". The file is in standard Properties format and typically located in the conf directory of the Java installation. It contains the fully qualified name of the implementation class with the key being the system property defined above.

        The jaxp.properties file is read only once by the JAXP implementation and its values are then cached for future use. If the file does not exist when the first attempt is made to read from it, no further attempts are made to check for its existence. It is not possible to change the value of any property in jaxp.properties after it has been read for the first time.

      3. Use the service-provider loading facility, defined by the ServiceLoader class, to attempt to locate and load an implementation of the service using the default loading mechanism: the service-provider loading facility will use the current thread's context class loader to attempt to load the service. If the context class loader is null, the system class loader will be used.
        Each potential service provider is required to implement the method isObjectModelSupported(String objectModel). The first service provider found that supports the specified object model is returned.
        In case of ServiceConfigurationError an XPathFactoryConfigurationException will be thrown.

      4. Platform default XPathFactory is located in a platform specific way. There must be a platform default XPathFactory for the W3C DOM, i.e. DEFAULT_OBJECT_MODEL_URI.

      If everything fails, an XPathFactoryConfigurationException will be thrown.

      Tip for Trouble-shooting:

      See Properties.load(java.io.InputStream) for exactly how a property file is parsed. In particular, colons ':' need to be escaped in a property file, so make sure the URIs are properly escaped in it. For example: 

         http\://java.sun.com/jaxp/xpath/dom=org.acme.DomXPathFactory
      Parameters:
      uri - Identifies the underlying object model. The specification only defines the URI DEFAULT_OBJECT_MODEL_URI, http://java.sun.com/jaxp/xpath/dom for the W3C DOM, the org.w3c.dom package, and implementations are free to introduce other URIs for other object models.
      Returns:
      Instance of an XPathFactory.
      Throws:
      XPathFactoryConfigurationException - If the specified object model is unavailable, or if there is a configuration error.
      NullPointerException - If uri is null.
      IllegalArgumentException - If uri is null or uri.length() == 0.

    • newInstance

      public static XPathFactory newInstance​(String uri, String factoryClassName, ClassLoader classLoader) throws XPathFactoryConfigurationException

      Obtain a new instance of a XPathFactory from a factory class name. XPathFactory is returned if specified factory class supports the specified object model. This function is useful when there are multiple providers in the classpath. It gives more control to the application as it can specify which provider should be loaded.

      Tip for Trouble-shooting

      Setting the jaxp.debug system property will cause this method to print a lot of debug messages to System.err about what it is doing and where it is looking at.

      If you have problems try:

       java -Djaxp.debug=1 YourProgram ....
      Parameters:
      uri - Identifies the underlying object model. The specification only defines the URI DEFAULT_OBJECT_MODEL_URI,http://java.sun.com/jaxp/xpath/dom for the W3C DOM, the org.w3c.dom package, and implementations are free to introduce other URIs for other object models.
      factoryClassName - fully qualified factory class name that provides implementation of javax.xml.xpath.XPathFactory.
      classLoader - ClassLoader used to load the factory class. If null current Thread's context classLoader is used to load the factory class.
      Returns:
      New instance of a XPathFactory
      Throws:
      XPathFactoryConfigurationException - if factoryClassName is null, or the factory class cannot be loaded, instantiated or the factory class does not support the object model specified in the uri parameter.
      NullPointerException - If uri is null.
      IllegalArgumentException - If uri is null or uri.length() == 0.
      Since:
      1.6
      See Also:
      newInstance(), newInstance(String uri)

    • isObjectModelSupported

      public abstract boolean isObjectModelSupported​(String objectModel)

      Is specified object model supported by this XPathFactory?

      Parameters:
      objectModel - Specifies the object model which the returned XPathFactory will understand.
      Returns:
      true if XPathFactory supports objectModel, else false.
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - If objectModel is null.
      IllegalArgumentException - If objectModel.length() == 0.

    • setFeature

      public abstract void setFeature​(String name, boolean value) throws XPathFactoryConfigurationException

      Set a feature for this XPathFactory and XPaths created by this factory.

      Feature names are fully qualified URIs. Implementations may define their own features. An XPathFactoryConfigurationException is thrown if this XPathFactory or the XPaths it creates cannot support the feature. It is possible for an XPathFactory to expose a feature value but be unable to change its state.

      All implementations are required to support the XMLConstants.FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING feature. When the feature is true, any reference to an external function is an error. Under these conditions, the implementation must not call the XPathFunctionResolver and must throw an XPathFunctionException.

      Parameters:
      name - Feature name.
      value - Is feature state true or false.
      Throws:
      XPathFactoryConfigurationException - if this XPathFactory or the XPaths it creates cannot support this feature.
      NullPointerException - if name is null.

    • getFeature

      public abstract boolean getFeature​(String name) throws XPathFactoryConfigurationException

      Get the state of the named feature.

      Feature names are fully qualified URIs. Implementations may define their own features. An XPathFactoryConfigurationException is thrown if this XPathFactory or the XPaths it creates cannot support the feature. It is possible for an XPathFactory to expose a feature value but be unable to change its state.

      Parameters:
      name - Feature name.
      Returns:
      State of the named feature.
      Throws:
      XPathFactoryConfigurationException - if this XPathFactory or the XPaths it creates cannot support this feature.
      NullPointerException - if name is null.

    • setXPathVariableResolver

      public abstract void setXPathVariableResolver​(XPathVariableResolver resolver)

      Establish a default variable resolver.

      Any XPath objects constructed from this factory will use the specified resolver by default.

      A NullPointerException is thrown if resolver is null.

      Parameters:
      resolver - Variable resolver.
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - If resolver is null.

    • setXPathFunctionResolver

      public abstract void setXPathFunctionResolver​(XPathFunctionResolver resolver)

      Establish a default function resolver.

      Any XPath objects constructed from this factory will use the specified resolver by default.

      A NullPointerException is thrown if resolver is null.

      Parameters:
      resolver - XPath function resolver.
      Throws:
      NullPointerException - If resolver is null.

    • newXPath

      public abstract XPath newXPath()

      Return a new XPath using the underlying object model determined when the XPathFactory was instantiated.

      Returns:
      New instance of an XPath.