com.thaiopensource.validate

Interface Validator

All Known Implementing Classes:

CombineValidator

public interface Validator

Validates an XML document with respect to a schema. The schema is determined when the Validator is created and cannot be changed. The XML document is provided to the Validator by calling methods of the ContentHandler object returned by getContentHandler; the methods must be called in the sequence specified by the ContentHandler interface. If the getDTDHandler method returns a non-null object, then method calls must be made on it reporting DTD information.

Any errors will be reported to the ErrorHandler specified when the Validator was created. If, after the call to the endDocument method, no errors have been reported, then the XML document is valid.

A single Validator object is not safe for concurrent access from multiple threads. A single ValidatorHandler can be used to validate only a single document at a time.

After completing validation of an XML document (i.e. after calling the endDocument on the ContentHandler), reset can be called to allow validation of another document. The reset method may create new ContentHandler and DTDHandler objects or may simply reinitialize the state of the existing objects. Therefore, getContentHandler and getDTDHandler must be called after reset to retrieve the objects to which the XML document to be validated must be provided.

Author:

James Clark

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
ContentHandler	getContentHandler() Returns the ContentHandler that will receive the XML document.
DTDHandler	getDTDHandler() Returns a DTDHandler.
void	reset() Cleans up after validating a document.

Method Detail

getContentHandler

ContentHandler getContentHandler()

Returns the ContentHandler that will receive the XML document. Information about the XML document to be validated must be reported by calling methods on the returned ContentHandler. When validation of an XML document has been completed (either endDocument() has been called or validation has been abandoned prematurely), reset() must be called. If no calls are made on the ContentHandler, then reset() need not be called. Implementations should allocate resources that require cleanup (e.g. threads, open files) lazily, typically in startDocument(). This method does not change the state of the Validator: the same object will always be returned unless reset is called.

Returns:

a ContentHandler, never null

See Also:

reset()

getDTDHandler

DTDHandler getDTDHandler()

Returns a DTDHandler. Information about the DTD must be reported by calling methods on the returned object, unless null is returned. The same object will always be returned unless reset is called: this method does not change the state of the Validator.

Returns:

a DTDHandler, maybe null if DTD information is not significant to the Validator

reset

void reset()

Cleans up after validating a document. After completing validation of a document, reset must be called. After calling reset(), another document may be validated. Calling this method may create new ContentHandler and DTDHandler objects or may simply reinitialize the state of the existing objects.