Transform XML into a different XML format

Converting one XML format to another in Java typically involves transforming the source XML using XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations). XSLT is a powerful language for transforming XML documents into other XML documents (or other formats like HTML, plain text, etc.).

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to perform XML to XML transformation in Java using XSLT:

Step 1: Create the XSLT Stylesheet

First, you need to create an XSLT stylesheet that defines how to transform the source XML to the target XML.

example.xsl:

xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>

<xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"

version="1.0">

<xsl:output method="xml" />

<xsl:template match="node()">

<xsl:copy>

<xsl:copy-of select="@*" />

<xsl:apply-templates />

</xsl:copy>

</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="address">

<xsl:element name="place-where-person-live">

<xsl:apply-templates />

</xsl:element>

</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="name">

<xsl:element name="name">

<xsl:apply-templates />

</nickName>

</xsl:element>

</xsl:template>

</xsl:stylesheet>

Step 2: Create the Source XML

Create the source XML file that you want to transform.

source.xml:

xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>

</address>

</address>

</address>

</people>

Step 3: Write the Java Code for Transformation

Use Java's built-in libraries to apply the XSLT stylesheet to the source XML.

XmlTransformer.java:

java

import javax.xml.transform.*;

import javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamResult;

import javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamSource;

import java.io.File;

public class XmlTransformer {

public static void main(String[] args) {

try {

// Source XML file

File xmlFile = new File("source.xml");

// XSLT stylesheet file

File xsltFile = new File("example.xsl");

// Create Source objects for the XML and XSLT files

Source xmlSource = new StreamSource(xmlFile);

Source xsltSource = new StreamSource(xsltFile);

// Create a TransformerFactory

TransformerFactory transformerFactory = TransformerFactory.newInstance();

// Create a Transformer for the XSLT stylesheet

Transformer transformer = transformerFactory.newTransformer(xsltSource);

// Create a Result object for the transformed XML output

File transformedXmlFile = new File("transformed.xml");

Result result = new StreamResult(transformedXmlFile);

// Perform the transformation

transformer.transform(xmlSource, result);

System.out.println("Transformation complete. Output saved to " + transformedXmlFile.getAbsolutePath());

} catch (Exception e) {

e.printStackTrace();

}

Explanation

Create Source and Result Objects:

Source xmlSource = new StreamSource(xmlFile);
Source xsltSource = new StreamSource(xsltFile);
Result result = new StreamResult(transformedXmlFile);

Create TransformerFactory and Transformer:

TransformerFactory transformerFactory = TransformerFactory.newInstance();
Transformer transformer = transformerFactory.newTransformer(xsltSource);

Perform the Transformation:

transformer.transform(xmlSource, result);

Running the Code

Save the XSLT File: Save the XSLT content to example.xsl.
Save the Source XML File: Save the source XML content to source.xml.
Save the Java Code: Save the Java code to XmlTransformer.java.
Compile the Java Code: Open a terminal and navigate to the directory containing the Java file. Compile the code using:

javac XmlTransformer.java

Run the Java Code: Execute the compiled class using:

XmlTransformer.java

Output

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><people>

<place-where-person-live>

</place-where-person-live>

<place-where-person-live>

</place-where-person-live>

<place-where-person-live>

</place-where-person-live>

</people>

Notes

Ensure that source.xml and example.xsl are in the same directory as XmlTransformer.java or provide the correct file paths.
Adjust the XSLT stylesheet according to the structure of your source and target XML formats.
You can extend the XSLT stylesheet to handle more complex transformations as needed.

By following these steps, you can transform an XML document from one format to another using Java and XSLT.