What is XML binding

XML binding is the representation of XML document content as an object in computer memory. At compile time, a schema driver processes the XSD and generates an execution object model (XOM). At run time, an XML data driver creates an XML object from the XML document.

XML data binding is the process of representing information in an XML document as an object in computer memory (deserialization). With XML data binding, applications access XML data direct from the object instead of using the Document Object Model (DOM) to retrieve it from the XML file. Using XML binding, you can integrate XML data into a business rule application.

In Decision Server, XML data binding is carried out in two stages:

  1. At compile time, the XML Schema Definition (XSD) is processed by means of a schema driver. This process generates an Execution Object Model (XOM). The XOM describes how the XML document and your objects are structured. The XSD is the data model and the XML document is an instantiation of that model. See Stage 1: XML schema processing for details.

  2. At run time, the XML document is processed by means of an XML data driver to create an XML object. See Stage 2: XML document processing for details.

Decision Server uses the Java™ class IlrXmlDefaultDataDriver, which implements the IlrXmlDataDriver interface, for both these drivers.