CIT 597 Assignment 4: Processing XML with Java
Fall 2008, David Matuszek

Purposes of this assignment:

• To get you started using DOM
• To get you started using SAX
• To help clarify the distinction between content and presentation

General idea of the assignment:

Take the XML (and DTD) you created in the previous assignment. Write a program in Java to read in the XML (a) using DOM, and (b) using SAX, extract certain kinds of information from the XML, and present the results in tables in HTML or XHTML files.

Details:

Create a Java project named ProcessXML. In that project, create a package named xmlProcessor. In that package, create at least the following two classes, each with a main method (you may have additional classes if you prefer).

processWithDOM

When started in this class, Java will use a JFileChooser to select your XML file (from the previous assignment). It will then use DOM to parse the file, find all the lectures and readings, and create an HTML page containing a two-column table, similar to this example.

• Information in the two columns does not necessarily line up. The columns may be, and probably are, different lengths.
• The links should work.

processWithSAX

When started in this class, Java will use a JFileChooser to select your XML file (from the previous assignment). It will then use SAX to parse the file, find all the assignments along with the dates they were assigned, and create an HTML page containing a two-column table, similar to this example.

• Information in the two columns must line up. Only dates with associated assignments are listed, and the assignments are in the same table row as their dates.
• The links should work.

In both cases, you should get the class name (CIT 597, etc.) from the XML file. You do not need to get the table headings from the XML--you know what they are going to be.

I created these example files manually, and only started each table (I used a vertical ellipsis, "...", to indicate that there is more that I left out). Your program should collect all the data of the correct type.

Use CSS to make your results look a little better. (This isn't primarily a CSS assignment, so don't spend a lot of time on this part.) It is okay to use HTML tables instead of CSS positioning commands, since they are easier.

Remember the DRY principle. These programs can share some code, for example, methods for writing out HTML. Also, use the same CSS file for both the DOM output and the SAX output.

Due date: