public abstract class

TransformerFactory

extends Object
java.lang.Object
   ↳ javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory
Known Direct Subclasses

Class Overview

A TransformerFactory instance can be used to create Transformer and Templates objects.

The system property that determines which Factory implementation to create is named "javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory". This property names a concrete subclass of the TransformerFactory abstract class. If the property is not defined, a platform default is be used.

Summary

Protected Constructors
TransformerFactory()
Default constructor is protected on purpose.
Public Methods
abstract Source getAssociatedStylesheet(Source source, String media, String title, String charset)

Get the stylesheet specification(s) associated with the XML Source document via the xml-stylesheet processing instruction that match the given criteria.

abstract Object getAttribute(String name)
Allows the user to retrieve specific attributes on the underlying implementation.
abstract ErrorListener getErrorListener()
Get the error event handler for the TransformerFactory.
abstract boolean getFeature(String name)
Look up the value of a feature.
abstract URIResolver getURIResolver()
Get the object that is used by default during the transformation to resolve URIs used in document(), xsl:import, or xsl:include.
static TransformerFactory newInstance(String factoryClassName, ClassLoader classLoader)

Obtain a new instance of a TransformerFactory from factory class name.

static TransformerFactory newInstance()

Obtain a new instance of a TransformerFactory.

abstract Templates newTemplates(Source source)
Process the Source into a Templates object, which is a a compiled representation of the source.
abstract Transformer newTransformer()

Create a new Transformer that performs a copy of the Source to the Result.

abstract Transformer newTransformer(Source source)

Process the Source into a Transformer Object.

abstract void setAttribute(String name, Object value)
Allows the user to set specific attributes on the underlying implementation.
abstract void setErrorListener(ErrorListener listener)
Set the error event listener for the TransformerFactory, which is used for the processing of transformation instructions, and not for the transformation itself.
abstract void setFeature(String name, boolean value)

Set a feature for this TransformerFactory and Transformers or Templates created by this factory.

abstract void setURIResolver(URIResolver resolver)
Set an object that is used by default during the transformation to resolve URIs used in document(), xsl:import, or xsl:include.
[Expand]
Inherited Methods
From class java.lang.Object

Protected Constructors

protected TransformerFactory ()

Default constructor is protected on purpose.

Public Methods

public abstract Source getAssociatedStylesheet (Source source, String media, String title, String charset)

Get the stylesheet specification(s) associated with the XML Source document via the xml-stylesheet processing instruction that match the given criteria. Note that it is possible to return several stylesheets, in which case they are applied as if they were a list of imports or cascades in a single stylesheet.

Parameters
source The XML source document.
media The media attribute to be matched. May be null, in which case the prefered templates will be used (i.e. alternate = no).
title The value of the title attribute to match. May be null.
charset The value of the charset attribute to match. May be null.
Returns
  • A Source Object suitable for passing to the TransformerFactory.
Throws
TransformerConfigurationException An Exception is thrown if an error occurings during parsing of the source.
See Also

public abstract Object getAttribute (String name)

Allows the user to retrieve specific attributes on the underlying implementation. An IllegalArgumentException is thrown if the underlying implementation doesn't recognize the attribute.

Parameters
name The name of the attribute.
Returns
  • value The value of the attribute.
Throws
IllegalArgumentException When implementation does not recognize the attribute.

public abstract ErrorListener getErrorListener ()

Get the error event handler for the TransformerFactory.

Returns
  • The current error handler, which should never be null.

public abstract boolean getFeature (String name)

Look up the value of a feature.

Feature names are fully qualified java.net.URIs. Implementations may define their own features. false is returned if this TransformerFactory or the Transformers or Templates it creates cannot support the feature. It is possible for an TransformerFactory to expose a feature value but be unable to change its state.

Parameters
name Feature name.
Returns
  • The current state of the feature, true or false.
Throws
NullPointerException If the name parameter is null.

public abstract URIResolver getURIResolver ()

Get the object that is used by default during the transformation to resolve URIs used in document(), xsl:import, or xsl:include.

Returns
  • The URIResolver that was set with setURIResolver.

public static TransformerFactory newInstance (String factoryClassName, ClassLoader classLoader)

Obtain a new instance of a TransformerFactory from factory class name. 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.

Once an application has obtained a reference to a TransformerFactory it can use the factory to configure and obtain transformer instances.

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
factoryClassName fully qualified factory class name that provides implementation of javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory.
classLoader ClassLoader used to load the factory class. If null current Thread's context classLoader is used to load the factory class.
Returns
  • new TransformerFactory instance, never null.
Throws
TransformerFactoryConfigurationError if factoryClassName is null, or the factory class cannot be loaded, instantiated.
See Also

public static TransformerFactory newInstance ()

Obtain a new instance of a TransformerFactory. This static method creates a new factory instance This method uses the following ordered lookup procedure to determine the TransformerFactory implementation class to load:

  • Use the javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory system property.
  • Use the properties file "lib/jaxp.properties" in the JRE directory. This configuration file is in standard java.util.Properties format and 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 it's 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.
  • Use the Services API (as detailed in the JAR specification), if available, to determine the classname. The Services API will look for a classname in the file META-INF/services/javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory in jars available to the runtime.
  • Platform default TransformerFactory instance.

Once an application has obtained a reference to a TransformerFactory it can use the factory to configure and obtain transformer instances.

Returns
  • new TransformerFactory instance, never null.
Throws
TransformerFactoryConfigurationError Thrown if the implementation is not available or cannot be instantiated.

public abstract Templates newTemplates (Source source)

Process the Source into a Templates object, which is a a compiled representation of the source. This Templates object may then be used concurrently across multiple threads. Creating a Templates object allows the TransformerFactory to do detailed performance optimization of transformation instructions, without penalizing runtime transformation.

Parameters
source An object that holds a URL, input stream, etc.
Returns
  • A Templates object capable of being used for transformation purposes, never null.
Throws
TransformerConfigurationException When parsing to construct the Templates object fails.

public abstract Transformer newTransformer ()

Create a new Transformer that performs a copy of the Source to the Result. i.e. the "identity transform".

Returns
  • A Transformer object that may be used to perform a transformation in a single thread, never null.
Throws
TransformerConfigurationException When it is not possible to create a Transformer instance.

public abstract Transformer newTransformer (Source source)

Process the Source into a Transformer Object. The Source is an XSLT document that conforms to XSL Transformations (XSLT) Version 1.0. Care must be taken not to use this Transformer in multiple Threads running concurrently. Different TransformerFactories can be used concurrently by different Threads.

Parameters
source Source of XSLT document used to create Transformer. Examples of XML Sources include DOMSource, SAXSource, and StreamSource.
Returns
  • A Transformer object that may be used to perform a transformation in a single Thread, never null.
Throws
TransformerConfigurationException Thrown if there are errors when parsing the Source or it is not possible to create a Transformer instance.
See Also

public abstract void setAttribute (String name, Object value)

Allows the user to set specific attributes on the underlying implementation. An attribute in this context is defined to be an option that the implementation provides. An IllegalArgumentException is thrown if the underlying implementation doesn't recognize the attribute.

Parameters
name The name of the attribute.
value The value of the attribute.
Throws
IllegalArgumentException When implementation does not recognize the attribute.

public abstract void setErrorListener (ErrorListener listener)

Set the error event listener for the TransformerFactory, which is used for the processing of transformation instructions, and not for the transformation itself. An IllegalArgumentException is thrown if the ErrorListener listener is null.

Parameters
listener The new error listener.
Throws
IllegalArgumentException When listener is null

public abstract void setFeature (String name, boolean value)

Set a feature for this TransformerFactory and Transformers or Templates created by this factory.

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

All implementations are required to support the FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING feature. When the feature is:

  • true: the implementation will limit XML processing to conform to implementation limits and behave in a secure fashion as defined by the implementation. Examples include resolving user defined style sheets and functions. If XML processing is limited for security reasons, it will be reported via a call to the registered fatalError(TransformerException). See setErrorListener(ErrorListener).
  • false: the implementation will processing XML according to the XML specifications without regard to possible implementation limits.

Parameters
name Feature name.
value Is feature state true or false.
Throws
TransformerConfigurationException if this TransformerFactory or the Transformers or Templates it creates cannot support this feature.
NullPointerException If the name parameter is null.

public abstract void setURIResolver (URIResolver resolver)

Set an object that is used by default during the transformation to resolve URIs used in document(), xsl:import, or xsl:include.

Parameters
resolver An object that implements the URIResolver interface, or null.