Solution without using outside package, or even XPath: use an enum "PARSE_MODE", probably in combination with a Stack<PARSE_MODE>:
1) The basic solution:
a) fields
private PARSE_MODE parseMode = PARSE_MODE.__UNDEFINED__;
// NB: essential that all these enum values are upper case, but this is the convention anyway
private enum PARSE_MODE {
__UNDEFINED__, ORDER, DATE, CUSTOMERID, ITEM };
private List<String> parseModeStrings = new ArrayList<String>();
private Stack<PARSE_MODE> modeBreadcrumbs = new Stack<PARSE_MODE>();
b) make your List<String>, maybe in the constructor:
for( PARSE_MODE pm : PARSE_MODE.values() ){
// might want to check here that these are indeed upper case
parseModeStrings.add( pm.name() );
}
c) startElement and endElement:
@Override
public void startElement(String namespaceURI, String localName, String qName, Attributes atts) {
String localNameUC = localName.toUpperCase();
// pushing "__UNDEFINED__" would mess things up! But unlikely name for an XML element
assert ! localNameUC.equals( "__UNDEFINED__" );
if( parseModeStrings.contains( localNameUC )){
parseMode = PARSE_MODE.valueOf( localNameUC );
// any "policing" to do with which modes are allowed to switch into
// other modes could be put here...
// in your case, go `new Order()` here when parseMode == ORDER
modeBreadcrumbs.push( parseMode );
}
else {
// typically ignore the start of this element...
}
}
@Override
private void endElement(String uri, String localName, String qName) throws Exception {
String localNameUC = localName.toUpperCase();
if( parseModeStrings.contains( localNameUC )){
// will not fail unless XML structure which is malformed in some way
// or coding error in use of the Stack, etc.:
assert modeBreadcrumbs.pop() == parseMode;
if( modeBreadcrumbs.empty() ){
parseMode = PARSE_MODE.__UNDEFINED__;
}
else {
parseMode = modeBreadcrumbs.peek();
}
}
else {
// typically ignore the end of this element...
}
}
... so what does this all mean? At any one time you have knowledge of the "parse mode" you're in ... and you can also look at the Stack<PARSE_MODE> modeBreadcrumbs if you need to find out what other parse modes you passed through to get here...
Your characters method then becomes substantially cleaner:
public void characters(char[] ch, int start, int length) throws SAXException {
switch( parseMode ){
case DATE:
// PS - this SimpleDateFormat object can be a field: it doesn't need to be created hundreds of times
SimpleDateFormat formatter. ...
String value = ...
...
break;
case CUSTOMERID:
order.setCustomerId( ...
break;
case ITEM:
item = new Item();
// this next line probably won't be needed: when you get to endElement, if
// parseMode is ITEM, the previous mode will be restored automatically
// isItem = false ;
}
}
2) The more "professional" solution:
abstract class which concrete classes have to extend and which then have no ability to modify the Stack, etc. NB this examines qName rather than localName. Thus:
public abstract class AbstractSAXHandler extends DefaultHandler {
protected enum PARSE_MODE implements SAXHandlerParseMode {
__UNDEFINED__
};
// abstract: the concrete subclasses must populate...
abstract protected Collection<Enum<?>> getPossibleModes();
//
private Stack<SAXHandlerParseMode> modeBreadcrumbs = new Stack<SAXHandlerParseMode>();
private Collection<Enum<?>> possibleModes;
private Map<String, Enum<?>> nameToEnumMap;
private Map<String, Enum<?>> getNameToEnumMap(){
// lazy creation and population of map
if( nameToEnumMap == null ){
if( possibleModes == null ){
possibleModes = getPossibleModes();
}
nameToEnumMap = new HashMap<String, Enum<?>>();
for( Enum<?> possibleMode : possibleModes ){
nameToEnumMap.put( possibleMode.name(), possibleMode );
}
}
return nameToEnumMap;
}
protected boolean isLegitimateModeName( String name ){
return getNameToEnumMap().containsKey( name );
}
protected SAXHandlerParseMode getParseMode() {
return modeBreadcrumbs.isEmpty()? PARSE_MODE.__UNDEFINED__ : modeBreadcrumbs.peek();
}
@Override
public void startElement(String uri, String localName, String qName, Attributes attributes)
throws SAXException {
try {
_startElement(uri, localName, qName, attributes);
} catch (Exception e) {
throw new RuntimeException(e);
}
}
// override in subclasses (NB I think caught Exceptions are not a brilliant design choice in Java)
protected void _startElement(String uri, String localName, String qName, Attributes attributes)
throws Exception {
String qNameUC = qName.toUpperCase();
// very undesirable ever to push "UNDEFINED"! But unlikely name for an XML element
assert !qNameUC.equals("__UNDEFINED__") : "Encountered XML element with qName \"__UNDEFINED__\"!";
if( getNameToEnumMap().containsKey( qNameUC )){
Enum<?> newMode = getNameToEnumMap().get( qNameUC );
modeBreadcrumbs.push( (SAXHandlerParseMode)newMode );
}
}
@Override
public void endElement(String uri, String localName, String qName) throws SAXException {
try {
_endElement(uri, localName, qName);
} catch (Exception e) {
throw new RuntimeException(e);
}
}
// override in subclasses
protected void _endElement(String uri, String localName, String qName) throws Exception {
String qNameUC = qName.toUpperCase();
if( getNameToEnumMap().containsKey( qNameUC )){
modeBreadcrumbs.pop();
}
}
public List<?> showModeBreadcrumbs(){
return org.apache.commons.collections4.ListUtils.unmodifiableList( modeBreadcrumbs );
}
}
interface SAXHandlerParseMode {
}
Then, salient part of concrete subclass:
private enum PARSE_MODE implements SAXHandlerParseMode {
ORDER, DATE, CUSTOMERID, ITEM
};
private Collection<Enum<?>> possibleModes;
@Override
protected Collection<Enum<?>> getPossibleModes() {
// lazy initiation
if (possibleModes == null) {
List<SAXHandlerParseMode> parseModes = new ArrayList<SAXHandlerParseMode>( Arrays.asList(PARSE_MODE.values()) );
possibleModes = new ArrayList<Enum<?>>();
for( SAXHandlerParseMode parseMode : parseModes ){
possibleModes.add( PARSE_MODE.valueOf( parseMode.toString() ));
}
// __UNDEFINED__ mode (from abstract superclass) must be added afterwards
possibleModes.add( AbstractSAXHandler.PARSE_MODE.__UNDEFINED__ );
}
return possibleModes;
}
PS this is a starting point for more sophisticated stuff: for example, you might set up a List<Object> which is kept synchronised with the Stack<PARSE_MODE>: the Objects could then be anything you want, enabling you to "reach back" into the ascendant "XML nodes" of the one you're dealing with. Don't use a Map, though: the Stack can potentially contain the same PARSE_MODE object more than once. This in fact illustrates a fundamental characteristic of all tree-like structures: no individual node (here: parse mode) exists in isolation: its identity is always defined by the entire path leading to it.
