There are several Java XML Parsers available in the market. The functionalities and the way the parser works keeps on changing as the standards change. It is dynamic. Now-a-days it is essential that a parser should support DOM Level 2, XSLT, SAX 2 and Namespaces.

The reliability, conformance to standards, and the performance of a parser will vary widely. So you have to check out these factors before you decide on the type of parser that you are going to use for your Java Application.

The Apache parser, the Oracle Parser, and the Sun Parser are the common ones that are available for your Java applications. However you can choose other parsers based on the capability of that parser.

The Apache parser known as the Xerces is based on the IBM's XML4J parser. This parser supports the DOM Level 1, SAX 1.0 and 2.0 along with limited support for DOM Level 2 and XML Schemas. You have to add the xerces.jar file to the classpath if you want to use this parser.

The Oracle parser also support DOM and SAX and has APIs for working with XSLT. A package called oracle.xml.parser.schema is available to support Schemas too.

The Sun parser supports, DOM, SAX, Schema, and also XSL. The XSLT support is from Xalan of Apache. The files like jaxp.jar, crimson.jar, and xalan.jar needs to be added to the classpath to work with this parser.

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