XSLT vs. Java

Question

I'm doing a project of converting XML from one format to another. The conversion is very complex. It contains hundreds of complex conversion rules and many calculations.
Should I do it with XSLT or with Java? (Using the Java XML parsers)
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?
Thanks,
Daniel

Answer 1

using xslt allow to entirely transform any xml into nearly something text based else.
Considering that Java has not an independent way of doing transformation, it relies on something already builded (saxon, xerces, ecc...)...so in the end you are using java as a "middleware" (can I say that ?).
XSLT is a standard not a program for transforming, an xsl transformer has to stick to that standard...and a transformer can be built with many technologies...java .net ecc...
You should use java if you want to do something more with that file:
- who's doing the transform ? A final user ? Are you on an intranet with a given browser such as iexplorer ? If yes you could consider using facilities provided by the browser.
- can everybody access and transform that file ? If not a java app can keep better control on that.
- what are you doing with the transformed data ?
- ecc---
There are more questions like that you have to answer...I would say...if you mention java it means you can use java in your project. So, use xslt with java, because if your project evolves in the future, you are ready to make it evolves...