Parse xml as string, not file

Question

I have to parse an xml file i get as a string,
what;s the best way to parse it w/o converting to file.
then i need just to get the elements , what's the most simple way
and which parser to use.
my task woudl be aggregation.
say i have several elements. and i would like to aggregate all the chidlren in one vector/ array. (ie alles value zusammen)
<elem1>
<value> data</value
<value> data</value
<value> data</value
<value> data</value
</elem1>
<elem2>
<value> data</value
<value> data</value
<value> data</value
</elem2>

Answer 1

tha's great is i want a listener, whic requires lots' of extra code
ok i can convert string to input stream in a similar manner
Document document = parser.parse(my inputsream) ,
and then iterate through the tags :
document.getElementsByTagName(tag);
is this the best /fast way terms of coding ?
/my task is to place all the tags' values in a record set/