XStream Introduction

XStream is a simple library to serialize objects to XML and back again.

features:

Ease of use. A high level facade is supplied that simplifies common use cases.

No mappings required. Most objects can be serialized without need for specifying mappings.

Performance. Speed and low memory footprint are a crucial part of the design, making it suitable for        large object graphs or systems with high message throughput.

Clean XML. No information is duplicated that can be obtained via reflection. This results        in XML that is easier to read for humans and more compact than native Java serialization.

Requires no modifications to objects. Serializes internal fields, including private and        final. Supports non-public and inner classes. Classes are not required to have default constructor.

Full object graph support. Duplicate references encountered in the object-model will        be maintained. Supports circular references.

Integrates with other XML APIs. By implementing an interface, XStream can serialize        directly to/from any tree structure (not just XML).

Customizable conversion strategies. Strategies can be registered allowing customization of how        particular types are represented as XML.

Security framework. Fine-control about the unmarshalled types to prevent security issues with        manipulated input.

Error messages. When an exception occurs due to malformed XML, detailed diagnostics are provided        to help isolate and fix the problem.

Alternative output format. The modular design allows other output formats. XStream ships currently        with JSON support and morphing.