need Java function to convert XML special chars < > to &lt; &gt;

[Robert Dodier]

Hello,

Sorry for asking what must be a FAQ, but I wasn't able to find the
answer.

I have an XML document fragment which I want to store as a text string.
I want a function to convert any XML special characters such as < >
into
the corresponding character entities. I'm working with Java.

Thanks for any light you can shed on this problem.

Robert Dodier

 

[Joe Kesselman]

I have an XML document fragment which I want to store as a text string.
I want a function to convert any XML special characters such as < >
into
the corresponding character entities.

If you're using any of the standard XML tools (SAX, DOM, XSLT, ...) you
really shouldn't have to deal with any of that. They've already
implemented XML serializers which will do the right thing, and their
Java APIs let you just enter the text directly. In other words, if you
put a & character into a SAX characters() call, or into a DOM text node,
the XML serializer will automagically deal with converting it to &amp;
when you write that XML out.

If you really want a function... well, the easiest solution is to borrow
one from one of the open-source packages which already handles it, such
as the serializers in Xerces or Xalan. Note that it's a bit uglier than
it looks, since you may also have to deal with encoding issues unless
you're keeping everything in UTF-8 or UTF-16.