At a glance

The base of the product is the Java package com.reverseXSL.transform, much comparable to javax.xml.transform. Like XSLT, it features a TransformerFactory and a Transformer class. However, the XSL template is now replaced by a parser DEF file suitable for parsing any kind of character-based message structure, where XSL is  inadequate. The product does not compete with XSL but complements it. Indeed, the parsing step would often be followed by an XSL transformation for the rest of the mapping job, taking advantage from the rich data types and element-sequence handling functions in XSLT.

Several interfaces are available: the high-level transformation API from the package, a lower-level parsing API, and a convenient command line utility.

The ReverseXSL Transformer  features a decision table that dynamically associates parsing and transformation steps to input messages, even suitable for XML-to-XML cases.

If you ever developed an XML'izer to handle a non-XML format, with the strength and error-capture code needed for true operations, you will particulary appreciate the time and money you can save with this product. Moreover, handling a new exotic message format requires only a single new meta-data DEF file and no new code, thus turning a potential deployment activity into just configuration; a very significant advantage in mission critical messaging environments.