Package iXML
Definition
The iXML class is the origin from where to start with the iXML libary. It serves both as a factory for the elementary objects Document, Parser and StreamFactory and as a "handle" defining the processing context - or session - of subsequent API calls.
Structure
Depending on the runtime environment, the iXML class is implemented in two separate ways internally: In an ABAP environment, in which object instances might switch processes, the iXML class itself can be moved from one work process to the other. Therefore all data allocated within the class has to be allocated dynamically in the Extended Memory area. A typical example would be Name and Atom tables that have to be moved around with the iXML instance itself. In order to make this concept work, each session has to create its own iXML instance.
One of the implications of this approach is the fact, that documents of different sessions cannot share common Name and Atom objects. In order to be more memory efficient in environments where Documents cannot move between processes, a different solution is implemented: Here iXML implements a singleton, effectively sharing common objects similar to global variables between all processing contexts or session. This means e.g. that two Document instances share the same Name and Atom tables.
The package iXML contains the following interfaces: