Hi Group,

You might have found the Title a little strange :); well following is the problem description:
I want to form a SOAP xml request to a servlet, I have my Request xml template ready.
Now I have following options:
1. Load the xml template in an XmlDocument object and manipulate it.
2. Load the xml template in a StringBuilder object, manipulate it and then load it in XmlDocument.
3. Not using any template and creating the xml from scratch.
Following is the sample xml template which I will use:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<MT_MaterialSearchRequest>

 <CUSTOMER> CUSTOMER _PLACEHOLDER</CUSTOMER>
 <SALES_ORG> SALES_ORG _ PLACEHOLDER </SALES_ORG>

 <DEFAULT_SORTING> DEFAULT_SORTING _PLACEHOLDER</DEFAULT_SORTING>

<WIDTH> WIDTH _HOLDER</WIDTH>
 <SERIE> SERIE _HOLDER</SERIE>

 <VISIBILITY_ITEM_IN>
  <ITEM> <!—NOTE: Number of <ITEM> nodes is dynamic>
     <MATERIAL></MATERIAL>
 </ITEM>
<ITEM>
 <MATERIAL></MATERIAL>
 </ITEM>
 </VISIBILITY_ITEM_IN>
</MT_MaterialSearchRequest>

My Questions:
1. For this scenario which of the above mentioned options which is more suitable?
2. In General which options is more preferable?
3. I know that second option of using StringBuilder is going to be very easy for implementation, but which option is better in terms of speed of execution and memory considerations?

Hoping to get some expert comments on this :)

Thanks,
Anup Daware

__________________
--Everything you can imagine is real.--

I normally start by loading a template into XmlDocument and then manipulating it.

The big downside with using just StringBuilder is that you have to escape characters such as & and <. This ends up being more trouble than it's worth. The only time I would do that was if I was worried about resources and could dispense with XmlDocument altogether which only really happens on such things as mobile devices.

The third option of doing it completely within XmlDocument can have the merit of being easier to code sometimes, if your document is very repetitive; that doesn't look the case here and creating comments etc. can be tedious using just the DOM.

--

Joe (Microsoft MVP - XML)

Hi Joe,

If we ignore certain problem of handling characters like < and & with StringBuilder,
is it a better approach in terms of performance?

Thanks,
Anup Daware

Very slightly and only really any difference if you can get rid of XmlDocument altogether. The worst part is instantiating the XmlDocument initially, after that adding new nodes is no real problem.

--

Joe (Microsoft MVP - XML)

Hi Joe,

Well I can't get rid of XmlDocument altogether, as I have to use it for the loading the request stream i.e.

xmlDocumentObject.Save(ResponseStream);

Thus I think its better to use the XmlDocument altogether and keep away the StringBuilder in this matter :)


Thanks for the reply.
Anup Daware

Best Regards,
Anup
&lt;Today is the first day of your rest of life.. Make most of it&gt;