hey mark,
i knew SAX,DOM,JDOM,JAXP to parse xml.
i`m just a beginner in java and xml, but i have some links for you:
DOM
http://www.jcpohl.de/technik/tut1dom.html http://www.w3c.com //this is the reference side including tutorials
the main difference between DOM and SAX is, that DOM hold the XML in a tree structure and you can access to any level, node or childnode to any time.
SAX parse the XML file line after line, so if SAX is in level 4 of the XML structure it`s impossible to access to level 2 or level 5. level 2 is parsed and lost and level 5 will be parsed.
when the XML file is very big, the DOM parser needs a lot of resources of cpu and memory to hold it and then it`s better to use the SAX parser.
at least you need a parser, i prefer xerces from apache.
i hope this help`s.
best wiches
bernd