Efficient Parser for large XMLs

Question

I have very large XML files to process. I want to convert them to readable PDFs with colors, borders, images, tables and fonts. I don't have a lot of resources in my machine, thus, I need my application to be very optimal addressing memory and processor.

I did a humble research to make my mind about the technology to use but I could not decide what is the best programming language and API for my requirements. I believe DOM is not an option because it consumes a lot of memory, but, would Java with SAX parser fulfill my requirements?

Some people also recommended Python for XML parsing. Is it that good?

I would appreciate your kind advice.

Answer 1

SAX is very good parser but it is outdated.

Recently Oracle have launched new Parser to parse the xml files efficiently called Stax

*http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E17802_01/webservices/webservices/docs/1.6/tutorial/doc/SJSXP2.html*

Attached link will also shows comparisons of all parsers along with memory utilization and its features.

Thanks, Pavan

Answer 2

If you want the best of DOM without its memory overhead, vtd-xml is the best bet, here is the proof...

http://recipp.ipp.pt/bitstream/10400.22/1847/1/ART_BrunoOliveira_2013.pdf

Answer 3

Yes I think Sax will work for you. Dom is not good for large XML files as It keeps the whole XML file in memory. You can see a Comparison I wrote in my blog here

Answer 4

Not sure if you're interested in using Perl, but if you're open to it, the following are all good options: LibXML, LibXSLT and XML-Twig, which is good for files too large to fit in memory (so is LibXML::Reader). Of course as SAX is there, but it can be slow. Most people recommend the first two options. Finally, CPAN is an amazing source with a very active community.