XMLEventFactory (Java Platform SE 8 )
Keywords: javax.xml.stream.XMLEventFactory class
Date: 2026-07-22

compact2, compact3
javax.xml.stream

## Class XMLEventFactory

- java.lang.Object
- - javax.xml.stream.XMLEventFactory

-     public abstract class XMLEventFactory
      extends Object

  This interface defines a utility class for creating instances of XMLEvents
  Since:
    1.6
  Version:
    1.2
  See Also:
    `StartElement`, `EndElement`, `ProcessingInstruction`, `Comment`, `Characters`, `StartDocument`, `EndDocument`, `DTD`

- - ### Constructor Summary

    Constructors
    Modifier | Constructor and Description
    --- | ---
    `protected` | `XMLEventFactory()`

  - ### Method Summary

    All Methods Static Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods Concrete Methods Deprecated Methods
    Modifier and Type | Method and Description
    --- | ---
    `abstract Attribute` | `createAttribute(QName name, String value)` Create a new Attribute
    `abstract Attribute` | `createAttribute(String localName, String value)` Create a new Attribute
    `abstract Attribute` | `createAttribute(String prefix, String namespaceURI, String localName, String value)` Create a new Attribute
    `abstract Characters` | `createCData(String content)` Create a Characters event with the CData flag set to true
    `abstract Characters` | `createCharacters(String content)` Create a Characters event, this method does not check if the content is all whitespace.
    `abstract Comment` | `createComment(String text)` Create a comment
    `abstract DTD` | `createDTD(String dtd)` Create a document type definition event This string contains the entire document type declaration that matches the doctypedecl in the XML 1.0 specification
    `abstract EndDocument` | `createEndDocument()` Creates a new instance of an EndDocument event
    `abstract EndElement` | `createEndElement(QName name, Iterator namespaces)` Create a new EndElement
    `abstract EndElement` | `createEndElement(String prefix, String namespaceUri, String localName)` Create a new EndElement
    `abstract EndElement` | `createEndElement(String prefix, String namespaceUri, String localName, Iterator namespaces)` Create a new EndElement
    `abstract EntityReference` | `createEntityReference(String name, EntityDeclaration declaration)` Creates a new instance of a EntityReference event
    `abstract Characters` | `createIgnorableSpace(String content)` Create an ignorable space
    `abstract Namespace` | `createNamespace(String namespaceURI)` Create a new default Namespace
    `abstract Namespace` | `createNamespace(String prefix, String namespaceUri)` Create a new Namespace
    `abstract ProcessingInstruction` | `createProcessingInstruction(String target, String data)` Create a processing instruction
    `abstract Characters` | `createSpace(String content)` Create a Characters event with the isSpace flag set to true
    `abstract StartDocument` | `createStartDocument()` Creates a new instance of a StartDocument event
    `abstract StartDocument` | `createStartDocument(String encoding)` Creates a new instance of a StartDocument event
    `abstract StartDocument` | `createStartDocument(String encoding, String version)` Creates a new instance of a StartDocument event
    `abstract StartDocument` | `createStartDocument(String encoding, String version, boolean standalone)` Creates a new instance of a StartDocument event
    `abstract StartElement` | `createStartElement(QName name, Iterator attributes, Iterator namespaces)` Create a new StartElement.
    `abstract StartElement` | `createStartElement(String prefix, String namespaceUri, String localName)` Create a new StartElement.
    `abstract StartElement` | `createStartElement(String prefix, String namespaceUri, String localName, Iterator attributes, Iterator namespaces)` Create a new StartElement.
    `abstract StartElement` | `createStartElement(String prefix, String namespaceUri, String localName, Iterator attributes, Iterator namespaces, NamespaceContext context)` Create a new StartElement.
    `static XMLEventFactory` | `newFactory()` Create a new instance of the factory.
    `static XMLEventFactory` | `newFactory(String factoryId, ClassLoader classLoader)` Create a new instance of the factory.
    `static XMLEventFactory` | `newInstance()` Creates a new instance of the factory in exactly the same manner as the `newFactory()` method.
    `static XMLEventFactory` | `newInstance(String factoryId, ClassLoader classLoader)` Deprecated. This method has been deprecated to maintain API consistency. All newInstance methods have been replaced with corresponding newFactory methods. The replacement `newFactory(java.lang.String, java.lang.ClassLoader)` method defines no changes in behavior.
    `abstract void` | `setLocation(Location location)` This method allows setting of the Location on each event that is created by this factory.

    - ### Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

      `clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait`

- - ### Constructor Detail

    - #### XMLEventFactory

          protected XMLEventFactory()

  - ### Method Detail

    - #### newInstance

          public static XMLEventFactory newInstance()
                                             throws FactoryConfigurationError

      Creates a new instance of the factory in exactly the same manner as the `newFactory()` method.
      Throws:
        `FactoryConfigurationError` - if an instance of this factory cannot be loaded

    - #### newFactory

          public static XMLEventFactory newFactory()
                                            throws FactoryConfigurationError

      Create a new instance of the factory.

      This static method creates a new factory instance. This method uses the following ordered lookup procedure to determine the XMLEventFactory implementation class to load:

      - Use the javax.xml.stream.XMLEventFactory system property.
      - Use the properties file "lib/stax.properties" in the JRE directory. This configuration file is in standard java.util.Properties format and contains the fully qualified name of the implementation class with the key being the system property defined above.
      - Use the service-provider loading facilities, defined by the `ServiceLoader` class, to attempt to locate and load an implementation of the service using the default loading mechanism: the service-provider loading facility will use the current thread's context class loader to attempt to load the service. If the context class loader is null, the system class loader will be used.
      - Otherwise, the system-default implementation is returned.

      Once an application has obtained a reference to a XMLEventFactory it can use the factory to configure and obtain stream instances.

      Note that this is a new method that replaces the deprecated newInstance() method. No changes in behavior are defined by this replacement method relative to the deprecated method.

      Throws:
        `FactoryConfigurationError` - in case of service configuration error or if the implementation is not available or cannot be instantiated.

    - #### newInstance

          public static XMLEventFactory newInstance(String factoryId,
                                                    ClassLoader classLoader)
                                             throws FactoryConfigurationError

      Deprecated. This method has been deprecated to maintain API consistency. All newInstance methods have been replaced with corresponding newFactory methods. The replacement `newFactory(java.lang.String, java.lang.ClassLoader)` method defines no changes in behavior.
      Create a new instance of the factory
      Parameters:
        `factoryId` - Name of the factory to find, same as a property name
        `classLoader` - classLoader to use
      Returns:
        the factory implementation
      Throws:
        `FactoryConfigurationError` - if an instance of this factory cannot be loaded

    - #### newFactory

          public static XMLEventFactory newFactory(String factoryId,
                                                   ClassLoader classLoader)
                                            throws FactoryConfigurationError

      Create a new instance of the factory. If the classLoader argument is null, then the ContextClassLoader is used.

      This method uses the following ordered lookup procedure to determine the XMLEventFactory implementation class to load:

      - Use the value of the system property identified by `factoryId`.
      - Use the properties file "lib/stax.properties" in the JRE directory. This configuration file is in standard java.util.Properties format and contains the fully qualified name of the implementation class with the key being the given `factoryId`.
      - If `factoryId` is "javax.xml.stream.XMLEventFactory", use the service-provider loading facilities, defined by the `ServiceLoader` class, to attempt to locate and load an implementation of the service using the specified `ClassLoader`. If `classLoader` is null, the default loading mechanism will apply: That is, the service-provider loading facility will use the current thread's context class loader to attempt to load the service. If the context class loader is null, the system class loader will be used.
      - Otherwise, throws a `FactoryConfigurationError`.

      Note that this is a new method that replaces the deprecated `newInstance(String factoryId, ClassLoader classLoader)` method. No changes in behavior are defined by this replacement method relative to the deprecated method.

      API Note:
        The parameter factoryId defined here is inconsistent with that of other JAXP factories where the first parameter is fully qualified factory class name that provides implementation of the factory.
      Parameters:
        `factoryId` - Name of the factory to find, same as a property name
        `classLoader` - classLoader to use
      Returns:
        the factory implementation
      Throws:
        `FactoryConfigurationError` - in case of service configuration error or if the implementation is not available or cannot be instantiated.

    - #### setLocation

          public abstract void setLocation(Location location)

      This method allows setting of the Location on each event that is created by this factory. The values are copied by value into the events created by this factory. To reset the location information set the location to null.
      Parameters:
        `location` - the location to set on each event created

    - #### createAttribute

          public abstract Attribute createAttribute(String prefix,
                                                    String namespaceURI,
                                                    String localName,
                                                    String value)

      Create a new Attribute
      Parameters:
        `prefix` - the prefix of this attribute, may not be null
        `namespaceURI` - the attribute value is set to this value, may not be null
        `localName` - the local name of the XML name of the attribute, localName cannot be null
        `value` - the attribute value to set, may not be null
      Returns:
        the Attribute with specified values

    - #### createAttribute

          public abstract Attribute createAttribute(String localName,
                                                    String value)

      Create a new Attribute
      Parameters:
        `localName` - the local name of the XML name of the attribute, localName cannot be null
        `value` - the attribute value to set, may not be null
      Returns:
        the Attribute with specified values

    - #### createAttribute

          public abstract Attribute createAttribute(QName name,
                                                    String value)

      Create a new Attribute
      Parameters:
        `name` - the qualified name of the attribute, may not be null
        `value` - the attribute value to set, may not be null
      Returns:
        the Attribute with specified values

    - #### createNamespace

          public abstract Namespace createNamespace(String namespaceURI)

      Create a new default Namespace
      Parameters:
        `namespaceURI` - the default namespace uri
      Returns:
        the Namespace with the specified value

    - #### createNamespace

          public abstract Namespace createNamespace(String prefix,
                                                    String namespaceUri)

      Create a new Namespace
      Parameters:
        `prefix` - the prefix of this namespace, may not be null
        `namespaceUri` - the attribute value is set to this value, may not be null
      Returns:
        the Namespace with the specified values

    - #### createStartElement

          public abstract StartElement createStartElement(QName name,
                                                          Iterator attributes,
                                                          Iterator namespaces)

      Create a new StartElement. Namespaces can be added to this StartElement by passing in an Iterator that walks over a set of Namespace interfaces. Attributes can be added to this StartElement by passing an iterator that walks over a set of Attribute interfaces.
      Parameters:
        `name` - the qualified name of the attribute, may not be null
        `attributes` - an optional unordered set of objects that implement Attribute to add to the new StartElement, may be null
        `namespaces` - an optional unordered set of objects that implement Namespace to add to the new StartElement, may be null
      Returns:
        an instance of the requested StartElement

    - #### createStartElement

          public abstract StartElement createStartElement(String prefix,
                                                          String namespaceUri,
                                                          String localName)

      Create a new StartElement. This defaults the NamespaceContext to an empty NamespaceContext. Querying this event for its namespaces or attributes will result in an empty iterator being returned.
      Parameters:
        `namespaceUri` - the uri of the QName of the new StartElement
        `localName` - the local name of the QName of the new StartElement
        `prefix` - the prefix of the QName of the new StartElement
      Returns:
        an instance of the requested StartElement

    - #### createStartElement

          public abstract StartElement createStartElement(String prefix,
                                                          String namespaceUri,
                                                          String localName,
                                                          Iterator attributes,
                                                          Iterator namespaces)

      Create a new StartElement. Namespaces can be added to this StartElement by passing in an Iterator that walks over a set of Namespace interfaces. Attributes can be added to this StartElement by passing an iterator that walks over a set of Attribute interfaces.
      Parameters:
        `namespaceUri` - the uri of the QName of the new StartElement
        `localName` - the local name of the QName of the new StartElement
        `prefix` - the prefix of the QName of the new StartElement
        `attributes` - an unordered set of objects that implement Attribute to add to the new StartElement
        `namespaces` - an unordered set of objects that implement Namespace to add to the new StartElement
      Returns:
        an instance of the requested StartElement

    - #### createStartElement

          public abstract StartElement createStartElement(String prefix,
                                                          String namespaceUri,
                                                          String localName,
                                                          Iterator attributes,
                                                          Iterator namespaces,
                                                          NamespaceContext context)

      Create a new StartElement. Namespaces can be added to this StartElement by passing in an Iterator that walks over a set of Namespace interfaces. Attributes can be added to this StartElement by passing an iterator that walks over a set of Attribute interfaces.
      Parameters:
        `namespaceUri` - the uri of the QName of the new StartElement
        `localName` - the local name of the QName of the new StartElement
        `prefix` - the prefix of the QName of the new StartElement
        `attributes` - an unordered set of objects that implement Attribute to add to the new StartElement, may be null
        `namespaces` - an unordered set of objects that implement Namespace to add to the new StartElement, may be null
        `context` - the namespace context of this element
      Returns:
        an instance of the requested StartElement

    - #### createEndElement

          public abstract EndElement createEndElement(QName name,
                                                      Iterator namespaces)

      Create a new EndElement
      Parameters:
        `name` - the qualified name of the EndElement
        `namespaces` - an optional unordered set of objects that implement Namespace that have gone out of scope, may be null
      Returns:
        an instance of the requested EndElement

    - #### createEndElement

          public abstract EndElement createEndElement(String prefix,
                                                      String namespaceUri,
                                                      String localName)

      Create a new EndElement
      Parameters:
        `namespaceUri` - the uri of the QName of the new StartElement
        `localName` - the local name of the QName of the new StartElement
        `prefix` - the prefix of the QName of the new StartElement
      Returns:
        an instance of the requested EndElement

    - #### createEndElement

          public abstract EndElement createEndElement(String prefix,
                                                      String namespaceUri,
                                                      String localName,
                                                      Iterator namespaces)

      Create a new EndElement
      Parameters:
        `namespaceUri` - the uri of the QName of the new StartElement
        `localName` - the local name of the QName of the new StartElement
        `prefix` - the prefix of the QName of the new StartElement
        `namespaces` - an unordered set of objects that implement Namespace that have gone out of scope, may be null
      Returns:
        an instance of the requested EndElement

    - #### createCharacters

          public abstract Characters createCharacters(String content)

      Create a Characters event, this method does not check if the content is all whitespace. To create a space event use #createSpace(String)
      Parameters:
        `content` - the string to create
      Returns:
        a Characters event

    - #### createCData

          public abstract Characters createCData(String content)

      Create a Characters event with the CData flag set to true
      Parameters:
        `content` - the string to create
      Returns:
        a Characters event

    - #### createSpace

          public abstract Characters createSpace(String content)

      Create a Characters event with the isSpace flag set to true
      Parameters:
        `content` - the content of the space to create
      Returns:
        a Characters event

    - #### createIgnorableSpace

          public abstract Characters createIgnorableSpace(String content)

      Create an ignorable space
      Parameters:
        `content` - the space to create
      Returns:
        a Characters event

    - #### createStartDocument

          public abstract StartDocument createStartDocument()

      Creates a new instance of a StartDocument event
      Returns:
        a StartDocument event

    - #### createStartDocument

          public abstract StartDocument createStartDocument(String encoding,
                                                            String version,
                                                            boolean standalone)

      Creates a new instance of a StartDocument event
      Parameters:
        `encoding` - the encoding style
        `version` - the XML version
        `standalone` - the status of standalone may be set to "true" or "false"
      Returns:
        a StartDocument event

    - #### createStartDocument

          public abstract StartDocument createStartDocument(String encoding,
                                                            String version)

      Creates a new instance of a StartDocument event
      Parameters:
        `encoding` - the encoding style
        `version` - the XML version
      Returns:
        a StartDocument event

    - #### createStartDocument

          public abstract StartDocument createStartDocument(String encoding)

      Creates a new instance of a StartDocument event
      Parameters:
        `encoding` - the encoding style
      Returns:
        a StartDocument event

    - #### createEndDocument

          public abstract EndDocument createEndDocument()

      Creates a new instance of an EndDocument event
      Returns:
        an EndDocument event

    - #### createEntityReference

          public abstract EntityReference createEntityReference(String name,
                                                                EntityDeclaration declaration)

      Creates a new instance of a EntityReference event
      Parameters:
        `name` - The name of the reference
        `declaration` - the declaration for the event
      Returns:
        an EntityReference event

    - #### createComment

          public abstract Comment createComment(String text)

      Create a comment
      Parameters:
        `text` - The text of the comment a Comment event

    - #### createProcessingInstruction

          public abstract ProcessingInstruction createProcessingInstruction(String target,
                                                                            String data)

      Create a processing instruction
      Parameters:
        `target` - The target of the processing instruction
        `data` - The text of the processing instruction
      Returns:
        a ProcessingInstruction event

    - #### createDTD

          public abstract DTD createDTD(String dtd)

      Create a document type definition event This string contains the entire document type declaration that matches the doctypedecl in the XML 1.0 specification
      Parameters:
        `dtd` - the text of the document type definition
      Returns:
        a DTD event

Submit a bug or feature
For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java SE Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.
Copyright © 1993, 2026, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Use is subject to license terms. Also see the documentation redistribution policy.