XML Processing Options
See the following tables for a list of Microsoft technologies you can use to process XML data.
.NET Framework Options
| Option | Processing type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| LINQ to XML (C#) LINQ to XML (Visual Basic) (System.Xml.Linq namespace) |
In-memory | - Based on the .NET Framework Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) technology. - Provides query experience that is similar to SQL for objects, relational data, and XML data. - Provides intuitive document creation and transformation capabilities. - Use this option if you're writing new code. |
| System.Xml.XmlReader | Stream-based | - Provides a fast, non-cached, forward-only way to access XML data. - You can create objects by using the XmlReader.Create method, and specify the set of features to enable on the object by using the XmlReaderSettings class. |
| System.Xml.XmlWriter | Stream-based | - Provides a fast, non-cached, forward-only way to generate XML data. - You can create objects by using the XmlWriter.Create method, and specify the set of features to enable on the object by using the XmlWriterSettings class. |
| System.Xml.XmlDocument | In-memory | - Implements the W3C Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 Core and DOM Level 2 Core recommendations. - You can create, insert, remove, and modify nodes by using methods and properties based on the familiar DOM model. - Use this option if you're modifying existing code that utilizes the W3C DOM. |
| System.Xml.XPath.XPathNavigator | In-memory | - Offers several editing options and navigation capabilities using a cursor model. - XML documents can be contained in an XPathDocument or XmlDocument object. - Provides excellent performance for read-only processing of XML. - Use this option if you're modifying existing code with XPath queries or XSLT transformations. |
| XslCompiledTransform | In-memory | - Provides options for transforming XML data using XSL transformations. - The XSLT Compiler (xsltc.exe) lets you reference pre-compiled transformations in your app. |
Win32 and COM-based Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| XmlLite | - A fast, secure, non-caching, forward-only XML parser that helps you build high-performance XML apps. - Works with any language that can use dynamic link libraries (DLLs); we recommend using C++. |
| MSXML | - COM-based technology for processing XML that is included with the Windows operating system. - Provides a native implementation of the DOM with support for XPath and XSLT. - Contains the SAX2 event-based parser. |
See also
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