XVM: XML virtual machine

Abstract

XML is an emerging standard for data representation and data exchange on the Internet. XML-based web applications have been widely used in e-commerce and enterprise information management. In this paper, we propose an extensible, integrated XML processing architecture, the XML Virtual Machine (XVM). The XVM provides a framework for processing XML data, developing and deploying XML-based applications. By using a component-based technique, the XVM provides a high degree of modularity and reusability. XVM components are dynamically loaded and composed during XML data processing. New components can be easily added to existing applications and new applications can reuse existing components without difficulty. These features enable an XML application to keep up with requirements and schema evolution and to process compound documents. Both client-side and server-side XML applications can be developed and deployed in an integrated way. Also in this paper, we present an XML application container built on top of the XVM, along with several sample applications.