Professional XML Development with Apache Tools: Xerces, Xalan, FOP, Cocoon, Axis, Xindice (Wrox Professional Guides)

Overview

Cocoon is an XML-based Web publishing framework. It focuses on solving the problem of separation of concerns. The objective is to keep content, style, logic, and management functions separated from each other so that changes in one area don’t lead to code changes in another area. This is achieved by creating component pipelines in which reusable components can be connected in a fashion that is reminiscent of UNIX’s pipes facility.

Cocoon is unlike most of the other tools we have discussed because no standard defines how it operates. Cocoon uses multiple standards, including XML, XSLT, and others, but its behavior and operation aren’t defined by a standard. You may decide that this is a liability. On the other hand, you may decide that it’s a strength.

The Cocoon project was one of the projects used to seed the Apache XML project in 1999. It’s on its second major version and is regarded as very successful. Cocoon has been a great testing ground for many Apache projects because it uses a large number of them, from the XML, Web Services, and Jakarta projects.