Java Architecture for XML Binding

Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB) allows Java developers to map Java classes to XML representations. JAXB provides two main features: the ability to marshal Java objects into XML and the inverse, i.e. to unmarshal XML back into Java objects. In other words, JAXB allows storing and retrieving data in memory in any XML format, without the need to implement a specific set of XML loading and saving routines for the program's class structure. It is similar to xsd.exe and XmlSerializer in the .NET Framework.

JAXB is particularly useful when the specification is complex and changing. In such a case, regularly changing the XML Schema definitions to keep them synchronised with the Java definitions can be time consuming and error-prone.

JAXB is a part of the Java SE platform and one of the APIs in the Java EE platform, and is part of the Java Web Services Development Pack (JWSDP). It is also one of the foundations for WSIT.

JAXB 1.0 was developed under the Java Community Process as JSR 31. In 2006 JAXB 2.0 was released under JSR 222 and Maintenance Release 2 released in December 2009.Reference implementations for these specifications are available under the CDDL open source license at java.net.