Google Summer of Code 2008 – Project proposal
Project |
Integrate Expat parser into Axis2/C soap engine |
Student Name |
Varuna Jayasiri |
vpjayasiri at gmail dot com |
Synopsis
Axis 2/C currently supports the XML parsers libxml 1 and Guththila 2 . It is possible to plug-in any XML parser to Axis2/C through its parser abstraction layer.
I will introduce Expat XML parser to AXIS2/C. Expat is probably the world fastest XML parser and it is a very robust parser. Expat will be plugged into Axis2/C through a wrapper using the XML reader/writer interface of Axiom.
Project
This project will consist of developing a pull layer and a Expat XML writer/reader wrapper for Axiom.
Expat is a push parser and Axiom interface is for a pull parser. Therefore a pull layer should be introduced to bridge them. The pull layer should be implemented with internal call-back handlers on top of Expat. The main challenge would be adding a pull interface to Expat without reducing its performance.
With the introduction of the functions
XML_StopParser
and
XML_ResumeParser
it is possible to stop and resume parsing easily enabling pull parsing. These functions had been added specifically for this purpose. However, these functions will become obselete with Expat 3 release 3 .
There are some third party pull layers on Expat; therefore it is possible to examine how they have done it. Expat is also working on a Pull API project and it would be possible to get their ideas on this as well.
Deliverables
- Expat read/write wrapper for Axiom.
2. Unit test cases.
Schedule
1. Analysis and Design
Analyze the Expat parser and the interface of the Axiom and design a pull-layer for expat. A great attention will be given for performance of the parser at this stage.
-until end of May
Deliverables: Design documentation
2. Implementation
Implement the pull layer for Expat and the wrapper to bridge it with Axiom. All code will be tested using unit tests.
-until mid August
Deliverables: A working Expat integration
3. Final Touch
Running complete tests with the help of the community and doing final touches to the code and documentations.
-until end of August
Deliverables: Completed Expat integration with documentation and test data
Biography
I’ve been very enthusiastic about computers from my early ages and I participated in International Olympiad in Informatics 4 times and won a gold medal and 2 silver medals. I also participated at ACM regional’s in Kanpur 4 , India with the team which was placed fourth. I was also in the team that developed Sinhala Search – the first Sinhala search engine 5 . I have worked as a SAP developer at MAS Intimates and as a web developer at Paradox Software.
I am studying at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. I have been blogging for around 1 year – Something Different, and I participate in Topcoder 6 competitions regularly.
Although I haven't been involved in open source projects before I have been doing similar projects at my workplaces, and I have about 5 years of experience of programming with C/C++. Therefore, I think I will be able to develop a robust Expat integration for Axiom.
References
<<FootNote>>
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[http://expat.sourceforge.net/ The Expat XML Parser]
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[http://www.cse.mrt.ac.lk/~premalwd/Projects/Guththila.html Guththila-Soap Parser]
↩ -
[http://expat.sourceforge.net/dev/expat3.html Changes in Expat 3]
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[http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/acm/ ACM Regionals Kanpur]
↩ -
[http://www.sinhalasearch.com Sinhala Search] - site is currently unavailable due to maintenance
↩ -
[http://www.topcoder.com/tc?module=MemberProfile&cr=21475659 My Topcoder Profile]
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