The goal of the JAXB project is to develop and evolve the code base for the Reference Implementation (RI) of JAXB, the Java Architecture for XML Binding. The JAXB specification is developed through the Java Community Process following the process described at jcp.org. This process involves an Expert Group with a lead that is responsible for delivering the specification, a reference implementation (RI) and a Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK). The primary goal of an RI is to support the development of the specification and to validate it. Specific RIs can have additional goals; the JAXB RI is a production-quality implementation that is used directly in a number of products by Oracle and other vendors.

The JAXB expert group has wide industry participation with Oracle as the EG lead. The initial specification (JAXB 1.0) was JSR-31 and was released in March 2003.

The next versions of the spec (JAXB 2.0/2.1/2.2) are being developed as JSR-222. This release addresses a number of additional requirements in the area, and increases the synergy between the JAXB and JAX-WS specifications.

• License: CDDL v1.1 and GPL v2.
• Status: Production Quality
• Governance: Same as Project GlassFish
• Standards Supported:
  • JAXB 2.0/2.1/2.2
  • W3C XML Schema
  • XML DTD

Extensions / Tools

• Jsonix - JAXB analog for JavaScript
• Hyperjaxb3 - relational persistence for JAXB objects with JPA (Hibernate, TopLink etc.)
• XJC plugins - various enhancements to XJC developed by the community
• Maven JAXB2 Plugin - actual Maven plugin for JAXB2
• JAXB2 reflection library
• JAXB Introductions - put JAXB annotations on 3rd party classes
• Annox - allows defining JAXB annotations in XML resources
• JAXB workshop - tool for launching XJC / visualization
• JAXB Workshop, Eclipse Plugins