| Questions |
| Are the Xerces parsers Year-2000-compliant? How do I determine the version of Xerces-C++ I am using? I can't use C++. Do you have a Java version? Where can I find additional information on XML? Is there any kind of support available for Xerces-C++? I found a defect -- how do I report it? I have a patch to the Xerces-C++ source code. How do I submit it? Where can I get predefined character entity definitions? Does Xerces-C++ support XPath?
| Are the Xerces parsers Year-2000-compliant? |
| Yes, Xerces-J and Xerces-C are Year 2000 compliant. They do not currently use any dates at all (at least until the XML Schema date datatypes are fully supported). However, you may still have Y2K problems if the underlying OS or Java implementation has problems with dates past year 2000 (e.g. OS calls which accept or return year numbers). Most (UNIX) systems store dates internally as signed 32-bit integers which contain the number of seconds since 1st January 1970, so the magic boundary to worry about is the year 2038 and not 2000. But modern operating systems shouldn't cause any trouble at all. The Apache Xerces project is an open-source software product of the Apache Software Foundation. The project and the Foundation cannot and does not offer legal assurances regarding any suitability of the software for your application. There are several commercial support organizations and derivative products available that may be able to certify the software and provide you with any assurances you may require (IBM's Websphere product is one of them). The Apache HTTP server software is distributed with the following disclaimer, found in the software license:
    THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED
    WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
    OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
    DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE APACHE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION OR
    ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
    SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
    LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF
    USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
    ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
    OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT
    OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
    SUCH DAMAGE.
| How do I determine the version of Xerces-C++ I am using? |
| The version string for Xerces-C++ is in one of the header files. Look inside the file `src/xercesc/util/XercesVersion.hpp` or, in the binary distribution, look in `include/xercesc/utils/XercesVersion.hpp`. If you don't have the header files, you have to find the version information from the shared library name. On Windows right click on the DLL name xerces-c_2_2_0.dll in the bin directory and look up properties. The version information may be found on the Version tab. On AIX, just look for the library name libxerces-c22.0.so (or libxerces-c.so.22.0 on Solaris/Linux and libxerces-c.sl.22.0 on HP-UX). The version number is indicated in the name of the library.
| I can't use C++. Do you have a Java version? |
| Yes. The Xerces family of products also has a Java version. More information is available at: http://xml.apache.org/xerces-j/index.html
| Where can I find additional information on XML? |
| The Web. http://www.oasis-open.org/cover/xml.html is an excellent place to start, with links to overviews, FAQs, specifications, industry news, applications and other software, related standards, etc.
| Is there any kind of support available for Xerces-C++? |
| Xerces-C++ comes with no formal support. Every volunteer project obtains its strength from the people involved in it. Mailing lists provide a simple and effective communication mechanism. You are welcome to join any of these mailing lists (or all of them if you wish). You can choose to lurk, or to actively participate. It's up to you. Before you join these lists, you should look over the resources in the Reference Library section Instructions for subscribing are at http://xml.apache.org/mail.html. Archives of the lists are available from http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=xerces-c-dev
| I found a defect -- how do I report it? |
| See Bug Reporting.
| I have a patch to the Xerces-C++ source code. How do I submit it? |
| Mail it to the Xerces-C++ mailing list. There are no set rules about how or what must be included -- if you've fixed a problem or enhanced the code in some way, we really would like to get your changes, and will take them in any reasonable form. Generally a diff of the changed files against the current sources from CVS is good, along with some kind of description of what the change is. (Working with the current sources is important!)
| Where can I get predefined character entity definitions?? |
| Download http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/xhtml1.zip.
| Does Xerces-C++ support XPath? |
| No. The Xerces-C++ 2.2.0 only has partial XPath implementation for the purposes of handling Schema identity constraints. For full XPath support, you can refer Apache Xalan C++ or other Open Source Projects like Pathan.

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