3.5. XML::LibXML

XML::LibXML, like XML::Parser, is an interface to a library written in C. Called libxml2, it's part of the GNOME project.^[7] Unlike XML::Parser, this new parser supports a major standard for XML tree processing known as the Document Object Model ( DOM).

^[7] For downloads and documentation, see http://www.libxml.org/.

DOM is another much-ballyhooed XML standard. It does for tree processing what SAX does for event streams. If you have your heart set on climbing trees in your program and you think there's a likelihood that it might be reused or applied to different data sources, you're better off using something standard and interchangeable. Again, we're happy to delve into DOM in a future chapter and get you thinking in standards-compliant ways. That topic is coming up in Chapter 7.