Problem with XML input stream

[edddawson]

Hi All,

I am trying to connect to an XML connector via http to send text messages... i can connect and send messages fine, but when i take the response from the server i am connecting to (which is XML) and try to parse it i keep getting errors...

I am trying to use JDOM to read the servers response and make sense of it, i am using the following code :

InputStream in = con.getInputStream();

BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(in));
outStream.close();

SAXBuilder builder = new SAXBuilder();
Document doc = null;
try {
doc = builder.build(reader);
}
catch(Exception ex) {
return "Error on making xml " + ex.getMessage();
}

When it executes i get the following error:

Error on making xml Error on line 5: The processing instruction target matching "[xX][mM][lL]" is not allowed


Now i believe that the inputstream is coming with a few trailing blanks, which is maybe what causes the error above?

How would i go about solving this problem?

cheers
Edd

[cjard]

reprogram the server so it stops sending you duff information

[edddawson]

unfortunately i can't reprogramme the server as its a third party supplier and so not under my control!

[cjard]

looks like you might have to filter the rubbish that it is sending you then, but firstly i would just examine what it is actually sending:

BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(in));
outStream.close();

//dump all the response to the console
for(String line = reader.readLine(); line!=null; line = reader.readLine()){
  System.out.println("]"+line+"[");
}
//SAXBuilder builder = new SAXBuilder();
//Document doc = null;
//try {
//doc = builder.build(reader);

//}
//catch(Exception ex) {
//return "Error on making xml " + ex.getMessage();
//}

the response appears between ] and [ so if you are seeing:

]<xml >   [

then you know that it is malformed

[cjard]

additional:

int i=0;
for(String line = reader.readLine(); line!=null; line = reader.readLine()){
  System.out.println(++i+":]"+line+"[");
}

proiduces line numbers too.. remember line 5 is the problem..

[edddawson]

the problem is that its sending blanks before the <xml declaration...

I captured the output to a file and then removed the leading spaces and then parsed the file and it worked fine..


i just dont know how to trim the leading spaces from the inputstream before i parse it

[edddawson]

actually its carriage returns AND spaces that appear before the <xml declaration


this is soooo frustrating

[cjard]

you need to implement your own Reader, make it an extension of BufferedReader.
Your new reader should be called TrimmingBufferedReader, and the readLine() method should look like this:

public String readLine(){
  return super.readLine().trim();
}

then replace the reader you have already, with your new one..