[Digester] Can I do an object-create-rule within a set-properties-rule?

[Paolo Valladolid]

I am setting up Digester to parse XML in this format:
 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no" ?>
<contents>
  <Content id='585' type='DocumentTypeA' DateModified='07/19/2005'
Action='Add/Modify'>
    <title>My Book</title>
    <publisher>My Publisher</publisher>
  </Content>
<contents>
 
The rules file I have is this:
 
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<digester-rules>
  <pattern value="contents">
    <object-create-rule classname="java.util.HashSet" />
    <pattern value="Content">
      <object-create-rule classname="com.myclasses.Document" />
      <set-properties-rule>
        <alias attr-name="id" prop-name="contentID" />
        <alias attr-name="type">
          <object-create-rule classname="com.myclasses.DocumentType">
          <set-properties-rule>
            <alias attr-name="type" prop-name="doctypeNm" /> 
          </set-properties-rule>
        </alias>
      </set-properties-rule>
      <bean-property-setter-rule pattern="title" propertyname="title" />
      <bean-property-setter-rule pattern="publisher"
propertyname="publisher" />
      <set-next-rule methodname="add" />
    </pattern>
  </pattern>
</digester-rules>
 
My problem is that I use Java classes generated by a tool that scans the
database.  The com.myclasses.Document class does not have a "type"
property.  Instead, it has a "doctypeid" property.  I need to
instantiate a com.myclasses.DocumentType object, set its "doctypeNm"
property to the "type" attribute (eg. "DocumentTypeA"), then use it to
retrieve the value which which I can set the Document.doctypeid
property.
 
I thought of doing an object-create-rule on a HashMap class and using
that to store attributes, then setting the Document properties out of
the HashMap object, but that seems like a clumsy workaround.
 
Any ideas?
 
Thanks,
 
Paolo Valladolid
Software Developer
DFI International