Barbara- I'm not much of an expert on the binding-file side, but I use mapping files all the time. The short answer is no, you don't need both, but yes, they both describe Java object <-> XML relations.
In general, I believe, the binding file is used to create Java code (that can then be compiled and used in an application) from an XML Schema. The binding file is most often (only?) used with the Castor SourceGenerator, which creates Java classes that model an XML schema, at which point Castor also creates extra classes (ClassDescriptors and FieldDescriptors) that describe how the Java objects "map" to XML. The mapping file provides an alternate method for the user to specify how Java objects transform into XML content. I tend to think of this as how one starts with a Java object model and then creates the XML structure from it, but it is much more flexible than that. Where the two methods somewhat meet is the ClassDescriptor/FieldDescriptor level. When a user loads a mapping, Castor reads the mapping file and internally creates the appropriate descriptors. If the SourceGenerator was used, the descriptors exist as compiled classes and are instantiated as they are needed (thus the mapping file usually isn't required). That might be more information than you needed, but hopefully it answers the question. Let us know if you have further questions. Stephen On 3/3/06, Barbara Prechtl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > To whom it may concern: > > > > I was wondering what the difference between a mapping file and a binding > file is. > > > > Is this correct: > > > > A mapping file is used for writing java objects to xml. > > A binding file is used to read xml to java objects. > > > > They both seem to describe the element to object relation. Are both needed? > > > > Thanks, > > Barbara
