XML Tools features C-based bindings to the GNU libxml2 and libxslt libraries. These are blazing fast parsers. Performance is very impressive compared to rexml (see table to right). If speed is your need, these are good libraries to consider.
| in seconds | libxml | rexml |
|---|---|---|
| opening | 0.003954 | 0.104750 |
| attribute_add | 0.001895 | 0.011114 |
| subelems | 0.000585 | 0.004729 |
| xpath | 0.013269 | 2.981499 |
XML-Tools also includes pure-Ruby libraries suitable to a variety of use cases:
| XML Proof - Unique XML schema language |
| XML Tailor - XML-valid Tals template system |
| TeXML - XML to TeX translation tool |
| TkXML - XML to Tk translation tool for building Tk GUIs via markup |
| RTals - Another Tals templates system (like Zope's) |
| Sqlix - SQL to XML generator |
Each library is in various stages of development. The libxml and libxslt bindings work fairly well, but still need improvements. Some of the other libs currently do not function at all --as they are in need of updating. Everyone is encouraged to contribute.