How can I create a DOM Element without a document?
java, jaxp
Solution
Is there any way to create an element without a particular document?
No. The way the DOM is designed the `Document` is a factory for all the other objects, and those objects can only exist within the context of a particular `Document`. So you're already using the correct approach by creating an empty document from the `DocumentBuilder`.
the purpose is to get a DOM Element from a POJO without the need to pass a document
You can create your own `Document` within the POJO and use that to create elements, but then if a caller of your method wants to add the returned `Element` to their own `Document` they will first have to "adopt" it by calling `adoptNode`, as a `Document` is only allowed to contain nodes that it "owns".
Problem
Working with JAXP, the "Hello world" to create an element is: ``` DocumentBuilderFactory dbf = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance(); DocumentBuilder db = dbf.newDocumentBuilder(); Document doc = db.newDocument(); Element e = doc.createElement("helloElement"); // attributes, append, etc... ``` this makes the creation of an Element dependent of a document object. Is there any way to create an element without a particular document ? something like: ``` Element e = DomDocument.createElement("helloElement"); //static method or so ... return e; ``` Implementing the Element interface is way too much than necessary! the purpose is to get a DOM Element from a POJO without the need to pass a document any suggestions ?