This is a Java XML library and a very flexible alternative to data binding. It works by creating "views" on parts of a XML DOM tree into Java objects and back. These views can be either user defined interfaces, called "projections", or predefined collection types (called auto values).
What's wrong with Java XML data binding?
Data binding needs the structure of XML documents being mirrored to Java object structures. That means your Java API is determined by XML. XMLBeam helps to avoid API changes by utilizing a mapping layer of XPath expressions. Don't worry, you won't need a deep knowledge of XPath.
The basic philosophy behind XMLBeam is to use XPath to project parts of a DOM to a Java type. These types can be special collection types or user defined interfaces. Of course, both ways can be combined. Projection methods can return auto types and auto types can work with projection interfaces.