/* XMLElement.java
 *
 * $Revision: 1.4 $
 * $Date: 2002/03/24 10:27:59 $
 * $Name: RELEASE_2_2_1 $
 *
 * This file is part of NanoXML 2 Lite.
 * Copyright (C) 2000-2002 Marc De Scheemaecker, All Rights Reserved.
 *
 * This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied warranty.
 * In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages arising from the
 * use of this software.
 *
 * Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,
 * including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
 * freely, subject to the following restrictions:
 *
 *  1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
 *     claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software in
 *     a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
 *     appreciated but is not required.
 *
 *  2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
 *     misrepresented as being the original software.
 *
 *  3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution.
 *****************************************************************************/


package com.jidesoft.plaf.aqua;


import java.io.*;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Iterator;


/**
 * XMLElement is a representation of an XML object. The object is able to parse XML code. <P><DL> <DT><B>Parsing XML
 * Data</B></DT> <DD> You can parse XML data using the following code: <UL><CODE> XMLElement xml = new XMLElement();<BR>
 * FileReader reader = new FileReader("filename.xml");<BR> xml.parseFromReader(reader); </CODE></UL></DD></DL>
 * <DL><DT><B>Retrieving Attributes</B></DT> <DD> You can enumerate the attributes of an element using the method {@link
 * #enumerateAttributeNames() enumerateAttributeNames}. The attribute values can be retrieved using the method {@link
 * #getStringAttribute(String) getStringAttribute}. The following example shows how to list the attributes of an
 * element: <UL><CODE> XMLElement element = ...;<BR> Iterator iter = element.getAttributeNames();<BR> while
 * (iter.hasNext()) {<BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;String key = (String) iter.next();<BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;String
 * value = element.getStringAttribute(key);<BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;System.out.println(key + " = " + value);<BR> }
 * </CODE></UL></DD></DL> <DL><DT><B>Retrieving Child Elements</B></DT> <DD> You can enumerate the children of an
 * element using {@link #iterateChildren() iterateChildren}. The number of child iterator can be retrieved using {@link
 * #countChildren() countChildren}. </DD></DL> <DL><DT><B>Elements Containing Character Data</B></DT> <DD> If an
 * iterator contains character data, like in the following example: <UL><CODE> &lt;title&gt;The Title&lt;/title&gt;
 * </CODE></UL> you can retrieve that data using the method {@link #getContent() getContent}. </DD></DL>
 * <DL><DT><B>Subclassing XMLElement</B></DT> <DD> When subclassing XMLElement, you need to override the method {@link
 * #createAnotherElement() createAnotherElement} which has to return a new copy of the receiver. </DD></DL>
 * <p/>
 *
 * @author Marc De Scheemaecker &lt;<A href="mailto:cyberelf@mac.com">cyberelf@mac.com</A>&gt;
 * @version 2005-06-18 Werner Randelshofer: Adapted for Java 2 Collections API. <br>$Name: RELEASE_2_2_1 $, $Revision:
 *          1.4 $
 * @see XMLParseException
 */
@SuppressWarnings({"CommentsWithMistakes"})
class XMLElement {

    /**
     * Serialization serial version ID.
     */
    static final long serialVersionUID = 6685035139346394777L;


    /**
     * Major version of NanoXML. Classes with the same major and minor version are binary compatible. Classes with the
     * same major version are source compatible. If the major version is different, you may need to modify the client
     * source code.
     *
     * @see XMLElement#NANOXML_MINOR_VERSION
     */
    public static final int NANOXML_MAJOR_VERSION = 2;


    /**
     * Minor version of NanoXML. Classes with the same major and minor version are binary compatible. Classes with the
     * same major version are source compatible. If the major version is different, you may need to modify the client
     * source code.
     *
     * @see XMLElement#NANOXML_MAJOR_VERSION
     */
    public static final int NANOXML_MINOR_VERSION = 2;


    /**
     * The attributes given to the element.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Invariants:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The field can be empty. <li>The field is never <code>null</code>.
     * <li>The keySet().iterator and the values are strings. </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    private HashMap attributes;


    /**
     * Child iterator of the element.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Invariants:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The field can be empty. <li>The field is never <code>null</code>.
     * <li>The iterator are instances of <code>XMLElement</code> or a subclass of <code>XMLElement</code>.
     * </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    private ArrayList children;


    /**
     * The name of the element.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Invariants:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The field is <code>null</code> iff the element is not initialized by
     * either parse or setName. <li>If the field is not <code>null</code>, it's not empty. <li>If the field is not
     * <code>null</code>, it contains a valid XML identifier. </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    private String name;


    /**
     * The #PCDATA content of the object.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Invariants:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The field is <code>null</code> iff the element is not a #PCDATA
     * element. <li>The field can be any string, including the empty string. </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    private String contents;


    /**
     * Conversion table for &amp;...; entities. The keySet().iterator are the entity names without the &amp; and ;
     * delimiters.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Invariants:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The field is never <code>null</code>. <li>The field always contains
     * the following associations: "lt"&nbsp;=&gt;&nbsp;"&lt;", "gt"&nbsp;=&gt;&nbsp;"&gt;",
     * "quot"&nbsp;=&gt;&nbsp;"\"", "apos"&nbsp;=&gt;&nbsp;"'", "amp"&nbsp;=&gt;&nbsp;"&amp;" <li>The keySet().iterator
     * are strings <li>The values are char arrays </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    private HashMap entities;


    /**
     * The line number where the element starts.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Invariants:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>lineNr &gt= 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    private int lineNr;


    /**
     * <code>true</code> if the case of the element and attribute names are case insensitive.
     */
    private boolean ignoreCase;


    /**
     * <code>true</code> if the leading and trailing whitespace of #PCDATA sections have to be ignored.
     */
    private boolean ignoreWhitespace;


    /**
     * Character read too much. This character provides push-back functionality to the input reader without having to
     * use a PushbackReader. If there is no such character, this field is '\0'.
     */
    private char charReadTooMuch;


    /**
     * The reader provided by the caller of the parse method.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Invariants:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The field is not <code>null</code> while the parse method is running.
     * </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    private Reader reader;


    /**
     * The current line number in the source content.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Invariants:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>parserLineNr &gt; 0 while the parse method is running.
     * </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    private int parserLineNr;


    /**
     * Creates and initializes a new XML element. Calling the construction is equivalent to: <ul><code>new
     * XMLElement(new HashMap(), false, true) </code></ul>
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>countChildren() => 0 <li>iterateChildren() => empty enumeration
     * <li>enumeratePropertyNames() => empty enumeration <li>getChildren() => empty vector <li>getContent() => ""
     * <li>getLineNr() => 0 <li>getName() => null </ul></dd></dl>
     *
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(java.util.HashMap) XMLElement(HashMap)
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(java.util.HashMap,boolean) XMLElement(HashMap, boolean)
     */
    public XMLElement() {
        this(new HashMap(), false, true, true);
    }


    /**
     * Creates and initializes a new XML element. Calling the construction is equivalent to: <ul><code>new
     * XMLElement(entities, false, true) </code></ul>
     *
     * @param entities The entity conversion table.
     *                 <p/>
     *                 </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>entities != null</code>
     *                 </ul></dd></dl>
     *                 <p/>
     *                 <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>countChildren() => 0 <li>iterateChildren() =>
     *                 empty enumeration <li>enumeratePropertyNames() => empty enumeration <li>getChildren() => empty
     *                 vector <li>getContent() => "" <li>getLineNr() => 0 <li>getName() => null </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement()
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(java.util.HashMap,boolean) XMLElement(HashMap, boolean)
     */
    public XMLElement(HashMap entities) {
        this(entities, false, true, true);
    }


    /**
     * Creates and initializes a new XML element. Calling the construction is equivalent to: <ul><code>new
     * XMLElement(new HashMap(), skipLeadingWhitespace, true) </code></ul>
     *
     * @param skipLeadingWhitespace <code>true</code> if leading and trailing whitespace in PCDATA content has to be
     *                              removed.
     *                              <p/>
     *                              </dl><dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>countChildren() => 0
     *                              <li>iterateChildren() => empty enumeration <li>enumeratePropertyNames() => empty
     *                              enumeration <li>getChildren() => empty vector <li>getContent() => "" <li>getLineNr()
     *                              => 0 <li>getName() => null </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement()
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(java.util.HashMap) XMLElement(HashMap)
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(java.util.HashMap,boolean) XMLElement(HashMap, boolean)
     */
    public XMLElement(boolean skipLeadingWhitespace) {
        this(new HashMap(), skipLeadingWhitespace, true, true);
    }


    /**
     * Creates and initializes a new XML element. Calling the construction is equivalent to: <ul><code>new
     * XMLElement(entities, skipLeadingWhitespace, true) </code></ul>
     *
     * @param entities              The entity conversion table.
     * @param skipLeadingWhitespace <code>true</code> if leading and trailing whitespace in PCDATA content has to be
     *                              removed.
     *                              <p/>
     *                              </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>entities != null</code>
     *                              </ul></dd></dl>
     *                              <p/>
     *                              <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>countChildren() => 0
     *                              <li>iterateChildren() => empty enumeration <li>enumeratePropertyNames() => empty
     *                              enumeration <li>getChildren() => empty vector <li>getContent() => "" <li>getLineNr()
     *                              => 0 <li>getName() => null </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement()
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(java.util.HashMap) XMLElement(HashMap)
     */
    public XMLElement(HashMap entities,
                      boolean skipLeadingWhitespace) {
        this(entities, skipLeadingWhitespace, true, true);
    }


    /**
     * Creates and initializes a new XML element.
     *
     * @param entities              The entity conversion table.
     * @param skipLeadingWhitespace <code>true</code> if leading and trailing whitespace in PCDATA content has to be
     *                              removed.
     * @param ignoreCase            <code>true</code> if the case of element and attribute names have to be ignored.
     *                              <p/>
     *                              </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>entities != null</code>
     *                              </ul></dd></dl>
     *                              <p/>
     *                              <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>countChildren() => 0
     *                              <li>iterateChildren() => empty enumeration <li>enumeratePropertyNames() => empty
     *                              enumeration <li>getChildren() => empty vector <li>getContent() => "" <li>getLineNr()
     *                              => 0 <li>getName() => null </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement()
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(java.util.HashMap) XMLElement(HashMap)
     * @see XMLElement#XMLElement(java.util.HashMap,boolean) XMLElement(HashMap, boolean)
     */
    public XMLElement(HashMap entities,
                      boolean skipLeadingWhitespace,
                      boolean ignoreCase) {
        this(entities, skipLeadingWhitespace, true, ignoreCase);
    }


    /**
     * Creates and initializes a new XML element.
     * <p/>
     * This constructor should <I>only</I> be called from {@link #createAnotherElement() createAnotherElement} to create
     * child iterator.
     *
     * @param entities                 The entity conversion table.
     * @param skipLeadingWhitespace    <code>true</code> if leading and trailing whitespace in PCDATA content has to be
     *                                 removed.
     * @param fillBasicConversionTable <code>true</code> if the basic entities need to be added to the entity list.
     * @param ignoreCase               <code>true</code> if the case of element and attribute names have to be ignored.
     *                                 <p/>
     *                                 </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>entities != null</code>
     *                                 <li>if <code>fillBasicConversionTable == false</code> then <code>entities</code>
     *                                 contains at least the following entries: <code>amp</code>, <code>lt</code>,
     *                                 <code>gt</code>, <code>apos</code> and <code>quot</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     *                                 <p/>
     *                                 <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>countChildren() => 0
     *                                 <li>iterateChildren() => empty enumeration <li>enumeratePropertyNames() => empty
     *                                 enumeration <li>getChildren() => empty vector <li>getContent() => ""
     *                                 <li>getLineNr() => 0 <li>getName() => null </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#createAnotherElement()
     */
    protected XMLElement(HashMap entities,
                         boolean skipLeadingWhitespace,
                         boolean fillBasicConversionTable,
                         boolean ignoreCase) {
        this.ignoreWhitespace = skipLeadingWhitespace;
        this.ignoreCase = ignoreCase;
        this.name = null;
        this.contents = "";
        this.attributes = new HashMap();
        this.children = new ArrayList();
        this.entities = entities;
        this.lineNr = 0;
        Iterator iter = this.entities.keySet().iterator();
        while (iter.hasNext()) {
            Object key = iter.next();
            Object value = this.entities.get(key);
            if (value instanceof String) {
                value = ((String) value).toCharArray();
                this.entities.put(key, value);
            }
        }
        if (fillBasicConversionTable) {
            this.entities.put("amp", new char[]{'&'});
            this.entities.put("quot", new char[]{'"'});
            this.entities.put("apos", new char[]{'\''});
            this.entities.put("lt", new char[]{'<'});
            this.entities.put("gt", new char[]{'>'});
        }
    }


    /**
     * Adds a child element.
     *
     * @param child The child element to add.
     *              <p/>
     *              </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>child != null</code>
     *              <li><code>child.getName() != null</code> <li><code>child</code> does not have a parent element
     *              </ul></dd></dl>
     *              <p/>
     *              <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>countChildren() => old.countChildren() + 1
     *              <li>iterateChildren() => old.iterateChildren() + child <li>getChildren() => old.iterateChildren() +
     *              child </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#countChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#iterateChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#getChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#removeChild(XMLElement) removeChild(XMLElement)
     */
    public void addChild(XMLElement child) {
        this.children.add(child);
    }


    /**
     * Adds or modifies an attribute.
     *
     * @param name  The name of the attribute.
     * @param value The value of the attribute.
     *              <p/>
     *              </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>name</code>
     *              is a valid XML identifier <li><code>value != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     *              <p/>
     *              <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>enumerateAttributeNames() =>
     *              old.enumerateAttributeNames() + name <li>getAttribute(name) => value </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setDoubleAttribute(String,double) setDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#setIntAttribute(String,int) setIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String) getAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String,Object) getAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getAttribute(String, HashMap, String,
     *      boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String) getStringAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String, String) getStringAttribute(String, String)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getStringAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     */
    public void setAttribute(String name,
                             Object value) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        this.attributes.put(name, value.toString());
    }


    /**
     * Adds or modifies an attribute.
     *
     * @param name  The name of the attribute.
     * @param value The value of the attribute.
     * @deprecated Use {@link #setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute} instead.
     */
    public void addProperty(String name,
                            Object value) {
        this.setAttribute(name, value);
    }


    /**
     * Adds or modifies an attribute.
     *
     * @param name  The name of the attribute.
     * @param value The value of the attribute.
     *              <p/>
     *              </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>name</code>
     *              is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl>
     *              <p/>
     *              <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>enumerateAttributeNames() =>
     *              old.enumerateAttributeNames() + name <li>getIntAttribute(name) => value </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setDoubleAttribute(String,double) setDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String) getIntAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String,int) getIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getIntAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     */
    public void setIntAttribute(String name,
                                int value) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        this.attributes.put(name, Integer.toString(value));
    }


    /**
     * Adds or modifies an attribute.
     *
     * @param key   The name of the attribute.
     * @param value The value of the attribute.
     * @deprecated Use {@link #setIntAttribute(String,int) setIntAttribute} instead.
     */
    public void addProperty(String key,
                            int value) {
        this.setIntAttribute(key, value);
    }


    /**
     * Adds or modifies an attribute.
     *
     * @param name  The name of the attribute.
     * @param value The value of the attribute.
     *              <p/>
     *              </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>name</code>
     *              is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl>
     *              <p/>
     *              <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>enumerateAttributeNames() =>
     *              old.enumerateAttributeNames() + name <li>getDoubleAttribute(name) => value </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setIntAttribute(String,int) setIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String) getDoubleAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String,double) getDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getDoubleAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     */
    public void setDoubleAttribute(String name,
                                   double value) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        this.attributes.put(name, Double.toString(value));
    }


    /**
     * Adds or modifies an attribute.
     *
     * @param name  The name of the attribute.
     * @param value The value of the attribute.
     * @deprecated Use {@link #setDoubleAttribute(String,double) setDoubleAttribute} instead.
     */
    public void addProperty(String name,
                            double value) {
        this.setDoubleAttribute(name, value);
    }


    /**
     * Returns the number of child iterator of the element.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>result >= 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     *
     * @see XMLElement#addChild(XMLElement) addChild(XMLElement)
     * @see XMLElement#iterateChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#getChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#removeChild(XMLElement) removeChild(XMLElement)
     */
    public int countChildren() {
        return this.children.size();
    }


    /**
     * Enumerates the attribute names.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>result != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     *
     * @see XMLElement#setDoubleAttribute(String,double) setDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#setIntAttribute(String,int) setIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String) getAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String,Object) getAttribute(String, String)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getAttribute(String, HashMap, String,
     *      boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String) getStringAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String, String) getStringAttribute(String, String)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getStringAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String) getIntAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String,int) getIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getIntAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String) getDoubleAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String,double) getDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getDoubleAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#getBooleanAttribute(String, String, String,boolean) getBooleanAttribute(String, String, String,
     *      boolean)
     */
    public Iterator enumerateAttributeNames() {
        return this.attributes.keySet().iterator();
    }


    /**
     * Enumerates the attribute names.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #enumerateAttributeNames() enumerateAttributeNames} instead.
     */
    public Iterator enumeratePropertyNames() {
        return this.enumerateAttributeNames();
    }


    /**
     * Enumerates the child iterator.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>result != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     *
     * @see XMLElement#addChild(XMLElement) addChild(XMLElement)
     * @see XMLElement#countChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#getChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#removeChild(XMLElement) removeChild(XMLElement)
     */
    public Iterator iterateChildren() {
        return this.children.iterator();
    }


    /**
     * Returns the child iterator as a ArrayList. It is safe to modify this ArrayList.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>result != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     *
     * @see XMLElement#addChild(XMLElement) addChild(XMLElement)
     * @see XMLElement#countChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#iterateChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#removeChild(XMLElement) removeChild(XMLElement)
     */
    public ArrayList getChildren() {
        try {
            return (ArrayList) this.children.clone();
        }
        catch (Exception e) {
            // this never happens, however, some Java compilers are so
            // braindead that they require this exception clause
            return null;
        }
    }


    /**
     * Returns the PCDATA content of the object. If there is no such content, <CODE>null</CODE> is returned.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getContent() getContent} instead.
     */
    public String getContents() {
        return this.getContent();
    }


    /**
     * Returns the PCDATA content of the object. If there is no such content, <CODE>null</CODE> is returned.
     *
     * @see XMLElement#setContent(String) setContent(String)
     */
    public String getContent() {
        return this.contents;
    }


    /**
     * Returns the line nr in the source data on which the element is found. This method returns <code>0</code> there is
     * no associated source data.
     * <p/>
     * <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>result >= 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    public int getLineNr() {
        return this.lineNr;
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute of the element. If the attribute doesn't exist, <code>null</code> is returned.
     *
     * @param name The name of the attribute.
     *             <p/>
     *             </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>name</code>
     *             is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String,Object) getAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getAttribute(String, HashMap, String,
     *      boolean)
     */
    public Object getAttribute(String name) {
        return this.getAttribute(name, null);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute of the element. If the attribute doesn't exist, <code>defaultValue</code> is returned.
     *
     * @param name         The name of the attribute.
     * @param defaultValue Key to use if the attribute is missing.
     *                     <p/>
     *                     </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code>
     *                     <li><code>name</code> is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String) getAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getAttribute(String, HashMap, String,
     *      boolean)
     */
    public Object getAttribute(String name,
                               Object defaultValue) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        Object value = this.attributes.get(name);
        if (value == null) {
            value = defaultValue;
        }
        return value;
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute by looking up a key in a hashtable. If the attribute doesn't exist, the value corresponding
     * to defaultKey is returned.
     * <p/>
     * As an example, if valueSet contains the mapping <code>"one" => "1"</code> and the element contains the attribute
     * <code>attr="one"</code>, then <code>getAttribute("attr", mapping, defaultKey, false)</code> returns
     * <code>"1"</code>.
     *
     * @param name          The name of the attribute.
     * @param valueSet      HashMap mapping keySet().iterator to values.
     * @param defaultKey    Key to use if the attribute is missing.
     * @param allowLiterals <code>true</code> if literals are valid.
     *                      <p/>
     *                      </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code>
     *                      <li><code>name</code> is a valid XML identifier <li><code>valueSet</code> != null <li>the
     *                      keySet().iterator of <code>valueSet</code> are strings </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String) getAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String,Object) getAttribute(String, Object)
     */
    public Object getAttribute(String name,
                               HashMap valueSet,
                               String defaultKey,
                               boolean allowLiterals) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        Object key = this.attributes.get(name);
        Object result;
        if (key == null) {
            key = defaultKey;
        }
        result = valueSet.get(key);
        if (result == null) {
            if (allowLiterals) {
                result = key;
            }
            else {
                throw this.invalidValue(name, (String) key);
            }
        }
        return result;
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute of the element. If the attribute doesn't exist, <code>null</code> is returned.
     *
     * @param name The name of the attribute.
     *             <p/>
     *             </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>name</code>
     *             is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String, String) getStringAttribute(String, String)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getStringAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     */
    public String getStringAttribute(String name) {
        return this.getStringAttribute(name, null);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute of the element. If the attribute doesn't exist, <code>defaultValue</code> is returned.
     *
     * @param name         The name of the attribute.
     * @param defaultValue Key to use if the attribute is missing.
     *                     <p/>
     *                     </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code>
     *                     <li><code>name</code> is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String) getStringAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getStringAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     */
    public String getStringAttribute(String name,
                                     String defaultValue) {
        return (String) this.getAttribute(name, defaultValue);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute by looking up a key in a hashtable. If the attribute doesn't exist, the value corresponding
     * to defaultKey is returned.
     * <p/>
     * As an example, if valueSet contains the mapping <code>"one" => "1"</code> and the element contains the attribute
     * <code>attr="one"</code>, then <code>getAttribute("attr", mapping, defaultKey, false)</code> returns
     * <code>"1"</code>.
     *
     * @param name          The name of the attribute.
     * @param valueSet      HashMap mapping keySet().iterator to values.
     * @param defaultKey    Key to use if the attribute is missing.
     * @param allowLiterals <code>true</code> if literals are valid.
     *                      <p/>
     *                      </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code>
     *                      <li><code>name</code> is a valid XML identifier <li><code>valueSet</code> != null <li>the
     *                      keySet().iterator of <code>valueSet</code> are strings <li>the values of
     *                      <code>valueSet</code> are strings </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String) getStringAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String, String) getStringAttribute(String, String)
     */
    public String getStringAttribute(String name,
                                     HashMap valueSet,
                                     String defaultKey,
                                     boolean allowLiterals) {
        return (String) this.getAttribute(name, valueSet, defaultKey,
                allowLiterals);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute of the element. If the attribute doesn't exist, <code>0</code> is returned.
     *
     * @param name The name of the attribute.
     *             <p/>
     *             </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>name</code>
     *             is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setIntAttribute(String,int) setIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String,int) getIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getIntAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     */
    public int getIntAttribute(String name) {
        return this.getIntAttribute(name, 0);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute of the element. If the attribute doesn't exist, <code>defaultValue</code> is returned.
     *
     * @param name         The name of the attribute.
     * @param defaultValue Key to use if the attribute is missing.
     *                     <p/>
     *                     </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code>
     *                     <li><code>name</code> is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setIntAttribute(String,int) setIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String) getIntAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getIntAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     */
    public int getIntAttribute(String name,
                               int defaultValue) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        String value = (String) this.attributes.get(name);
        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        }
        else {
            try {
                return Integer.parseInt(value);
            }
            catch (NumberFormatException e) {
                throw this.invalidValue(name, value);
            }
        }
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute by looking up a key in a hashtable. If the attribute doesn't exist, the value corresponding
     * to defaultKey is returned.
     * <p/>
     * As an example, if valueSet contains the mapping <code>"one" => 1</code> and the element contains the attribute
     * <code>attr="one"</code>, then <code>getIntAttribute("attr", mapping, defaultKey, false)</code> returns
     * <code>1</code>.
     *
     * @param name                The name of the attribute.
     * @param valueSet            HashMap mapping keySet().iterator to values.
     * @param defaultKey          Key to use if the attribute is missing.
     * @param allowLiteralNumbers <code>true</code> if literal numbers are valid.
     *                            <p/>
     *                            </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code>
     *                            <li><code>name</code> is a valid XML identifier <li><code>valueSet</code> != null
     *                            <li>the keySet().iterator of <code>valueSet</code> are strings <li>the values of
     *                            <code>valueSet</code> are Integer objects <li><code>defaultKey</code> is either
     *                            <code>null</code>, a key in <code>valueSet</code> or an integer. </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setIntAttribute(String,int) setIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String) getIntAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String,int) getIntAttribute(String, int)
     */
    public int getIntAttribute(String name,
                               HashMap valueSet,
                               String defaultKey,
                               boolean allowLiteralNumbers) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        Object key = this.attributes.get(name);
        Integer result;
        if (key == null) {
            key = defaultKey;
        }
        try {
            result = (Integer) valueSet.get(key);
        }
        catch (ClassCastException e) {
            throw this.invalidValueSet(name);
        }
        if (result == null) {
            if (!allowLiteralNumbers) {
                throw this.invalidValue(name, (String) key);
            }
            try {
                result = Integer.valueOf((String) key);
            }
            catch (NumberFormatException e) {
                throw this.invalidValue(name, (String) key);
            }
        }
        return result;
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute of the element. If the attribute doesn't exist, <code>0.0</code> is returned.
     *
     * @param name The name of the attribute.
     *             <p/>
     *             </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>name</code>
     *             is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setDoubleAttribute(String,double) setDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String,double) getDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getDoubleAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     */
    public double getDoubleAttribute(String name) {
        return this.getDoubleAttribute(name, 0.);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute of the element. If the attribute doesn't exist, <code>defaultValue</code> is returned.
     *
     * @param name         The name of the attribute.
     * @param defaultValue Key to use if the attribute is missing.
     *                     <p/>
     *                     </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code>
     *                     <li><code>name</code> is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setDoubleAttribute(String,double) setDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String) getDoubleAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getDoubleAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     */
    public double getDoubleAttribute(String name,
                                     double defaultValue) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        String value = (String) this.attributes.get(name);
        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        }
        else {
            try {
                return Double.valueOf(value);
            }
            catch (NumberFormatException e) {
                throw this.invalidValue(name, value);
            }
        }
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute by looking up a key in a hashtable. If the attribute doesn't exist, the value corresponding
     * to defaultKey is returned.
     * <p/>
     * As an example, if valueSet contains the mapping <code>"one" =&gt; 1.0</code> and the element contains the
     * attribute <code>attr="one"</code>, then <code>getDoubleAttribute("attr", mapping, defaultKey, false)</code>
     * returns <code>1.0</code>.
     *
     * @param name                The name of the attribute.
     * @param valueSet            HashMap mapping keySet().iterator to values.
     * @param defaultKey          Key to use if the attribute is missing.
     * @param allowLiteralNumbers <code>true</code> if literal numbers are valid.
     *                            <p/>
     *                            </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code>
     *                            <li><code>name</code> is a valid XML identifier <li><code>valueSet != null</code>
     *                            <li>the keySet().iterator of <code>valueSet</code> are strings <li>the values of
     *                            <code>valueSet</code> are Double objects <li><code>defaultKey</code> is either
     *                            <code>null</code>, a key in <code>valueSet</code> or a double. </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setDoubleAttribute(String,double) setDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String) getDoubleAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String,double) getDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     */
    public double getDoubleAttribute(String name,
                                     HashMap valueSet,
                                     String defaultKey,
                                     boolean allowLiteralNumbers) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        Object key = this.attributes.get(name);
        Double result;
        if (key == null) {
            key = defaultKey;
        }
        try {
            result = (Double) valueSet.get(key);
        }
        catch (ClassCastException e) {
            throw this.invalidValueSet(name);
        }
        if (result == null) {
            if (!allowLiteralNumbers) {
                throw this.invalidValue(name, (String) key);
            }
            try {
                result = Double.valueOf((String) key);
            }
            catch (NumberFormatException e) {
                throw this.invalidValue(name, (String) key);
            }
        }
        return result;
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute of the element. If the attribute doesn't exist, <code>defaultValue</code> is returned. If
     * the value of the attribute is equal to <code>trueValue</code>, <code>true</code> is returned. If the value of the
     * attribute is equal to <code>falseValue</code>, <code>false</code> is returned. If the value doesn't match
     * <code>trueValue</code> or <code>falseValue</code>, an exception is thrown.
     *
     * @param name         The name of the attribute.
     * @param trueValue    The value associated with <code>true</code>.
     * @param falseValue   The value associated with <code>true</code>.
     * @param defaultValue Value to use if the attribute is missing.
     *                     <p/>
     *                     </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code>
     *                     <li><code>name</code> is a valid XML identifier <li><code>trueValue</code> and
     *                     <code>falseValue</code> are different strings. </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     */
    public boolean getBooleanAttribute(String name,
                                       String trueValue,
                                       String falseValue,
                                       boolean defaultValue) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        Object value = this.attributes.get(name);
        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        }
        else if (value.equals(trueValue)) {
            return true;
        }
        else if (value.equals(falseValue)) {
            return false;
        }
        else {
            throw this.invalidValue(name, (String) value);
        }
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute by looking up a key in a hashtable.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getIntAttribute(java.lang.String, java.util.HashMap,java.lang.String,boolean)
     *             getIntAttribute} instead.
     */
    public int getIntProperty(String name,
                              HashMap valueSet,
                              String defaultKey) {
        return this.getIntAttribute(name, valueSet, defaultKey, false);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getStringAttribute(java.lang.String) getStringAttribute} instead.
     */
    public String getProperty(String name) {
        return this.getStringAttribute(name);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getStringAttribute(java.lang.String, java.lang.String) getStringAttribute} instead.
     */
    public String getProperty(String name,
                              String defaultValue) {
        return this.getStringAttribute(name, defaultValue);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getIntAttribute(java.lang.String,int) getIntAttribute} instead.
     */
    public int getProperty(String name,
                           int defaultValue) {
        return this.getIntAttribute(name, defaultValue);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getDoubleAttribute(java.lang.String,double) getDoubleAttribute} instead.
     */
    public double getProperty(String name,
                              double defaultValue) {
        return this.getDoubleAttribute(name, defaultValue);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getBooleanAttribute(java.lang.String, java.lang.String,java.lang.String,boolean)
     *             getBooleanAttribute} instead.
     */
    public boolean getProperty(String key,
                               String trueValue,
                               String falseValue,
                               boolean defaultValue) {
        return this.getBooleanAttribute(key, trueValue, falseValue,
                defaultValue);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute by looking up a key in a hashtable.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getAttribute(java.lang.String, java.util.HashMap,java.lang.String,boolean) getAttribute}
     *             instead.
     */
    public Object getProperty(String name,
                              HashMap valueSet,
                              String defaultKey) {
        return this.getAttribute(name, valueSet, defaultKey, false);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute by looking up a key in a hashtable.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getStringAttribute(java.lang.String, java.util.HashMap,java.lang.String,boolean)
     *             getStringAttribute} instead.
     */
    public String getStringProperty(String name,
                                    HashMap valueSet,
                                    String defaultKey) {
        return this.getStringAttribute(name, valueSet, defaultKey, false);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute by looking up a key in a hashtable.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getIntAttribute(java.lang.String, java.util.HashMap,java.lang.String,boolean)
     *             getIntAttribute} instead.
     */
    public int getSpecialIntProperty(String name,
                                     HashMap valueSet,
                                     String defaultKey) {
        return this.getIntAttribute(name, valueSet, defaultKey, true);
    }


    /**
     * Returns an attribute by looking up a key in a hashtable.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getDoubleAttribute(java.lang.String, java.util.HashMap,java.lang.String,boolean)
     *             getDoubleAttribute} instead.
     */
    public double getSpecialDoubleProperty(String name,
                                           HashMap valueSet,
                                           String defaultKey) {
        return this.getDoubleAttribute(name, valueSet, defaultKey, true);
    }


    /**
     * Returns the name of the element.
     *
     * @see XMLElement#setName(java.lang.String) setName(String)
     */
    public String getName() {
        return this.name;
    }


    /**
     * Returns the name of the element.
     *
     * @deprecated Use {@link #getName() getName} instead.
     */
    public String getTagName() {
        return this.getName();
    }


    /**
     * Reads one XML element from a java.io.Reader and parses it.
     *
     * @param reader The reader from which to retrieve the XML data.
     *               <p/>
     *               </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>reader != null</code>
     *               <li><code>reader</code> is not closed </ul></dd></dl>
     *               <p/>
     *               <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>the state of the receiver is updated to reflect the
     *               XML element parsed from the reader <li>the reader points to the first character following the last
     *               '&gt;' character of the XML element </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @throws java.io.IOException If an error occured while reading the input.
     * @throws XMLParseException   If an error occured while parsing the read data.
     */
    public void parseFromReader(Reader reader)
            throws IOException, XMLParseException {
        this.parseFromReader(reader, /*startingLineNr*/ 1);
    }


    /**
     * Reads one XML element from a java.io.Reader and parses it.
     *
     * @param reader         The reader from which to retrieve the XML data.
     * @param startingLineNr The line number of the first line in the data.
     *                       <p/>
     *                       </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>reader != null</code>
     *                       <li><code>reader</code> is not closed </ul></dd></dl>
     *                       <p/>
     *                       <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>the state of the receiver is updated to
     *                       reflect the XML element parsed from the reader <li>the reader points to the first character
     *                       following the last '&gt;' character of the XML element </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @throws java.io.IOException If an error occured while reading the input.
     * @throws XMLParseException   If an error occured while parsing the read data.
     */
    public void parseFromReader(Reader reader,
                                int startingLineNr)
            throws IOException, XMLParseException {
        this.name = null;
        this.contents = "";
        this.attributes = new HashMap();
        this.children = new ArrayList();
        this.charReadTooMuch = '\0';
        this.reader = reader;
        this.parserLineNr = startingLineNr;

        for (; ;) {
            char ch = this.scanWhitespace();

            if (ch != '<') {
                throw this.expectedInput("<");
            }

            ch = this.readChar();

            if ((ch == '!') || (ch == '?')) {
                this.skipSpecialTag(0);
            }
            else {
                this.unreadChar(ch);
                this.scanElement(this);
                return;
            }
        }
    }


    /**
     * Reads one XML element from a String and parses it.
     *
     * @param string The reader from which to retrieve the XML data.
     *               <p/>
     *               </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>string != null</code>
     *               <li><code>string.length() &gt; 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     *               <p/>
     *               <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>the state of the receiver is updated to reflect the
     *               XML element parsed from the reader </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @throws XMLParseException If an error occured while parsing the string.
     */
    public void parseString(String string)
            throws XMLParseException {
        try {
            this.parseFromReader(new StringReader(string),
                    /*startingLineNr*/ 1);
        }
        catch (IOException e) {
            // Java exception handling suxx
        }
    }


    /**
     * Reads one XML element from a String and parses it.
     *
     * @param string The reader from which to retrieve the XML data.
     * @param offset The first character in <code>string</code> to scan.
     *               <p/>
     *               </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>string != null</code> <li><code>offset
     *               &lt; string.length()</code> <li><code>offset &gt;= 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     *               <p/>
     *               <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>the state of the receiver is updated to reflect the
     *               XML element parsed from the reader </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @throws XMLParseException If an error occured while parsing the string.
     */
    public void parseString(String string,
                            int offset)
            throws XMLParseException {
        this.parseString(string.substring(offset));
    }


    /**
     * Reads one XML element from a String and parses it.
     *
     * @param string The reader from which to retrieve the XML data.
     * @param offset The first character in <code>string</code> to scan.
     * @param end    The character where to stop scanning. This character is not scanned.
     *               <p/>
     *               </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>string != null</code> <li><code>end &lt;=
     *               string.length()</code> <li><code>offset &lt; end</code> <li><code>offset &gt;= 0</code>
     *               </ul></dd></dl>
     *               <p/>
     *               <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>the state of the receiver is updated to reflect the
     *               XML element parsed from the reader </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @throws XMLParseException If an error occured while parsing the string.
     */
    public void parseString(String string,
                            int offset,
                            int end)
            throws XMLParseException {
        this.parseString(string.substring(offset, end));
    }


    /**
     * Reads one XML element from a String and parses it.
     *
     * @param string         The reader from which to retrieve the XML data.
     * @param offset         The first character in <code>string</code> to scan.
     * @param end            The character where to stop scanning. This character is not scanned.
     * @param startingLineNr The line number of the first line in the data.
     *                       <p/>
     *                       </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>string != null</code>
     *                       <li><code>end &lt;= string.length()</code> <li><code>offset &lt; end</code>
     *                       <li><code>offset &gt;= 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     *                       <p/>
     *                       <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>the state of the receiver is updated to
     *                       reflect the XML element parsed from the reader </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @throws XMLParseException If an error occured while parsing the string.
     */
    public void parseString(String string,
                            int offset,
                            int end,
                            int startingLineNr)
            throws XMLParseException {
        string = string.substring(offset, end);
        try {
            this.parseFromReader(new StringReader(string), startingLineNr);
        }
        catch (IOException e) {
            // Java exception handling suxx
        }
    }


    /**
     * Reads one XML element from a char array and parses it.
     *
     * @param input  The reader from which to retrieve the XML data.
     * @param offset The first character in <code>string</code> to scan.
     * @param end    The character where to stop scanning. This character is not scanned.
     *               <p/>
     *               </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>input != null</code> <li><code>end &lt;=
     *               input.length</code> <li><code>offset &lt; end</code> <li><code>offset &gt;= 0</code>
     *               </ul></dd></dl>
     *               <p/>
     *               <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>the state of the receiver is updated to reflect the
     *               XML element parsed from the reader </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @throws XMLParseException If an error occured while parsing the string.
     */
    public void parseCharArray(char[] input,
                               int offset,
                               int end)
            throws XMLParseException {
        this.parseCharArray(input, offset, end, /*startingLineNr*/ 1);
    }


    /**
     * Reads one XML element from a char array and parses it.
     *
     * @param input          The reader from which to retrieve the XML data.
     * @param offset         The first character in <code>string</code> to scan.
     * @param end            The character where to stop scanning. This character is not scanned.
     * @param startingLineNr The line number of the first line in the data.
     *                       <p/>
     *                       </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>input != null</code>
     *                       <li><code>end &lt;= input.length</code> <li><code>offset &lt; end</code> <li><code>offset
     *                       &gt;= 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     *                       <p/>
     *                       <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>the state of the receiver is updated to
     *                       reflect the XML element parsed from the reader </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @throws XMLParseException If an error occured while parsing the string.
     */
    public void parseCharArray(char[] input,
                               int offset,
                               int end,
                               int startingLineNr)
            throws XMLParseException {
        try {
            Reader reader = new CharArrayReader(input, offset, end);
            this.parseFromReader(reader, startingLineNr);
        }
        catch (IOException e) {
            // This exception will never happen.
        }
    }


    /**
     * Removes a child element.
     *
     * @param child The child element to remove.
     *              <p/>
     *              </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>child != null</code>
     *              <li><code>child</code> is a child element of the receiver </ul></dd></dl>
     *              <p/>
     *              <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>countChildren() => old.countChildren() - 1
     *              <li>iterateChildren() => old.iterateChildren() - child <li>getChildren() => old.iterateChildren() -
     *              child </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#addChild(XMLElement) addChild(XMLElement)
     * @see XMLElement#countChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#iterateChildren()
     * @see XMLElement#getChildren()
     */
    public void removeChild(XMLElement child) {
        this.children.remove(child);
    }


    /**
     * Removes an attribute.
     *
     * @param name The name of the attribute.
     *             <p/>
     *             </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>name</code>
     *             is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl>
     *             <p/>
     *             <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>enumerateAttributeNames() =>
     *             old.enumerateAttributeNames() - name <li>getAttribute(name) => <code>null</code> </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     * @see XMLElement#enumerateAttributeNames()
     * @see XMLElement#setDoubleAttribute(String,double) setDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#setIntAttribute(String,int) setIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#setAttribute(String,Object) setAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String) getAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String,Object) getAttribute(String, Object)
     * @see XMLElement#getAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getAttribute(String, HashMap, String,
     *      boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String) getStringAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String, String) getStringAttribute(String, String)
     * @see XMLElement#getStringAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getStringAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String) getIntAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String,int) getIntAttribute(String, int)
     * @see XMLElement#getIntAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getIntAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String) getDoubleAttribute(String)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String,double) getDoubleAttribute(String, double)
     * @see XMLElement#getDoubleAttribute(String, java.util.HashMap, String,boolean) getDoubleAttribute(String, HashMap,
     *      String, boolean)
     * @see XMLElement#getBooleanAttribute(String, String, String,boolean) getBooleanAttribute(String, String, String,
     *      boolean)
     */
    public void removeAttribute(String name) {
        if (this.ignoreCase) {
            name = name.toUpperCase();
        }
        this.attributes.remove(name);
    }


    /**
     * Removes an attribute.
     *
     * @param name The name of the attribute.
     * @deprecated Use {@link #removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute} instead.
     */
    public void removeProperty(String name) {
        this.removeAttribute(name);
    }


    /**
     * Removes an attribute.
     *
     * @param name The name of the attribute.
     * @deprecated Use {@link #removeAttribute(String) removeAttribute} instead.
     */
    public void removeChild(String name) {
        this.removeAttribute(name);
    }


    /**
     * Creates a new similar XML element.
     * <p/>
     * You should override this method when subclassing XMLElement.
     */
    public XMLElement createAnotherElement() {
        return new XMLElement(this.entities,
                this.ignoreWhitespace,
                false,
                this.ignoreCase);
    }


    /**
     * Changes the content string.
     *
     * @param content The new content string.
     */
    public void setContent(String content) {
        this.contents = content;
    }


    /**
     * Changes the name of the element.
     *
     * @param name The new name.
     * @deprecated Use {@link #setName(String) setName} instead.
     */
    public void setTagName(String name) {
        this.setName(name);
    }


    /**
     * Changes the name of the element.
     *
     * @param name The new name.
     *             <p/>
     *             </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>name</code>
     *             is a valid XML identifier </ul></dd></dl>
     * @see XMLElement#getName()
     */
    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }


    /**
     * Writes the XML element to a string.
     *
     * @see XMLElement#write(java.io.Writer) write(Writer)
     */
    @Override
    public String toString() {
        try {
            ByteArrayOutputStream out = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
            OutputStreamWriter writer = new OutputStreamWriter(out);
            this.write(writer);
            writer.flush();
            return new String(out.toByteArray());
        }
        catch (IOException e) {
            // Java exception handling suxx
            return super.toString();
        }
    }


    /**
     * Writes the XML element to a writer.
     *
     * @param writer The writer to write the XML data to.
     *               <p/>
     *               </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>writer != null</code>
     *               <li><code>writer</code> is not closed </ul></dd></dl>
     * @throws java.io.IOException If the data could not be written to the writer.
     * @see XMLElement#toString()
     */
    public void write(Writer writer)
            throws IOException {
        if (this.name == null) {
            this.writeEncoded(writer, this.contents);
            return;
        }
        writer.write('<');
        writer.write(this.name);
        if (!this.attributes.isEmpty()) {
            Iterator iter = this.attributes.keySet().iterator();
            while (iter.hasNext()) {
                writer.write(' ');
                String key = (String) iter.next();
                String value = (String) this.attributes.get(key);
                writer.write(key);
                writer.write('=');
                writer.write('"');
                this.writeEncoded(writer, value);
                writer.write('"');
            }
        }
        if ((this.contents != null) && (this.contents.length() > 0)) {
            writer.write('>');
            this.writeEncoded(writer, this.contents);
            writer.write('<');
            writer.write('/');
            writer.write(this.name);
            writer.write('>');
        }
        else if (this.children.isEmpty()) {
            writer.write('/');
            writer.write('>');
        }
        else {
            writer.write('>');
            Iterator iter = this.iterateChildren();
            while (iter.hasNext()) {
                XMLElement child = (XMLElement) iter.next();
                child.write(writer);
            }
            writer.write('<');
            writer.write('/');
            writer.write(this.name);
            writer.write('>');
        }
    }


    /**
     * Writes a string encoded to a writer.
     *
     * @param writer The writer to write the XML data to.
     * @param str    The string to write encoded.
     *               <p/>
     *               </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>writer != null</code>
     *               <li><code>writer</code> is not closed <li><code>str != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected void writeEncoded(Writer writer,
                                String str)
            throws IOException {
        for (int i = 0; i < str.length(); i += 1) {
            char ch = str.charAt(i);
            switch (ch) {
                case '<':
                    writer.write('&');
                    writer.write('l');
                    writer.write('t');
                    writer.write(';');
                    break;
                case '>':
                    writer.write('&');
                    writer.write('g');
                    writer.write('t');
                    writer.write(';');
                    break;
                case '&':
                    writer.write('&');
                    writer.write('a');
                    writer.write('m');
                    writer.write('p');
                    writer.write(';');
                    break;
                case '"':
                    writer.write('&');
                    writer.write('q');
                    writer.write('u');
                    writer.write('o');
                    writer.write('t');
                    writer.write(';');
                    break;
                case '\'':
                    writer.write('&');
                    writer.write('a');
                    writer.write('p');
                    writer.write('o');
                    writer.write('s');
                    writer.write(';');
                    break;
                default:
                    int unicode = (int) ch;
                    if ((unicode < 32) || (unicode > 126)) {
                        writer.write('&');
                        writer.write('#');
                        writer.write('x');
                        writer.write(Integer.toString(unicode, 16));
                        writer.write(';');
                    }
                    else {
                        writer.write(ch);
                    }
            }
        }
    }


    /**
     * Scans an identifier from the current reader. The scanned identifier is appended to <code>result</code>.
     *
     * @param result The buffer in which the scanned identifier will be put.
     *               <p/>
     *               </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>result != null</code> <li>The next
     *               character read from the reader is a valid first character of an XML identifier. </ul></dd></dl>
     *               <p/>
     *               <dl><dt><b>Postconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The next character read from the reader won't be an
     *               identifier character. </ul></dd></dl><dl>
     */
    protected void scanIdentifier(StringBuffer result)
            throws IOException {
        for (; ;) {
            char ch = this.readChar();
            if (((ch < 'A') || (ch > 'Z')) && ((ch < 'a') || (ch > 'z'))
                    && ((ch < '0') || (ch > '9')) && (ch != '_') && (ch != '.')
                    && (ch != ':') && (ch != '-') && (ch <= '\u007E')) {
                this.unreadChar(ch);
                return;
            }
            result.append(ch);
        }
    }


    /**
     * This method scans an identifier from the current reader.
     *
     * @return the next character following the whitespace.
     */
    protected char scanWhitespace()
            throws IOException {
        for (; ;) {
            char ch = this.readChar();
            switch (ch) {
                case ' ':
                case '\t':
                case '\n':
                case '\r':
                    break;
                default:
                    return ch;
            }
        }
    }


    /**
     * This method scans an identifier from the current reader. The scanned whitespace is appended to
     * <code>result</code>.
     *
     * @return the next character following the whitespace.
     *         <p/>
     *         </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>result != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected char scanWhitespace(StringBuffer result)
            throws IOException {
        for (; ;) {
            char ch = this.readChar();
            switch (ch) {
                case ' ':
                case '\t':
                case '\n':
                    result.append(ch);
                case '\r':
                    break;
                default:
                    return ch;
            }
        }
    }


    /**
     * This method scans a delimited string from the current reader. The scanned string without delimiters is appended
     * to <code>string</code>.
     * <p/>
     * </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>string != null</code> <li>the next char read is the
     * string delimiter </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected void scanString(StringBuffer string)
            throws IOException {
        char delimiter = this.readChar();
        if ((delimiter != '\'') && (delimiter != '"')) {
            throw this.expectedInput("' or \"");
        }
        for (; ;) {
            char ch = this.readChar();
            if (ch == delimiter) {
                return;
            }
            else if (ch == '&') {
                this.resolveEntity(string);
            }
            else {
                string.append(ch);
            }
        }
    }


    /**
     * Scans a #PCDATA element. CDATA sections and entities are resolved. The next &lt; char is skipped. The scanned
     * data is appended to <code>data</code>.
     * <p/>
     * </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>data != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected void scanPCData(StringBuffer data)
            throws IOException {
        for (; ;) {
            char ch = this.readChar();
            if (ch == '<') {
                ch = this.readChar();
                if (ch == '!') {
                    this.checkCDATA(data);
                }
                else {
                    this.unreadChar(ch);
                    return;
                }
            }
            else if (ch == '&') {
                this.resolveEntity(data);
            }
            else {
                data.append(ch);
            }
        }
    }


    /**
     * Scans a special tag and if the tag is a CDATA section, append its content to <code>buf</code>.
     * <p/>
     * </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>buf != null</code> <li>The first &lt; has already been
     * read. </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected boolean checkCDATA(StringBuffer buf)
            throws IOException {
        char ch = this.readChar();
        if (ch != '[') {
            this.unreadChar(ch);
            this.skipSpecialTag(0);
            return false;
        }
        else if (!this.checkLiteral("CDATA[")) {
            this.skipSpecialTag(1); // one [ has already been read
            return false;
        }
        else {
            int delimiterCharsSkipped = 0;
            while (delimiterCharsSkipped < 3) {
                ch = this.readChar();
                switch (ch) {
                    case ']':
                        if (delimiterCharsSkipped < 2) {
                            delimiterCharsSkipped += 1;
                        }
                        else {
                            buf.append(']');
                            buf.append(']');
                            delimiterCharsSkipped = 0;
                        }
                        break;
                    case '>':
                        if (delimiterCharsSkipped < 2) {
                            for (int i = 0; i < delimiterCharsSkipped; i++) {
                                buf.append(']');
                            }
                            delimiterCharsSkipped = 0;
                            buf.append('>');
                        }
                        else {
                            delimiterCharsSkipped = 3;
                        }
                        break;
                    default:
                        for (int i = 0; i < delimiterCharsSkipped; i += 1) {
                            buf.append(']');
                        }
                        buf.append(ch);
                        delimiterCharsSkipped = 0;
                }
            }
            return true;
        }
    }


    /**
     * Skips a comment.
     * <p/>
     * </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The first &lt;!-- has already been read. </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected void skipComment()
            throws IOException {
        int dashesToRead = 2;
        while (dashesToRead > 0) {
            char ch = this.readChar();
            if (ch == '-') {
                dashesToRead -= 1;
            }
            else {
                dashesToRead = 2;
            }
        }
        if (this.readChar() != '>') {
            throw this.expectedInput(">");
        }
    }


    /**
     * Skips a special tag or comment.
     *
     * @param bracketLevel The number of open square brackets ([) that have already been read.
     *                     <p/>
     *                     </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The first &lt;! has already been read.
     *                     <li><code>bracketLevel >= 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected void skipSpecialTag(int bracketLevel)
            throws IOException {
        int tagLevel = 1; // <
        char stringDelimiter = '\0';
        if (bracketLevel == 0) {
            char ch = this.readChar();
            if (ch == '[') {
                bracketLevel += 1;
            }
            else if (ch == '-') {
                ch = this.readChar();
                if (ch == '[') {
                    bracketLevel += 1;
                }
                else if (ch == ']') {
                    bracketLevel -= 1;
                }
                else if (ch == '-') {
                    this.skipComment();
                    return;
                }
            }
        }
        while (tagLevel > 0) {
            char ch = this.readChar();
            if (stringDelimiter == '\0') {
                if ((ch == '"') || (ch == '\'')) {
                    stringDelimiter = ch;
                }
                else if (bracketLevel <= 0) {
                    if (ch == '<') {
                        tagLevel += 1;
                    }
                    else if (ch == '>') {
                        tagLevel -= 1;
                    }
                }
                if (ch == '[') {
                    bracketLevel += 1;
                }
                else if (ch == ']') {
                    bracketLevel -= 1;
                }
            }
            else {
                if (ch == stringDelimiter) {
                    stringDelimiter = '\0';
                }
            }
        }
    }


    /**
     * Scans the data for literal text. Scanning stops when a character does not match or after the complete text has
     * been checked, whichever comes first.
     *
     * @param literal the literal to check.
     *                <p/>
     *                </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>literal != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected boolean checkLiteral(String literal)
            throws IOException {
        int length = literal.length();
        for (int i = 0; i < length; i += 1) {
            if (this.readChar() != literal.charAt(i)) {
                return false;
            }
        }
        return true;
    }


    /**
     * Reads a character from a reader.
     */
    protected char readChar()
            throws IOException {
        if (this.charReadTooMuch != '\0') {
            char ch = this.charReadTooMuch;
            this.charReadTooMuch = '\0';
            return ch;
        }
        else {
            int i = this.reader.read();
            if (i < 0) {
                throw this.unexpectedEndOfData();
            }
            else if (i == 10) {
                this.parserLineNr += 1;
                return '\n';
            }
            else {
                return (char) i;
            }
        }
    }


    /**
     * Scans an XML element.
     *
     * @param elt The element that will contain the result.
     *            <p/>
     *            </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The first &lt; has already been read.
     *            <li><code>elt != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected void scanElement(XMLElement elt)
            throws IOException {
        StringBuffer buf = new StringBuffer();
        this.scanIdentifier(buf);
        String name = buf.toString();
        elt.setName(name);
        char ch = this.scanWhitespace();
        while ((ch != '>') && (ch != '/')) {
            buf.setLength(0);
            this.unreadChar(ch);
            this.scanIdentifier(buf);
            String key = buf.toString();
            ch = this.scanWhitespace();
            if (ch != '=') {
                throw this.expectedInput("=");
            }
            this.unreadChar(this.scanWhitespace());
            buf.setLength(0);
            this.scanString(buf);
            elt.setAttribute(key, buf);
            ch = this.scanWhitespace();
        }
        if (ch == '/') {
            ch = this.readChar();
            if (ch != '>') {
                throw this.expectedInput(">");
            }
            return;
        }
        buf.setLength(0);
        ch = this.scanWhitespace(buf);
        if (ch != '<') {
            this.unreadChar(ch);
            this.scanPCData(buf);
        }
        else {
            for (; ;) {
                ch = this.readChar();
                if (ch == '!') {
                    if (this.checkCDATA(buf)) {
                        this.scanPCData(buf);
                        break;
                    }
                    else {
                        ch = this.scanWhitespace(buf);
                        if (ch != '<') {
                            this.unreadChar(ch);
                            this.scanPCData(buf);
                            break;
                        }
                    }
                }
                else {
                    if ((ch != '/') || this.ignoreWhitespace) {
                        buf.setLength(0);
                    }
                    if (ch == '/') {
                        this.unreadChar(ch);
                    }
                    break;
                }
            }
        }
        if (buf.length() == 0) {
            while (ch != '/') {
                if (ch == '!') {
                    ch = this.readChar();
                    if (ch != '-') {
                        throw this.expectedInput("Comment or Element");
                    }
                    ch = this.readChar();
                    if (ch != '-') {
                        throw this.expectedInput("Comment or Element");
                    }
                    this.skipComment();
                }
                else {
                    this.unreadChar(ch);
                    XMLElement child = this.createAnotherElement();
                    this.scanElement(child);
                    elt.addChild(child);
                }
                ch = this.scanWhitespace();
                if (ch != '<') {
                    throw this.expectedInput("<");
                }
                ch = this.readChar();
            }
            this.unreadChar(ch);
        }
        else {
            if (this.ignoreWhitespace) {
                elt.setContent(buf.toString().trim());
            }
            else {
                elt.setContent(buf.toString());
            }
        }
        ch = this.readChar();
        if (ch != '/') {
            throw this.expectedInput("/");
        }
        this.unreadChar(this.scanWhitespace());
        if (!this.checkLiteral(name)) {
            throw this.expectedInput(name);
        }
        if (this.scanWhitespace() != '>') {
            throw this.expectedInput(">");
        }
    }


    /**
     * Resolves an entity. The name of the entity is read from the reader. The value of the entity is appended to
     * <code>buf</code>.
     *
     * @param buf Where to put the entity value.
     *            <p/>
     *            </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The first &amp; has already been read.
     *            <li><code>buf != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected void resolveEntity(StringBuffer buf)
            throws IOException {
        char ch = '\0';
        StringBuffer keyBuf = new StringBuffer();
        for (; ;) {
            ch = this.readChar();
            if (ch == ';') {
                break;
            }
            keyBuf.append(ch);
        }
        String key = keyBuf.toString();
        if (key.charAt(0) == '#') {
            try {
                if (key.charAt(1) == 'x') {
                    ch = (char) Integer.parseInt(key.substring(2), 16);
                }
                else {
                    ch = (char) Integer.parseInt(key.substring(1), 10);
                }
            }
            catch (NumberFormatException e) {
                throw this.unknownEntity(key);
            }
            buf.append(ch);
        }
        else {
            char[] value = (char[]) this.entities.get(key);
            if (value == null) {
                throw this.unknownEntity(key);
            }
            buf.append(value);
        }
    }


    /**
     * Pushes a character back to the read-back buffer.
     *
     * @param ch The character to push back.
     *           <p/>
     *           </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li>The read-back buffer is empty. <li><code>ch !=
     *           '\0'</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected void unreadChar(char ch) {
        this.charReadTooMuch = ch;
    }


    /**
     * Creates a parse exception for when an invalid valueset is given to a method.
     *
     * @param name The name of the entity.
     *             <p/>
     *             </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected XMLParseException invalidValueSet(String name) {
        String msg = "Invalid value set (entity name = \"" + name + "\")";
        return new XMLParseException(this.getName(), this.parserLineNr, msg);
    }


    /**
     * Creates a parse exception for when an invalid value is given to a method.
     *
     * @param name  The name of the entity.
     * @param value The value of the entity.
     *              <p/>
     *              </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>value !=
     *              null</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected XMLParseException invalidValue(String name,
                                             String value) {
        String msg = "Attribute \"" + name + "\" does not contain a valid "
                + "value (\"" + value + "\")";
        return new XMLParseException(this.getName(), this.parserLineNr, msg);
    }


    /**
     * Creates a parse exception for when the end of the data input has been reached.
     */
    protected XMLParseException unexpectedEndOfData() {
        String msg = "Unexpected end of data reached";
        return new XMLParseException(this.getName(), this.parserLineNr, msg);
    }


    /**
     * Creates a parse exception for when a syntax error occured.
     *
     * @param context The context in which the error occured.
     *                <p/>
     *                </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>context != null</code>
     *                <li><code>context.length() &gt; 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected XMLParseException syntaxError(String context) {
        String msg = "Syntax error while parsing " + context;
        return new XMLParseException(this.getName(), this.parserLineNr, msg);
    }


    /**
     * Creates a parse exception for when the next character read is not the character that was expected.
     *
     * @param charSet The set of characters (in human readable form) that was expected.
     *                <p/>
     *                </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>charSet != null</code>
     *                <li><code>charSet.length() &gt; 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected XMLParseException expectedInput(String charSet) {
        String msg = "Expected: " + charSet;
        return new XMLParseException(this.getName(), this.parserLineNr, msg);
    }


    /**
     * Creates a parse exception for when an entity could not be resolved.
     *
     * @param name The name of the entity.
     *             <p/>
     *             </dl><dl><dt><b>Preconditions:</b></dt><dd> <ul><li><code>name != null</code> <li><code>name.length()
     *             &gt; 0</code> </ul></dd></dl>
     */
    protected XMLParseException unknownEntity(String name) {
        String msg = "Unknown or invalid entity: &" + name + ";";
        return new XMLParseException(this.getName(), this.parserLineNr, msg);
    }

}