eLearning Module Parser

---

Audits & consulting →

I do one-week, fixed-price code audits for B2B SaaS companies on AWS:

• Multi-Tenant SaaS on AWS: architecture, cost, and SOC 2 alignment
• AI-on-AWS for Regulated SaaS: Bedrock, RAG, and guardrails under SOC 2, HIPAA, or 21 CFR Part 11

Fixed price, written report, walkthrough call. Details at audits.putney.io.

---

A production-ready Java 17 library for parsing and validating SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, AICC, cmi5, and xAPI/TinCan modules. The parser normalizes metadata across formats, making it simple to integrate new eLearning packages into LMS platforms, content pipelines, and QA tooling.

Highlights

• Auto-detects SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 (editions 2-4), AICC, cmi5, and xAPI/TinCan manifests via pluggable detectors
• Produces typed metadata (Scorm2004Metadata, Scorm12Metadata, AiccMetadata, Cmi5Metadata, XapiMetadata) with consistent accessors for titles, launch URLs, structure, and mastery data
• Uses storage-agnostic FileAccess strategies (local directories, ZIP files, AWS S3 SDK v1/v2, in-memory payloads, and cached wrappers)
• Emits rich domain exceptions (ModuleDetectionException, ManifestParseException, ModuleParsingException) for graceful error handling
• Supports progress and event listeners for observability, plus optional SCORM 2004 schema validation
• Backed by extensive unit, integration, and property-based tests with real-world fixtures

Maven Coordinates

The library is published to Maven Central.

Maven

<dependency>
   <groupId>dev.jcputney</groupId>
   <artifactId>elearning-module-parser</artifactId>
   <version>1.0.0</version>
</dependency>

Gradle (Kotlin DSL)

implementation("dev.jcputney:elearning-module-parser:1.0.0")

Optional dependencies

Add one of the AWS SDKs to enable S3-backed storage:

<!-- Recommended: AWS SDK v2 -->
<dependency>
   <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
   <artifactId>s3</artifactId>
   <version>2.32.5</version>
</dependency>
<!-- Alternatively: AWS SDK v1 -->
<dependency>
   <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
   <artifactId>aws-java-sdk-s3</artifactId>
   <version>1.12.788</version>
</dependency>

Quick Start

try(ZipFileAccess access = new ZipFileAccess("path/to/module.zip")) {
   ModuleParserFactory factory = new DefaultModuleParserFactory(access);
   ModuleParser<?> parser = factory.getParser();
   ModuleMetadata<?> metadata = parser.parse();
   
   System.out.println("Module Type: "+metadata.getModuleType());
   System.out.println("Title: "+metadata.getTitle());
   System.out.println("Launch URL: "+metadata.getLaunchUrl());
}

Supported Formats

• SCORM 1.2: detected via imsmanifest.xml using the SCORM 1.2 namespace; exposes the organization tree, prerequisites, and mastery data.
• SCORM 2004: detected via imsmanifest.xml with SCORM 2004 namespaces; surfaces edition details, sequencing, rollup rules, and delivery controls.
• AICC: detected by a .crs descriptor containing a [Course] section; parses assignable units and prerequisite graphs.
• cmi5: detected by the presence of cmi5.xml; provides AU metadata, move-on criteria, and launch parameters.
• xAPI/TinCan: detected by the presence of tincan.xml; parses activity definitions, launch URLs, and metadata for Tin Can API packages.

Usage

Parse modules from different storage options

// ZIP archives
try(ZipFileAccess zip = new ZipFileAccess("module.zip")) {
  ModuleMetadata<?> metadata = new DefaultModuleParserFactory(zip).parseModule();
}

// Extracted directories
try(LocalFileAccess local = new LocalFileAccess("/path/to/folder")) {
   ModuleMetadata<?> metadata = new DefaultModuleParserFactory(local).parseModule();
}

// AWS S3 (SDK v2)
S3FileAccessV2 s3 = new S3FileAccessV2(s3Client, "bucket", "prefix/");
ModuleMetadata<?> metadata = new DefaultModuleParserFactory(s3).parseModule();

Available FileAccess implementations include LocalFileAccess, ZipFileAccess, S3FileAccessV1, S3FileAccessV2, ClasspathFileAccess, InMemoryFileAccess, and CachedFileAccess. You can also implement FileAccess for custom backends.

Work with metadata

ModuleMetadata<?> metadata = factory.parseModule();
System.out.println(metadata.getTitle());
System.out.println(metadata.getDuration());
System.out.println(metadata.getSizeOnDisk());

switch(metadata.getModuleType()) {
    case SCORM_2004 -> {
       Scorm2004Metadata scorm = (Scorm2004Metadata) metadata;
       scorm.getActivityDeliveryControls().forEach((id, controls) -> {
          // Inspect sequencing and navigation controls
       });
    }
    case AICC -> {
       AiccMetadata aicc = (AiccMetadata) metadata;
       System.out.println(aicc.getPrerequisitesGraph());
    }
    case CMI5 ->{
       Cmi5Metadata cmi5 = (Cmi5Metadata) metadata;
       cmi5.getAuDetails().forEach(au -> System.out.println(au.getLaunchMethod()));
    }
    case SCORM_12 ->{
       Scorm12Metadata scorm12 = (Scorm12Metadata) metadata;
       System.out.println(scorm12.getMasteryScores());
    }
    case XAPI ->{
       XapiMetadata xapi = (XapiMetadata) metadata;
       xapi.getActivities().forEach(activity -> System.out.println(activity.getName()));
    }
}

Enhanced metadata features

All metadata objects now provide additional helper methods for better LMS integration:

ModuleMetadata<?> metadata = factory.parseModule();

// Check if module has multiple launchable units (affects navigation UI)
boolean hasMultipleUnits = metadata.hasMultipleLaunchableUnits();

// Get the manifest filename
String manifestFile = metadata.getManifestFile();

// Module type and edition information
ModuleType type = metadata.getModuleType();
ModuleEditionType edition = metadata.getEditionType();

The hasMultipleLaunchableUnits() method is particularly useful for LMS player configuration, as it indicates whether navigation controls and table of contents should be displayed:

• SCORM 1.2: Multiple resources with scormType="sco"
• SCORM 2004: Multiple items in organization
• AICC: Multiple assignable units
• cmi5/xAPI: Always false (single AU/activity)

Performance optimization

Use CachedFileAccess to cache file reads and improve performance when parsing modules repeatedly:

try(ZipFileAccess zip = new ZipFileAccess("module.zip")){
   CachedFileAccess cached = new CachedFileAccess(zip);
   ModuleMetadata<?> metadata = new DefaultModuleParserFactory(cached).parseModule();

   // Subsequent operations will use cached data
   Map<String, Object> stats = cached.getCacheStatistics();
   System.out.println("Cache hit ratio: "+stats.get("hitRatio"));
}

Extend detection and parsing

Register additional detection plugins or parsers without touching the core pipeline:

ModuleTypeDetector detector = new DefaultModuleTypeDetector(fileAccess);
detector.registerPlugin(new ModuleTypeDetectorPlugin() {
   @Override public int getPriority () {
      return 100;
   }

   @Override public ModuleType detect (FileAccess access){
      return access.fileExists("custom-manifest.xml") ? ModuleType.CUSTOM : null;
   }
});

DefaultModuleParserFactory factory = new DefaultModuleParserFactory(fileAccess, detector);
factory.registerParser(ModuleType.CUSTOM, CustomModuleParser::new);

Validation and error handling

• Exceptions are typed to help you distinguish detection, manifest, and parsing failures.
• SCORM 2004 XSD validation is disabled by default. Enable it via the system property elearning.parser.scorm2004.validateXsd=true or the environment variable ELEARNING_SCORM2004_VALIDATE_XSD=true.
• Use CachedFileAccess to de-duplicate I/O when the same module is parsed repeatedly.

Development

Use the Maven wrapper to build and test:

./mvnw clean compile
./mvnw test
./mvnw verify
./mvnw test jacoco:report

Guidelines:

• Requires Java 17+
• Follows the repository .editorconfig (2-space indentation, 100-character lines)
• Tests use JUnit 5 and jqwik; integration fixtures live under src/test/resources/modules
• Pull requests should include updated tests and pass CI

Acknowledgments

• Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) for SCORM and cmi5 specifications
• Aviation Industry CBT Committee (AICC) for the AICC standard
• IMS Global Learning Consortium for content packaging guidance

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE and NOTICE for full details.

Versions 0.4.x and earlier were released under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0. Those releases remain available under their original LGPL-3.0 terms via Maven Central; relicensing applies to version 1.0.0 and later.