itext-java

Pros of PDFBox

• Open-source and free to use under Apache License 2.0
• Extensive documentation and community support
• Lighter weight and easier to integrate into existing projects

Cons of PDFBox

• Generally slower performance, especially for large PDF files
• Less feature-rich compared to iText, particularly for advanced PDF manipulation

Code Comparison

iText:

PdfDocument pdf = new PdfDocument(new PdfWriter(dest));
Document document = new Document(pdf);
document.add(new Paragraph("Hello World!"));
document.close();

PDFBox:

PDDocument document = new PDDocument();
PDPage page = new PDPage();
document.addPage(page);
PDPageContentStream contentStream = new PDPageContentStream(document, page);
contentStream.beginText();
contentStream.showText("Hello World!");
contentStream.endText();
contentStream.close();
document.save(dest);
document.close();

The code comparison shows that PDFBox requires more lines of code to achieve the same basic task of creating a PDF with text. iText provides a more concise API for simple operations, while PDFBox offers more granular control over the PDF creation process.

Pros of OpenHTMLtoPDF

• Open-source and free to use, with a more permissive license
• Better support for HTML and CSS rendering, including flexbox and grid layouts
• More active community development and frequent updates

Cons of OpenHTMLtoPDF

• Less mature and potentially less stable compared to iText
• Smaller ecosystem and fewer third-party integrations
• May have performance limitations with very large documents

Code Comparison

OpenHTMLtoPDF:

PdfRendererBuilder builder = new PdfRendererBuilder();
builder.withUri("input.html");
builder.toStream(outputStream);
builder.run();

iText:

HtmlConverter.convertToPdf(new File("input.html"),
                           new File("output.pdf"),
                           new ConverterProperties());

Both libraries offer relatively simple APIs for converting HTML to PDF. OpenHTMLtoPDF provides more granular control over the conversion process, while iText's approach is more straightforward for basic use cases.

OpenHTMLtoPDF is a good choice for projects requiring accurate HTML/CSS rendering and those preferring open-source solutions. iText may be better suited for enterprise applications or scenarios demanding high performance and extensive documentation.

Pros of OpenPDF

• Open-source and free to use, with a more permissive license (LGPL/MPL)
• Maintained by a community, potentially leading to faster bug fixes and feature additions
• Forked from an earlier version of iText, maintaining compatibility with many existing projects

Cons of OpenPDF

• Smaller user base and community compared to iText
• May lack some of the more advanced features found in recent iText versions
• Potentially slower development cycle for major new features

Code Comparison

OpenPDF:

PdfWriter writer = PdfWriter.getInstance(document, new FileOutputStream("output.pdf"));
document.open();
document.add(new Paragraph("Hello, OpenPDF!"));
document.close();

iText:

PdfWriter writer = new PdfWriter("output.pdf");
PdfDocument pdf = new PdfDocument(writer);
Document document = new Document(pdf);
document.add(new Paragraph("Hello, iText!"));
document.close();

The code snippets show that both libraries have similar basic usage patterns, but iText has a slightly different object hierarchy and initialization process. OpenPDF's API is more similar to older versions of iText, which may be beneficial for projects migrating from earlier iText versions.

Pros of JODConverter

• Supports a wide range of document formats, including Office documents and PDFs
• Utilizes LibreOffice/OpenOffice for high-quality conversions
• Offers both a Java library and a REST microservice

Cons of JODConverter

• Requires LibreOffice/OpenOffice installation, which can be resource-intensive
• May have slower conversion speeds compared to iText for PDF-specific operations
• Limited to document conversion tasks, while iText offers more PDF manipulation features

Code Comparison

JODConverter:

JodConverter.convert(inputFile).to(outputFile).execute();

iText:

PdfDocument pdf = new PdfDocument(new PdfReader(inputFile), new PdfWriter(outputFile));
PdfMerger merger = new PdfMerger(pdf);
merger.merge(pdf, 1, pdf.getNumberOfPages());
pdf.close();

JODConverter focuses on simple document conversion with a single method call, while iText provides more granular control over PDF operations. iText is better suited for complex PDF manipulations, whereas JODConverter excels in converting between various document formats. The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements of the project, with JODConverter being more versatile for general document conversions and iText being more powerful for PDF-specific tasks.