diff --git a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSFeatureTypeEncoder.java b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSFeatureTypeEncoder.java
index 9332804..eb2d567 100644
--- a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSFeatureTypeEncoder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSFeatureTypeEncoder.java
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.feature;
 
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.GSResourceEncoder;
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSFeatureDimensionInfoEncoder;
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSVirtualTableEncoder;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable.GSVirtualTableEncoder;
 
 import org.jdom.Element;
 
@@ -112,6 +112,14 @@ public class GSFeatureTypeEncoder extends GSResourceEncoder {
     	super.setMetadata("JDBC_VIRTUAL_TABLE", virtualtable);
     } 
     
+    /**
+     * Deletes the VirtualTable metadata
+     * 
+     * @return true if deleted, false otherwise
+     */
+    public boolean delMetadataVirtualTable(){
+    	return super.delMetadata("JDB_VIRTUAL_TABLE");
+    }    
     
     /**
      * delete a keyword from the list
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/GSVirtualTableEncoder.java b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/GSVirtualTableEncoder.java
deleted file mode 100644
index f844734..0000000
--- a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/GSVirtualTableEncoder.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,214 +0,0 @@
-/*
- *  GeoServer-Manager - Simple Manager Library for GeoServer
- *  
- *  Copyright (C) 2007,2011 GeoSolutions S.A.S.
- *  http://www.geo-solutions.it
- *
- * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
- * of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
- * in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
- * to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
- * copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
- * furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
- * 
- * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
- * all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
- * 
- * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
- * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
- * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
- * AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
- * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
- * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
- * THE SOFTWARE.
- */
-package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata;
-
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.List;
-
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.PropertyXMLEncoder;
-
-/**
- * GSVirtualTableEncoder - Encodes a metadata VirtualTable for a GeoServer
- * featureType.
- * 
- * Example (based on the example provided in the Geoserver documentation - see
- * {@link http://docs.geoserver.org/latest/en/user/data/database/sqlview.html#
- * parameterizing-sql-views}):
- * 
- * <pre>
- * {
- * 	@code
- * 	// Set-up the vtGeom
- * 	final GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder vtGeom = new GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder();
- * 	vtGeom.setup("the_geom", "MultiPolygon", "4326");
- * 
- * 	// Set-up 2 virtual table parameters
- * 	final GSVirtualTableParamEncoder vtParam1 = new GSVirtualTableParamEncoder();
- * 	vtParam1.setup("high", "100000000", "^[\\d]+$");
- * 	final GSVirtualTableParamEncoder vtParam2 = new GSVirtualTableParamEncoder();
- * 	vtParam2.setup("low", "0", "^[\\d]+$");
- * 
- * 	// sql
- * 	String sql = "select gid, state_name, the_geom from pgstates where persons between %low% and %high%";
- * 
- * 	// Set-up the virtual table
- * 	final GSVirtualTableEncoder vte = new GSVirtualTableEncoder();
- * 	vte.setup("popstates", sql, null, Arrays.asList(vtGeom),
- * 			Arrays.asList(vtParam1, vtParam2));
- * }
- * </pre>
- * 
- * For this example, the XML output is:
- * 
- * <pre>
- * {@code
- * <virtualTable>
- * 	<name>popstates</name>
- * 	<sql>select gid, state_name, the_geom from pgstates where persons between %low% and %high%</sql>
- * 	<geometry>
- * 		<name>the_geom</name>
- * 		<type>MultiPolygon</type>
- * 		<srid>4326</srid>
- * 	</geometry>
- * 	<parameter>
- * 		<name>high</name>
- * 		<defaultValue>100000000</defaultValue>
- * 		<regexpValidator>^[\d]+$</regexpValidator>
- * 	</parameter>
- * 	<parameter>
- * 		<name>low</name>
- * 		<defaultValue>0</defaultValue>
- * 		<regexpValidator>^[\d]+$</regexpValidator>
- * 	</parameter>
- * </virtualTable>
- * }
- * </pre>
- * 
- * @author Emmanuel Blondel - emmanuel.blondel1@gmail.com |
- *         emmanuel.blondel@fao.org
- * 
- */
-public class GSVirtualTableEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
-
-	private String name;
-	private String sql;
-	private List<String> keyColumns;
-	private List<GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder> geomEncList;
-	private List<GSVirtualTableParamEncoder> paramEncList;
-
-	/**
-	 * Constructs a GSVirtualTableEncoder
-	 */
-	public GSVirtualTableEncoder() {
-		super("virtualTable");
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Set-up quickly a GSVirtualTableEncoder. This unique entry point to set-up
-	 * is aimed to ensure that the order of metadata elements is well
-	 * maintained, and avoid errors at publication time in Geoserver.
-	 * 
-	 * @param name (must be the same as the featureType nativeName)
-	 * @param sql
-	 * @param keyColumns
-	 * @param geomEncList
-	 * @param paramEncList
-	 */
-	public void setup(String name, String sql, List<String> keyColumns,
-			List<GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder> geomEncList,
-			List<GSVirtualTableParamEncoder> paramEncList) {
-
-		this.getRoot().removeContent();
-		this.keyColumns = null;
-		this.geomEncList = null;
-		this.paramEncList = null;
-
-		this.name = name;
-		this.sql = sql;
-		set("name", this.name);
-		set("sql", this.sql);
-
-		if (keyColumns != null) {
-			this.keyColumns = new ArrayList<String>();
-			this.keyColumns.addAll(keyColumns);
-			for (String pk : this.keyColumns) {
-				add("keyColumn", pk);
-			}
-
-		}
-
-		if (geomEncList != null) {
-			this.geomEncList = new ArrayList<GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder>();
-			this.geomEncList.addAll(geomEncList);
-			for (GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder geomEnc : this.geomEncList) {
-				addContent(geomEnc.getRoot());
-			}
-		}
-
-		if (paramEncList != null) {
-			this.paramEncList = new ArrayList<GSVirtualTableParamEncoder>();
-			this.paramEncList.addAll(paramEncList);
-			for (GSVirtualTableParamEncoder paramEnc : this.paramEncList) {
-				addContent(paramEnc.getRoot());
-			}
-			;
-		}
-
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * get Name
-	 * 
-	 * @return the name of the virtual table
-	 */
-	public String getName() {
-		return this.name;
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * get SQL query
-	 * 
-	 * @return the sql query of the virtual table
-	 */
-	public String getSql() {
-		return this.sql;
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Get the list of key columns
-	 * 
-	 * @return
-	 */
-	public List<String> getKeyColumnList(){
-		return this.keyColumns;
-	}
-	
-	
-	/**
-	 * get the list of GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder
-	 * 
-	 * @return
-	 */
-	public List<GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder> getVirtualTableGeomEncoderList() {
-		return this.geomEncList;
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * get the list of VirtualTableParamEncoder
-	 * 
-	 * @return
-	 */
-	public List<GSVirtualTableParamEncoder> getVirtualTableParamEncoderList() {
-		return this.paramEncList;
-	}
-
-	// TODO (eventually) utils method to check consistency between SQL view
-	// params provided by the sql string
-	// and the virtual table parameters set up in parallel
-	public boolean checkVirtualTableParams() {
-		return false;
-	}
-
-}
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/GSVirtualTableEncoder.java b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/GSVirtualTableEncoder.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aea2464
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/GSVirtualTableEncoder.java
@@ -0,0 +1,339 @@
+/*
+ *  GeoServer-Manager - Simple Manager Library for GeoServer
+ *  
+ *  Copyright (C) 2007,2011 GeoSolutions S.A.S.
+ *  http://www.geo-solutions.it
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+ * of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+ * in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+ * to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+ * copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+ * furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+ * 
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+ * all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ * 
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+ * AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+ * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+ * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+ * THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.jdom.Element;
+import org.jdom.filter.Filter;
+
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.ElementUtils;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.XmlElement;
+
+/**
+ * GSVirtualTableEncoder - Encodes a metadata VirtualTable for a GeoServer
+ * featureType.
+ * 
+ * Example (based on the example provided in the Geoserver documentation - see
+ * {@link http://docs.geoserver.org/latest/en/user/data/database/sqlview.html#
+ * parameterizing-sql-views}):
+ * 
+ * <pre>
+ * {
+ * 	@code
+ * 	// Set-up the vtGeom
+ * 	final VTGeometryEncoder vtGeom = new VTGeometryEncoder();
+ * 	vtGeom.setup("the_geom", "MultiPolygon", "4326");
+ * 
+ * 	// Set-up 2 virtual table parameters
+ * 	final VTParameterEncoder vtParam1 = new VTParameterEncoder();
+ * 	vtParam1.setup("high", "100000000", "^[\\d]+$");
+ * 	final VTParameterEncoder vtParam2 = new VTParameterEncoder();
+ * 	vtParam2.setup("low", "0", "^[\\d]+$");
+ * 
+ * 	// sql
+ * 	String sql = "select gid, state_name, the_geom from pgstates where persons between %low% and %high%";
+ * 
+ * 	// Set-up the virtual table
+ * 	final GSVirtualTableEncoder vte = new GSVirtualTableEncoder();
+ * 	vte.setName("popstates");
+ * 	vte.setSql("select gid, state_name, the_geom from pgstates where persons between %low% and %high%");
+ *  vte.addKeyColumn("gid");
+ *  vte.addVirtualTableGeometry(vtGeom);
+ *  vte.addVirtualTableParameter(vtParam1);
+ *  vte.addVirtualTableParameter(vtParam2);
+ * }
+ * </pre>
+ * 
+ * For this example, the XML output is:
+ * 
+ * <pre>
+ * {@code
+ * <virtualTable>
+ * 	<name>popstates</name>
+ * 	<sql>select gid, state_name, the_geom from pgstates where persons between %low% and %high%</sql>
+ * 	<geometry>
+ * 		<name>the_geom</name>
+ * 		<type>MultiPolygon</type>
+ * 		<srid>4326</srid>
+ * 	</geometry>
+ *  <keyColumn>gid</keyColumn>
+ * 	<parameter>
+ * 		<name>high</name>
+ * 		<defaultValue>100000000</defaultValue>
+ * 		<regexpValidator>^[\d]+$</regexpValidator>
+ * 	</parameter>
+ * 	<parameter>
+ * 		<name>low</name>
+ * 		<defaultValue>0</defaultValue>
+ * 		<regexpValidator>^[\d]+$</regexpValidator>
+ * 	</parameter>
+ * </virtualTable>
+ * }
+ * </pre>
+ * 
+ * @author Emmanuel Blondel - emmanuel.blondel1@gmail.com |
+ *         emmanuel.blondel@fao.org
+ * 
+ */
+public class GSVirtualTableEncoder extends XmlElement {
+
+	public final static String NAME = "name";
+	public final static String SQL = "sql";
+	public final static String KEYCOLUMN = "keyColumn";
+
+	/**
+	 * Constructs a GSVirtualTableEncoder
+	 */
+	public GSVirtualTableEncoder() {
+		super("virtualTable");	
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Constructs directly a GSVirtualTableEncoder
+	 * 
+	 * @param name
+	 * @param sql
+	 * @param keyColumns
+	 * @param geomEncList
+	 * @param paramEncList
+	 */
+	public GSVirtualTableEncoder(String name, String sql, List<String> keyColumns,
+			List<VTGeometryEncoder> geomEncList,
+			List<VTParameterEncoder> paramEncList){
+		super("virtualTable");
+		this.setup(name, sql, keyColumns, geomEncList, paramEncList);
+	}		
+	
+	/**
+	 * Set-up quickly a GSVirtualTableEncoder
+	 * 
+	 * @param name (must be the same as the featureType nativeName)
+	 * @param sql
+	 * @param keyColumns
+	 * @param geomEncList
+	 * @param paramEncList
+	 */
+	protected void setup(String name, String sql, List<String> keyColumns,
+			List<VTGeometryEncoder> geomEncList,
+			List<VTParameterEncoder> paramEncList) {
+
+		setName(name);
+		setSql(sql);
+
+		if (keyColumns != null) {	
+			for (String pk : keyColumns) {
+				addKeyColumn(pk);
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (geomEncList != null) {
+			for (VTGeometryEncoder geomEnc : geomEncList) {
+				addVirtualTableGeometry(geomEnc);
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (paramEncList != null) {
+			for(VTParameterEncoder paramEnc : paramEncList){
+				addVirtualTableParameter(paramEnc);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Add the 'name' node with a text value from 'name'
+	 * 
+	 * @note REQUIRED to configure a virtual table
+	 */
+	protected void addName(final String name){
+		add(NAME, name);
+	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * Set or modify the 'name' node with a text value from 'name'
+	 * 
+	 * @note REQUIRED to configure a virtual table
+	 */
+	public void setName(final String name) {
+		set(NAME, name);
+	}	
+	
+	/** 
+	 * Get the name of the virtual table
+	 * 
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	public String getName() {
+		final Element nameNode = ElementUtils.contains(getRoot(), NAME, 1);
+		if (nameNode != null)
+			return nameNode.getText();
+		else
+			return null;
+	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * Add the 'sql' node with a text value from 'sql'
+	 * 
+	 * @note REQUIRED to configure a virtual table
+	 */
+	protected void addSql(final String sql){
+		add(SQL, sql);
+	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * Set or modify the 'sql' node with a text value from 'sql'
+	 * 
+	 * @note REQUIRED to configure a virtual table
+	 */
+	public void setSql(final String sql) {
+		set(SQL, sql);
+	}	
+	
+	/** 
+	 * Get the sql query
+	 * 
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	public String getSql() {
+		final Element sqlNode = ElementUtils.contains(getRoot(), SQL, 1);
+		if (sqlNode != null)
+			return sqlNode.getText();
+		else
+			return null;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Adds a keyColumn
+	 * 
+	 * @param keycolumn
+	 */
+	public void addKeyColumn(String keycolumn){
+		final Element el = new Element(KEYCOLUMN);
+		el.setText(keycolumn);
+		this.getRoot().addContent(el);
+	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * Deletes a keyColumn
+	 * 
+	 * @param keycolumn
+	 * @return true if the keycolumn was removed
+	 */
+	public boolean delKeyColumn(final String keycolumn){
+		final Element el = new Element(KEYCOLUMN);
+		el.setText(keycolumn);
+		return (this.getRoot().removeContent(new Filter() {
+			private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+			public boolean matches(Object obj) {
+				if (((Element) obj).getText().equals(keycolumn)) {
+					return true;
+				}
+				return false;
+			}
+		})).size() == 0 ? false : true;
+	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * Adds a geometry to the VirtualTable
+	 * 
+	 * @param geomEnc
+	 */
+	public void addVirtualTableGeometry(VTGeometryEncoder geomEnc){
+		this.getRoot().addContent(geomEnc.getRoot());
+	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * Adds quickly a geometry to the virtual table
+	 * 
+	 * @param name
+	 * @param geometryType
+	 * @param srid
+	 */
+	public void addVirtualTableGeometry(String name, String geometryType, String srid){
+		final VTGeometryEncoder gEnc = new VTGeometryEncoder();
+		gEnc.setup(name, geometryType, srid);
+		this.getRoot().addContent(gEnc.getRoot());
+	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * Deletes a geometry from the VirtualTable
+	 * 
+	 * @param name
+	 * @return true if the geometry was removed, otherwise false
+	 */
+	public boolean delVirtualTableGeometry(String name){
+		return (this.getRoot()
+				.removeContent(VTGeometryEncoder
+						.getFilterByName(name))).size() == 0 ? false
+				: true;
+	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * Adds a parameter to the VirtualTable
+	 * 
+	 * @param paramEnc
+	 */
+	public void addVirtualTableParameter(VTParameterEncoder paramEnc){
+		this.getRoot().addContent(paramEnc.getRoot());
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Adds quickly a parameter to the VirtualTable
+	 * 
+	 * @param name
+	 * @param defaultValue
+	 * @param regexpValidator
+	 */
+	public void addVirtualTableParameter(String name, String defaultValue, String regexpValidator){
+		final VTParameterEncoder pEnc = new VTParameterEncoder();
+		pEnc.setup(name, defaultValue, regexpValidator);
+		this.getRoot().addContent(pEnc.getRoot());
+	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * Deletes a parameter from the VirtualTable
+	 * 
+	 * @param name
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	public boolean delVirtualTableParameter(String name){
+		return (this.getRoot()
+				.removeContent(VTParameterEncoder
+						.getFilterByName(name))).size() == 0 ? false
+				: true;
+	}
+	
+	
+	/*
+	 * a method to check either the virtual parameters as specified in the sql
+	 * query map those encoded in VTParameterEncoder, i.e. check the number and
+	 * names of parameters.
+	 */
+	public boolean validate() throws IllegalStateException{
+		 throw new UnsupportedOperationException("not yet implemented");
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/VirtualTableGeometry.java b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTGeometry.java
similarity index 93%
rename from src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/VirtualTableGeometry.java
rename to src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTGeometry.java
index 0b19462..602d352 100644
--- a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/VirtualTableGeometry.java
+++ b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTGeometry.java
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
  * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
  * THE SOFTWARE.
  */
-package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata;
+package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable;
 
 /**
  * Enumeration of Virtual Table geometry members
@@ -31,6 +31,6 @@ package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata;
  *         emmanuel.blondel@fao.org
  * 
  */
-public enum VirtualTableGeometry {
+public enum VTGeometry {
 	name, type, srid
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder.java b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTGeometryEncoder.java
similarity index 56%
rename from src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder.java
rename to src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTGeometryEncoder.java
index d7c0a25..f5adb7e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTGeometryEncoder.java
@@ -22,15 +22,16 @@
  * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
  * THE SOFTWARE.
  */
-package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata;
+package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable;
 
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.ElementUtils;
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.PropertyXMLEncoder;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.XmlElement;
 
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
 
 import org.jdom.Element;
+import org.jdom.filter.Filter;
 
 /**
  * GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder - Encodes a metadata VirtualTable geometry for a
@@ -40,7 +41,9 @@ import org.jdom.Element;
  * {
  * 	@code
  * 	final GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder vtGeom = new GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder();
- * 	vtGeom.setup("the_geom", "MultiPolygon", "4326");
+ * 	vtGeom.setVirtualTableGeometryMember(VTGeometry.name, "the_geom");
+ * 	vtGeom.setVirtualTableGeometryMember(VTGeometry.type, "MultiPolygon");
+ * 	vtGeom.setVirtualTableGeometryMember(VTGeometry.srid, "4326");
  * }
  * </pre>
  * 
@@ -60,16 +63,62 @@ import org.jdom.Element;
  *         emmanuel.blondel@fao.org
  * 
  */
-public class GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
+public class VTGeometryEncoder extends XmlElement {
 
+	/** 
+	 * A class to filter the VirtualTable geometries by name
+	 *
+	 */
+	public static class filterByName implements Filter {
+
+		final private String key;
+
+		public filterByName(String name) {
+			this.key = name;
+		}
+
+		private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+		public boolean matches(Object obj) {
+			Element el = ((Element) obj)
+					.getChild(VTGeometry.name.toString());
+			if (el != null && el.getTextTrim().equals(key)) {
+				return true;
+			}
+			return false;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/** 
+	 * Get a Filter using the VTGeometry name
+	 * 
+	 * @param name
+	 * @return the filter
+	 */
+	public static Filter getFilterByName(String name) {
+		return new filterByName(name);
+	}
+	
 	/**
 	 * Constructs a GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder
 	 * 
 	 */
-	public GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder() {
+	public VTGeometryEncoder() {
 		super("geometry");
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Constructs quickly a VTGeometryEncoder
+	 * 
+	 * @param name
+	 * @param geometryType
+	 * @param srid
+	 */
+	public VTGeometryEncoder(String name, String geometryType, String srid) {
+		super("geometry");
+		this.setup(name, geometryType, srid);
+	}
+	
 	/**
 	 * Set-up quickly a GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder
 	 * 
@@ -77,10 +126,10 @@ public class GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
 	 * @param geometryType
 	 * @param srid
 	 */
-	public void setup(String name, String geometryType, String srid) {
-		set(VirtualTableGeometry.name.name(), name);
-		set(VirtualTableGeometry.type.name(), geometryType);
-		set(VirtualTableGeometry.srid.name(), srid);
+	protected void setup(String name, String geometryType, String srid) {
+		set(VTGeometry.name.name(), name);
+		set(VTGeometry.type.name(), geometryType);
+		set(VTGeometry.srid.name(), srid);
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -88,8 +137,8 @@ public class GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
 	 * 
 	 * @param vtGeometryMembers
 	 */
-	public void setup(Map<VirtualTableGeometry, String> vtGeometryMembers) {
-		for (Entry<VirtualTableGeometry, String> vtGeomMember : vtGeometryMembers
+	public void setup(Map<VTGeometry, String> vtGeometryMembers) {
+		for (Entry<VTGeometry, String> vtGeomMember : vtGeometryMembers
 				.entrySet()) {
 			set(vtGeomMember.getKey().toString(), vtGeomMember.getValue());
 		}
@@ -101,7 +150,7 @@ public class GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
 	 * @param type
 	 * @param value
 	 */
-	public void setVirtualTableGeometryMember(VirtualTableGeometry type,
+	public void setVirtualTableGeometryMember(VTGeometry type,
 			String value) {
 		set(type.toString(), value);
 	}
@@ -112,8 +161,8 @@ public class GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
 	 * @param type
 	 * @return
 	 */
-	public boolean delVirtualTableGeometryMember(VirtualTableGeometry type) {
-		return ElementUtils.remove(this.getRoot(), get(type.toString()));
+	public boolean delVirtualTableGeometryMember(VTGeometry type) {
+		return ElementUtils.remove(this.getRoot(), this.getRoot().getChild(type.toString()));
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -122,8 +171,8 @@ public class GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
 	 * @param type
 	 * @return
 	 */
-	public String getVirtualTableGeometryMember(VirtualTableGeometry type) {
-		Element el = get(type.toString());
+	public String getVirtualTableGeometryMember(VTGeometry type) {
+		Element el = this.getRoot().getChild(type.toString());
 		if (el != null)
 			return el.getTextTrim();
 		else
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/VirtualTableParameter.java b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTParameter.java
similarity index 93%
rename from src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/VirtualTableParameter.java
rename to src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTParameter.java
index 2adac0b..a454c67 100644
--- a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/VirtualTableParameter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTParameter.java
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
  * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
  * THE SOFTWARE.
  */
-package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata;
+package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable;
 
 /**
  * Enumeration of SQL View featureType virtual table parameter members
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata;
  *         emmanuel.blondel@fao.org
  * 
  */
-public enum VirtualTableParameter {
+public enum VTParameter {
 	name, defaultValue, regexpValidator
 
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/GSVirtualTableParamEncoder.java b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTParameterEncoder.java
similarity index 54%
rename from src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/GSVirtualTableParamEncoder.java
rename to src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTParameterEncoder.java
index 9faae16..54d208e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/GSVirtualTableParamEncoder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/metadata/virtualtable/VTParameterEncoder.java
@@ -22,32 +22,36 @@
  * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
  * THE SOFTWARE.
  */
-package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata;
+package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable;
 
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.ElementUtils;
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.PropertyXMLEncoder;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.XmlElement;
 
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
 
 import org.jdom.Element;
+import org.jdom.filter.Filter;
 
 /**
  * GSVirtualTableParamEncoder - Encodes a metadata VirtualTable parameter for a
  * GeoServer featureType, as follows:
  * 
  * <pre>
- * {
- * 	@code
- * 	final GSVirtualTableParamEncoder vtParam = new GSVirtualTableParamEncoder();
- * 	vtParam.setup("fieldname", "default_value", "^[\\w\\d\\s]+$");
+ * { @code
+ * 	final VTParameterEncoder vtParam = new VTParameterEncoder();
+ * 	vtParam.setVirtualTableParamMember(VTParameter.name, "fieldname");
+ * 	vtParam.setVirtualTableParamMember(VTParameter.defaultValue,
+ * 			"default_value");
+ * 	vtParam.setVirtualTableParamMember(VTParameter.regexpValidator,
+ * 			"^[\\w\\d\\s]+$");
  * }
  * </pre>
  * 
  * For this example, the XML output is:
  * 
  * <pre>
- * {@code
+ * { @code
  * <parameter>
  * 	<name>fieldname</name>
  * 	<defaultValue>default_value</defaultValue>
@@ -60,15 +64,61 @@ import org.jdom.Element;
  *         emmanuel.blondel@fao.org
  * 
  */
-public class GSVirtualTableParamEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
+public class VTParameterEncoder extends XmlElement {
 
+	/** 
+	 * A class to filter the VirtualTable parameters by name
+	 *
+	 */
+	public static class filterByName implements Filter {
+
+		final private String key;
+
+		public filterByName(String name) {
+			this.key = name;
+		}
+
+		private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+		public boolean matches(Object obj) {
+			Element el = ((Element) obj)
+					.getChild(VTParameter.name.toString());
+			if (el != null && el.getTextTrim().equals(key)) {
+				return true;
+			}
+			return false;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/** 
+	 * Get a Filter using the VTParameter name
+	 * 
+	 * @param name
+	 * @return the filter
+	 */
+	public static Filter getFilterByName(String name) {
+		return new filterByName(name);
+	}
+	
 	/**
 	 * Constructs a GSVirtualTableParamEncoder
 	 */
-	public GSVirtualTableParamEncoder() {
+	public VTParameterEncoder() {
 		super("parameter");
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Constructs quickly a VTParameterEncoder
+	 * 
+	 * @param name
+	 * @param defaultValue
+	 * @param regexpValidator
+	 */
+	public VTParameterEncoder(String name, String defaultValue, String regexpValidator){
+		super("parameter");
+		this.setup(name, defaultValue, regexpValidator);
+	}
+	
 	/**
 	 * Set-up quickly a VirtualTable parameter
 	 * 
@@ -76,10 +126,10 @@ public class GSVirtualTableParamEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
 	 * @param defaultValue
 	 * @param regexpValidator
 	 */
-	public void setup(String name, String defaultValue, String regexpValidator) {
-		set(VirtualTableParameter.name.name(), name);
-		set(VirtualTableParameter.defaultValue.name(), defaultValue);
-		set(VirtualTableParameter.regexpValidator.name(), regexpValidator);
+	protected void setup(String name, String defaultValue, String regexpValidator) {
+		set(VTParameter.name.name(), name);
+		set(VTParameter.defaultValue.name(), defaultValue);
+		set(VTParameter.regexpValidator.name(), regexpValidator);
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -87,8 +137,8 @@ public class GSVirtualTableParamEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
 	 * 
 	 * @param vtParamMembers
 	 */
-	public void setup(Map<VirtualTableParameter, String> vtParamMembers) {
-		for (Entry<VirtualTableParameter, String> vtParamMember : vtParamMembers
+	public void setup(Map<VTParameter, String> vtParamMembers) {
+		for (Entry<VTParameter, String> vtParamMember : vtParamMembers
 				.entrySet()) {
 			set(vtParamMember.getKey().toString(), vtParamMember.getValue());
 		}
@@ -100,7 +150,7 @@ public class GSVirtualTableParamEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
 	 * @param type
 	 * @param value
 	 */
-	public void setVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter type,
+	public void setVirtualTableParamMember(VTParameter type,
 			String value) {
 		set(type.toString(), value);
 	}
@@ -111,8 +161,8 @@ public class GSVirtualTableParamEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
 	 * @param type
 	 * @return
 	 */
-	public boolean delVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter type) {
-		return ElementUtils.remove(this.getRoot(), get(type.toString()));
+	public boolean delVirtualTableParamMember(VTParameter type) {
+		return ElementUtils.remove(this.getRoot(), this.getRoot().getChild(type.toString()));
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -121,8 +171,8 @@ public class GSVirtualTableParamEncoder extends PropertyXMLEncoder {
 	 * @param type
 	 * @return
 	 */
-	public String getVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter type) {
-		Element el = get(type.toString());
+	public String getVirtualTableParamMember(VTParameter type) {
+		Element el = getRoot().getChild(type.toString());
 		if (el != null)
 			return el.getTextTrim();
 		else
diff --git a/src/test/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSFeatureEncoderTest.java b/src/test/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSFeatureEncoderTest.java
index 4750863..b448ce6 100644
--- a/src/test/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSFeatureEncoderTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSFeatureEncoderTest.java
@@ -27,10 +27,10 @@ import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.GSResourceEncoder;
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSDimensionInfoEncoder;
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSDimensionInfoEncoder.Presentation;
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSDimensionInfoEncoder.PresentationDiscrete;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable.GSVirtualTableEncoder;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable.VTGeometryEncoder;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable.VTParameterEncoder;
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSFeatureDimensionInfoEncoder;
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSVirtualTableEncoder;
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder;
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSVirtualTableParamEncoder;
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadatalink.GSMetadataLinkInfoEncoder;
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.ElementUtils;
 import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.publisher.GeoserverRESTPublisherTest;
@@ -38,7 +38,6 @@ import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.publisher.GeoserverRESTPublisherTest;
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.math.BigDecimal;
-import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.jdom.Element;
@@ -149,7 +148,7 @@ public class GSFeatureEncoderTest extends GeoserverRESTPublisherTest {
         
         GSFeatureDimensionInfoEncoder dim2 = new GSFeatureDimensionInfoEncoder("ELE");
         
-        encoder.addMetadata("elevation", dim2);
+        encoder.addMetadataDimension("elevation", dim2);
         dim2.setPresentation(PresentationDiscrete.DISCRETE_INTERVAL, BigDecimal.valueOf(10));
         Element el = ElementUtils.contains(encoder.getRoot(), GSDimensionInfoEncoder.PRESENTATION);
         Assert.assertNotNull(el);
@@ -163,7 +162,7 @@ public class GSFeatureEncoderTest extends GeoserverRESTPublisherTest {
 
         dim2.setPresentation(Presentation.CONTINUOUS_INTERVAL);
         
-        encoder.setMetadata("time", new GSFeatureDimensionInfoEncoder("time"));
+        encoder.setMetadataDimension("time", new GSFeatureDimensionInfoEncoder("time"));
         el = ElementUtils.contains(encoder.getRoot(), GSDimensionInfoEncoder.PRESENTATION);
         Assert.assertNotNull(el);
         el = ElementUtils.contains(encoder.getRoot(), GSDimensionInfoEncoder.RESOLUTION);
@@ -214,7 +213,7 @@ public class GSFeatureEncoderTest extends GeoserverRESTPublisherTest {
         // LOGGER.info(encoder.toString());
 
         final String metadata = "elevation";
-        encoder.setMetadata(metadata, elevationDimension);
+        encoder.setMetadataDimension(metadata, elevationDimension);
 
         elevationDimension.setPresentation(PresentationDiscrete.DISCRETE_INTERVAL,
                 BigDecimal.valueOf(10));
@@ -261,22 +260,31 @@ public class GSFeatureEncoderTest extends GeoserverRESTPublisherTest {
         //virtual table
         //-------------
         // Set-up the vtGeom
-        final GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder vtGeom = new GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder();
-        vtGeom.setup("the_geom", "MultiPolygon", "4326");
+        final VTGeometryEncoder vtGeom = new VTGeometryEncoder("the_geom", "Point", "4326");
          
         // Set-up 2 virtual table parameters
-        final GSVirtualTableParamEncoder vtParam1 = new GSVirtualTableParamEncoder();
-        vtParam1.setup("high", "100000000", "^[\\d]+$");
-        final GSVirtualTableParamEncoder vtParam2 = new GSVirtualTableParamEncoder();
-        vtParam2.setup("low", "0", "^[\\d]+$");
+        final VTParameterEncoder vtParam1 = new VTParameterEncoder("high", "100000000", "^[\\d]+$");
+        final VTParameterEncoder vtParam2 = new VTParameterEncoder("low", "0", "^[\\d]+$");
          
         // sql
-        String sql = "select gid, state_name, the_geom from pgstates where persons between %low% and %high%";
+        String sql = "select gid, state_name, the_geom from pgstates where persons between %low% and %high% and state_abbr = '%state%'";
         
         //set-up the virtual table
         final GSVirtualTableEncoder vte = new GSVirtualTableEncoder();
-        vte.setup(nativeName, sql, null, Arrays.asList(vtGeom), Arrays.asList(vtParam1, vtParam2));
-        fte.setMetadataVirtualTable(vte);
+        vte.setName(nativeName);
+        vte.setSql(sql);
+        vte.addVirtualTableGeometry(vtGeom);
+        vte.addVirtualTableParameter(vtParam1);
+        vte.addVirtualTableParameter(vtParam2);
+        fte.setMetadataVirtualTable(vte); //Set the virtual table 
+        
+        //modif the vte
+        vte.delVirtualTableGeometry("the_geom");
+        vte.addVirtualTableGeometry("the_geom", "MultiPolygon", "4326");
+        
+        final VTParameterEncoder vtParam3 = new VTParameterEncoder("state", "FL", "^[\\w\\d\\s]+$");
+        vte.addVirtualTableParameter(vtParam3);
+        vte.addKeyColumn("gid");
         
         //Layer encoder
         //-------------
diff --git a/src/test/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSVirtualTableEncoderTest.java b/src/test/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSVirtualTableEncoderTest.java
index 7bbb992..c149e81 100644
--- a/src/test/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSVirtualTableEncoderTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/it/geosolutions/geoserver/rest/encoder/feature/GSVirtualTableEncoderTest.java
@@ -1,79 +1,99 @@
 package it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.feature;
 
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSVirtualTableEncoder;
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder;
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.GSVirtualTableParamEncoder;
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.VirtualTableGeometry;
-import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.VirtualTableParameter;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable.GSVirtualTableEncoder;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable.VTGeometryEncoder;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable.VTParameterEncoder;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable.VTGeometry;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.metadata.virtualtable.VTParameter;
+import it.geosolutions.geoserver.rest.encoder.utils.XmlElement;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
 
 import junit.framework.Assert;
 
+import org.jdom.Element;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 /**
  * 
  * @author eblondel
- *
+ * 
  */
 public class GSVirtualTableEncoderTest {
-	
+
 	@Test
-	public void virtualTableTest(){
-		
+	public void virtualTableTest() {
+
 		// Set-up the vtGeom
-		final GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder vtGeom = new GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder();
-		vtGeom.setup("the_geom", "MultiPolygon", "4326");
+		final VTGeometryEncoder vtGeom = new VTGeometryEncoder("the_geom",
+				"MultiPolygon", "4326");
 
 		// Set-up 2 virtual table parameters
-		final GSVirtualTableParamEncoder vtParam1 = new GSVirtualTableParamEncoder();
-		vtParam1.setup("fieldname1", "default_value1", "^[\\w\\d\\s]+$");
-		final GSVirtualTableParamEncoder vtParam2 = new GSVirtualTableParamEncoder();
-		vtParam2.setup("fieldname2", "default_value2", "^[\\w\\d\\s]+$");
+		final VTParameterEncoder vtParam1 = new VTParameterEncoder(
+				"fieldname1", "default_value1", "^[\\w\\d\\s]+$");
+		final VTParameterEncoder vtParam2 = new VTParameterEncoder(
+				"fieldname2", "default_value2", "^[\\w\\d\\s]+$");
 
 		// sql
 		String sql = "select the_geom, id, field1, field2 from mytable where field1 = '%fieldname1%' and field2 = '%fieldname2%'";
 
 		// Set-up the virtual table
 		final GSVirtualTableEncoder vte = new GSVirtualTableEncoder();
-		vte.setup("mysqlview", sql, Arrays.asList("id"), Arrays.asList(vtGeom), Arrays.asList(vtParam1, vtParam2));
-		
-		//TESTS
-		
-		Assert.assertEquals("mysqlview", vte.getName());
-		Assert.assertEquals(sql, vte.getSql());
-		Assert.assertEquals("id", vte.getKeyColumnList().get(0));
-		
-		final GSVirtualTableGeomEncoder ge = vte.getVirtualTableGeomEncoderList().get(0);
-		Assert.assertEquals("the_geom", ge.getVirtualTableGeometryMember(VirtualTableGeometry.name));
-		Assert.assertEquals("MultiPolygon", ge.getVirtualTableGeometryMember(VirtualTableGeometry.type));
-		Assert.assertEquals("4326", ge.getVirtualTableGeometryMember(VirtualTableGeometry.srid));
-		
-		final GSVirtualTableParamEncoder p1 = vte.getVirtualTableParamEncoderList().get(0);
-		final GSVirtualTableParamEncoder p2 = vte.getVirtualTableParamEncoderList().get(1);
-		Assert.assertEquals("fieldname1", p1.getVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter.name));
-		Assert.assertEquals("default_value1", p1.getVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter.defaultValue));
-		Assert.assertEquals("^[\\w\\d\\s]+$", p1.getVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter.regexpValidator));
-		Assert.assertEquals("fieldname2", p2.getVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter.name));
-		Assert.assertEquals("default_value2", p2.getVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter.defaultValue));
-		Assert.assertEquals("^[\\w\\d\\s]+$", p2.getVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter.regexpValidator));
-		
-		ge.setVirtualTableGeometryMember(VirtualTableGeometry.type, "Point");
-		p1.setVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter.name, "newfieldname");
-		vte.setup("mysqlview", sql, null, Arrays.asList(ge), Arrays.asList(p1,p2));
-		
-		Assert.assertEquals("mysqlview", vte.getName());
-		Assert.assertEquals(sql, vte.getSql());
-		Assert.assertNull(vte.getKeyColumnList());
-		Assert.assertEquals("Point", vte.getVirtualTableGeomEncoderList().get(0)
-											.getVirtualTableGeometryMember(VirtualTableGeometry.type));
-		Assert.assertEquals("newfieldname", vte.getVirtualTableParamEncoderList().get(0)
-											.getVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter.name));
+		vte.setName("mysqlview");
+		vte.setSql(sql);
+		vte.addKeyColumn("id");
+		vte.addVirtualTableGeometry(vtGeom);
+		vte.addVirtualTableParameter(vtParam1);
+		vte.addVirtualTableParameter(vtParam2);
 
-		Assert.assertTrue(vtGeom.delVirtualTableGeometryMember(VirtualTableGeometry.srid));
-		Assert.assertTrue(vtParam1.delVirtualTableParamMember(VirtualTableParameter.regexpValidator));
+		// TESTS
+
+		Assert.assertEquals("mysqlview", vte.getName());
+		Assert.assertEquals(sql, vte.getSql());
+		Assert.assertEquals("id", vte.getRoot().getChildText("keyColumn"));
+
+		final Element ge = (Element) vte.getRoot().getChild("geometry");
+		Assert.assertEquals("the_geom",
+				ge.getChildText(VTGeometry.name.toString()));
+		Assert.assertEquals("MultiPolygon",
+				ge.getChildText(VTGeometry.type.toString()));
+		Assert.assertEquals("4326", ge.getChildText(VTGeometry.srid.toString()));
+
+		final Element p1 = (Element) vte.getRoot().getChildren("parameter")
+				.get(0);
+		final Element p2 = (Element) vte.getRoot().getChildren("parameter")
+				.get(1);
+		Assert.assertEquals("fieldname1",
+				p1.getChildText(VTParameter.name.toString()));
+		Assert.assertEquals("default_value1",
+				p1.getChildText(VTParameter.defaultValue.toString()));
+		Assert.assertEquals("^[\\w\\d\\s]+$",
+				p1.getChildText(VTParameter.regexpValidator.toString()));
+		Assert.assertEquals("fieldname2",
+				p2.getChildText(VTParameter.name.toString()));
+		Assert.assertEquals("default_value2",
+				p2.getChildText(VTParameter.defaultValue.toString()));
+		Assert.assertEquals("^[\\w\\d\\s]+$",
+				p2.getChildText(VTParameter.regexpValidator.toString()));
+
+		vte.delKeyColumn("id");
+		Assert.assertNull(vte.getRoot().getChildText("keyColumn"));
+		Assert.assertEquals("mysqlview", vte.getName());
+		Assert.assertEquals(sql, vte.getSql());
+
+		vtGeom.setVirtualTableGeometryMember(VTGeometry.type, "Point");
+		vtParam1.setVirtualTableParamMember(VTParameter.name, "newfieldname");
+
+		Assert.assertEquals("Point",
+				((Element) vte.getRoot().getChildren("geometry").get(0))
+						.getChildText(VTGeometry.type.toString()));
+		Assert.assertEquals("newfieldname", ((Element) vte.getRoot()
+				.getChildren("parameter").get(0)).getChildText(VTParameter.name
+				.toString()));
+
+		Assert.assertTrue(vtGeom.delVirtualTableGeometryMember(VTGeometry.srid));
+		Assert.assertTrue(vtParam1
+				.delVirtualTableParamMember(VTParameter.regexpValidator));
 	}
-	
 
 }