insight needed: any way to have Java run a perl script..

[Falco98]

This is for a class assignment; all we have to do is make a XML-to-SQL
converter with a GUI, which can run either on Win2k or Sun 8 systems
(interchangably). My partner is writing the GUI in Java obviously, but
before I write the backend, I want to know if there happens to be any easy
to get Java to execute a Perl script somehow (it would help if the user
didn't have to take any additional steps to make this happen, such as having
to install a perl interpreter).
I know the obvious answer might be just to write the backend in Java, but
I'm much better writing this kinda stuff in Perl, so if anyone happens to
know a fairly simple and/or straightforward way, let me know.
Thanks,
~Mike