Essential Tools of an XML Workflow

Here is an informative webcast from O'Reilly about the requirements for implementing an XML publishing workflow. Many of the issues that Laura Dawson addresses are similar to my own views and experiences of XML editing.
http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/01/webcast-video-essential-tools.html

Case Study - eVisioner Uses the MissionKit for Web-based Governance Solution

News release from Altova:

Altova customer eVisioner used components from the Altova MissionKit, including XMLSpy, StyleVision, UModel, and DiffDog, to build a Web-based governance solution from the ground up.

After creating a prototype of the MetaTeam product, a unique XML-based collaboration environment aimed to raise project team performance and lower costs, eVisioner realized that creating a consistent user interface for such a large program under active development would require either constant attention or an inflexible development process, and possibly both. In addition, the developers needed a way to integrate documentation, import and export data, and allow customers to generate customized reports. Together, all of these concerns suggested the implementation of an XML architecture.
In keeping with the principles defined by the naked objects pattern, eVisioner planned to automatically generate the MetaTeam user interface from its domain model and an abstract application description in XML. The eVisioner team found that the XML development tools and other components included in the Altova MissionKit were a perfect fit to model, build, and test the MetaTeam team governance application.
To read this case study in its entirety, complete with screenshots, please visit: http://www.altova.com/nl/1010/cust_evisioner.html
To access the tools used in this case study, along with all the components available in the Altova MissionKit, download a 30-day trial here: http://www.altova.com/nl/1010/download.html

Comparing XML Schemas with DiffDog

News release from Altova:

XML developers frequently need to modify and enhance XML Schemas as XML-based applications are created. Similarly, users of industry-standard XML-based data exchange systems need to update XML file formats to maintain compatibility with evolving standards. To assist with these common requirements, the Altova DiffDog diff/merge tool includes powerful functionality for comparing XML Schemas.

The XML Schema Differencing feature graphically displays two XML Schemas side by side, identifies identical elements automatically, and lets users map differences and generate XSL transformations to update XML data files.

To read this Tech Note in its entirety, including an example scenario for this new feature, visit: http://www.altova.com/nl/1010/technote20.html.

For more Tech Notes and Technical Briefs featuring tools from the Altova MissionKit visit the Altova Library page: http://www.altova.com/nl/1010/library.html

To learn more about DiffDog and its powerful functionality for comparing XML schemas, merging text or source code files, synchronizing directories, and its advanced XML-aware differencing and editing capabilities, download a 30-day trial here: http://www.altova.com/nl/1010/download.html

XEPWin 3.0 released

RenderX has released XEPWin 3.0. This major release enablesbetter utilization of computational resources in multi-core environments by means of launching multiple rendering threads and distributing formatting requests among them. XEPWin 3.0 also contains improvements in configuration, error reporting and XEPWin API.
http://www.renderx.com/news/index.html#September_27,_2010

Altova XML v 2011

On September 8, 2010, Altova introduced Version 2011 of its entire product line. Altova Software Version 2011 delivers a bounty of new and exciting features, most notably support for charts and reporting across multiple Altova MissionKit tools. This new reporting functionality is truly unique to the Altova MissionKit, which is now the only XML toolset that supports the creation of charts using XSLT or XQuery for visualizing and analyzing XML data.
http://www.altova.com/whatsnew.html

oXygen XML editor v 12

I have been using oXygen XML for the past 12 months and recommend it as an XML editing package. Version 12 has just been released; here is an overview:

"oXygen is the best XML editor available, with a large number of users ranging from beginners to XML experts. It is the only XML tool that supports all the XML schema languages. The XSLT and XQuery support is enhanced with powerful debuggers and performance profilers. You can use oXygen XML Editor to work with all XML-based technologies including XML databases, XProc pipelines, and web services.
Specially tuned for content authors, oXygen XML Author comes with a configurable and extensible visual editing mode based on W3C CSS stylesheets with ready-to-use DITA, DocBook, TEI and XHTML support, making oXygen the ideal XML authoring solution.
oXygen XML Editor is a cross-platform application available on all the major operating systems (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris) and can be used either standalone or as an Eclipse plugin."

Pretty purple hearts?

It is astounding how creative you can be with XML, if you spend time looking for the right stylesheet code and trying different ways of presenting content on pages. I’ve spent a good part of the last six months experimenting with XSL styles for complex scientific documents and coming up with good page design. I can send out a couple of pages to anyone who's interested.

You can have reasonably good multi-column layout. You can have text flowing around figures. You can place figures in one column or span them across both. You can add background shading to boxes (yes, even in colour if your client needs it). You can format headers and footers. You can have tables formatted with shading and borders anywhere you like (even individual rows and cells). You can style text with different fonts, colours, sizes and styles. And you can use different symbols of any colour for bulleted lists. But don’t use pretty purple hearts.

Pretty purple hearts? What’s that got to do with good page design? Just as I spent time learning XSL for good page design, I spent time skimming through the blog of a US-based XML consultancy after reading a somewhat bemusing article which stated quite emphatically that you can’t be creative with XML. The post, XML: The death of creativity in technical writing? has done its utmost to discredit the benefits of XML and, really, has done a sterling job to present misinformation about not being able to achieve creative layout with XSL. Among other ‘myths and legends’, the author says that writers can’t use pretty purple hearts for bullet points with XML. Ahh … has anybody ever seen pretty purple hearts in a technical document? Someone? Anyone? I thought not.

As for having fine control over the appearance of text, you can bold words inside a title (but aren’t titles meant to be bold anyway?), you can be reasonably creative with page production (it is XSL that adds styles to content, not XML as the author states), and if you don’t spend time producing customised stylesheets to make XML content appear the way you want then you will get ugly pages using standard stylesheets that come with XML schemas. You must explore the technology to get the most out of it.

Quite aside from the fact that the author is constantly confused by the capabilities of XML and XSL (no you can’t be creative, yes you do have flexibility, actually no you don’t at the paragraph level, wait a minute yes you do and it can look good), the article finishes with an incredulous “Why, then, is there so much resistance to XML?” Is it any wonder when this sort of guff is published? Sorry to break your pretty purple heart, but XML can be creative and my efforts are proof. Leave it all to editors, not writers.