ProductsDiffDogXML Schema Differencing

DiffDog® 2010 includes powerful XML Schema differencing functionality that extends and complements XML-aware file comparison of .xsd documents and eases conversion of XML data.

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. Along with its XML file comparison capabilities, the DiffDog® 2010 XML Schema compare tool helps you efficiently update XML data files when XML Schemas change.

Map XML Schemas for Comparison

Simply choose Compare XML Schemas from the File menu or the DiffDog tool bar, select two XML Schemas, and click the compare button. The DiffDog® 2010 Schema comparison tool automatically maps schema elements with the same names.

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You can select different root elements for each XML Schema, and you can also manually connect dissimilar elements to map them, or override automatic element mappings.

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Generate Transformations to Convert XML Data

After you map two XML Schemas, DiffDog® 2010 lets you generate an XSLT file to transform existing XML documents for the new schema by clicking either Copy button on the DiffDog toolbar. Options for left-to-right or right-to-left translations are also available via a context menu in the DiffDog® 2010 XML Schema comparison window.

A portion of the XSLT file for the example mapping is shown below. Any title element in the source XML file will be saved as a title element in the output (lines 7-11), and any feedback element in the source will be saved as an email element in the output (lines 12-16).

Save Mappings for Altova MapForce

DiffDog® 2010 also lets you generate a MapForce mapping file between the schemas. The mapping file is fully editable for further refinement in Altova MapForce® 2010. In our example, the XML Schema on the right contains the publication element, with no corresponding element on the left. As one option, MapForce would let you define a string constant or apply another data processing function to fill that value during transformation.

DiffDog® 2010 even lets you save the settings for an XML Schema comparison in a file for quick and convenient reuse, or to share with other development team members.

See for yourself how easy it is to compare XML Schemas and generate transformations to keep your XML data files valid. Download a free 30-day trial of DiffDog® 2010!