bruce_phipps@m... wrote:
> I'm an XML newbie. But is it true that a lot of the functionality of
> products such as XMLSpy and/or Epic Editor can be replicated using open
> source products if you are prepared to work from the command line now
> and then?

Yes, absolutely.

> PS: I'm not an open source evangelist here. It occured to me as a
> newbie, that XMLSPy etc. provide a nice front-end to stuff which can be
> done on the Linux command-line (xsltproc, xmllint for instance.)

Emacs with psgml-mode, xxml-mode, tdtd-mode, and xslide-mode
plus a copy of onsgmls and Saxon8 will get you probably 95%
of the functionality of any commercial editor/IDE...except
the synchronous typographical interface (what used to be
called WYSIWYG), which can be supplied by a browser or PDF
viewer window set to auto refresh. And you might not even
need to use the command-line, as most functions are either
menu items or keystrokes in the edit window. There are also
equivalent modes for working with RelaxNG instead of DTDs.

But if you absolutely, positively, must have Instant Textual
Gratification[tm] or you are working with end-users who would
be scared off by markup, then a synchronous typographical editor
is probably what you want. Spy and Epic are excellent of their
kind: there are dozens of others.

///Peter
-- 
XML FAQ: http://xml.silmaril.ie/