How to Get EBA XBRL from Excel


Like other regulatory agencies around the world, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has standardized on XBRL for the transmission of data submitted by filing entities. Benefits of using XBRL include increased accuracy and efficiency of supervisory practices and risk identification. The use of XBRL benefits filing organizations as well, because the now-standardized data can be easily validated and then used further for automated report generation and other common requirements.

However, the challenge lies in getting backend data into a valid XBRL format according to the EBA Taxonomy, especially since the employees recording the data are generally financial professionals and not familiar with XBRL syntax.

Let’s take a look at how EBA reporting tools can make it easier.

EBA XBRL from Excel

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Dark Mode and Much More in Version 2023


Long-time XMLSpy and MapForce customers may remember the fun drawings and depictions from Altova’s early ads and logos. Those dark spy images have given way to brighter colors and imagery over the years – but at the same time, developers have gravitated towards dark mode in their applications. Now, dark mode is finally available for XMLSpy and MapForce!

This fun option is being released alongside important support for additional standards and databases, a new tool for managing schemas across the product line, and a brand new product for building ESEF XBRL reports in Excel.

Altova announces Software Version 2023 with dark mode
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Examine, Edit, and Validate .x3d Files


The .x3d file format is an ISO/IEC xml-based standard for representing 3d images. Also known as X3D, .x3d files originated as a way to represent 3D images for computer graphics. Over time applications grew from virtual reality (VRML), to CAD design, architectural rendering, 3D printing, medical and anatomical imaging, representation of molecular chemical structures, human animation, and more.

The Web3D Consortium maintains the X3D standard, with XML Schemas documented here. Current versions include definitions of more than 250 XML elements, over 100 simple types, 70 complex types, and more than 40 defined node groups.

It takes that much complexity to accurately describe anything from a precisely manufactured machine part to a richly textured virtual environment, especially considering lighting, texture, and point of view! XMLSpy, the world’s most popular tool for modeling, editing, transforming, and debugging XML and JSON related technologies, supports .x3d files. XMLSpy offers standards-based tools for anyone who may need to examine, exchange, consume, or validate .x3d files. Let’s look at some examples.

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Get to Know Your Favorite XML Editor Again [Video]


For more than a decade XMLSpy has been a leading choice for all things XML. But over the years we’ve broadened the scope by adding hundreds of new features, supported standards, and innovative tools to make development faster and easier.

This new overview video offers a quick, high-level look at the various tools and options available, including functionality for JSON, XPath/XQuery, HTTP testing, debugging, back-mapping, and more.

Check out the XMLSpy demos page for more videos and in-depth tutorials on the JSON Grid Editor, XPath and XSLT for JSON, comparing XML files, and more.

Get access to all these features by upgrading to the latest version of XMLSpy or downloading a free, 30-day trial.

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New Tools to Work with XBRL in Excel


With the importance of accurate, standardized financial reporting enforced through XBRL filing mandates, having XBRL tools you can rely on is a must. What’s more, financial professionals need to be able to generate XBRL reports easily without getting bogged down by the complexities of XBRL syntax.

Altova offers several add-ins for Excel that make it easy for organizations to comply with regulations from the EBA, EIOPA, and other regulatory bodies that mandate reporting in XBRL. These easy-to-use software products integrate directly into Excel so that users can create valid XBRL reports in an environment where they’re already comfortable working. And, the add-ins support importing existing XBRL reports to Excel for easy readability and analysis.

The latest release of the Altova XBRL Add-ins for Excel provides some important new features – let’s take a look.

New tools to work with XBRL data in Excel
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Top 5 Requirements for RMAD Tools


Originally coined by analyst firm Gartner, RMAD (rapid mobile application development) isn’t just a hot acronym in app development for 2024 –  it’s an absolute necessity.  Waiting six to eight months for an app ensures that it will be completely obsolete once it’s finally ready for prime time: requirements will change, another app will fill the niche, or end users will already be entrenched with another solution.

In addition, a traditional, non-RMAD approach assumes you have a team of mobile developers ready to tackle the project, and for many businesses, hiring experienced app developers is a lengthy, expensive process. Outsourcing your app development work that well, either. Many have tried, but few have succeeded in getting third-parties to realize the original vision of the app, on time, and while ensuring the integrity of their intellectual property rights.

Luckily, with the increasing prevalence of RMAD tools, developing a sophisticated, full-featured app in a week or two – and with your existing tech team – is suddenly a reality. Of course, not all RMAD tools are created equal. Let’s take a look at the five top requirements you should demand in an RMAD solution.

Mobile app end users

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How to Manage GDPR Compliance [Video]


The General Data Protection Regulation, better known as the GDPR, is a set of privacy and data protection rules applying to organizations that process personal data of people residing in either the European Union or European Economic Area. It was built to comply with legislation that went into effect on May 25, 2018 and provides individuals more control of their personal data. The GDPR simplifies the regulatory environment for international business by providing a common set of standards for all businesses working in the EU.

The GDPR requires that data production measures be built into the design of business processes that collect personal data. If a breach occurs, information about this breach must be reported to the supervisory authority. Altova has created the GDPR Compliance Database, a tool that simplifies the storage and access of metadata related to company processes that touch personal data.

The Altova GDPR Compliance Database is a long-term solution for companies looking for a permanent solution to GDPR compliance. It enables companies to respond quickly to any incidents and contains built in mechanisms for change tracking, ensuring compliance measures are well documented.

The video above provides a high-level overview of all the features contained in the Altova GDPR Database.

Learn more about the Altova GDPR Compliance Database and try it free for 30 days.

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Solvency II XBRL without the Headache


Solvency II regulations in the European Union require periodic reports to be submitted in XBRL format by companies in the insurance industry. This can present a considerable challenge to workers unfamiliar with technical XBRL syntax.

Altova created an easy way to take data directly from Excel to generate reports based on the Solvency II XBRL taxonomy, completely shielding end users from the complexity of XBRL syntax.

Let’s take a look at what the Solvency II regulations mean to impacted companies and how the Altova Solvency II add-in for Excel makes it easy to generate valid reports for filing.

Learn about Solvency II XBRL

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Automate Diff Report Generation


DiffDog Server makes it easy to automate high-volume comparisons and generate diff reports comparing files, directories, and URLs. This high-performance server software is available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS X machines.

Developers have long relied on DiffDog for comparing XML, text, and binary files, as well as directories and URLs. Now, the power of DiffDog is available in lightning-fast server software for easily automating large comparison tasks.

For instance, DiffDog Server is perfect to automate diff report generation for critical files and directories at a given time – every day, once a week, etc.

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Run Altova Server Software on Azure Cloud


The Altova Server Platform is comprised of the complete family of Altova’s high performance server software for automating data processing and data integration workflows. These cross-platform server software products allow for flexible installation either on premises or in any private or public cloud infrastructure.

For customers utilizing the Microsoft Azure cloud, we’ve created a convenient, free VM template with the Altova Server Platform pre-installed for easy deployment, available on the Azure Marketplace.

Altova Server Platform

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The Importance of Choosing Certified XBRL Tools 


Aside from complying with filing regulations, there are numerous benefits associated with adoption of the eXtensible Business Reporting Language. Standardizing information allows data validation as well as simplified comparison of reported data within an organization – from quarter to quarter or year to year, for instance – as well as comparing performance among multiple companies.

Of course, the benefits promised by XBRL  can only be realized through strict standards conformance in the tools organizations use for validating, reporting, and analyzing their XBRL data. Problems have arisen due to lack of consistent interoperability between software tools as well as less stringent validation checks that result in filing errors and diminished data quality.

Altova has always striven to deliver the closest possible conformance with supported XBRL standards and is honored to have received certification from multiple XBRL standards bodies, ensuring conformance and interoperability. Let’s take a look at the specifics and why this is so important for customers.

Financial pros using XBRL

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Simplifying License Management


We’ve been offering a centralized license server to all customers of our Altova server software products for quite some time. Now,  you can also manage all Altova desktop software licenses with the same license server. This support covers all MissionKit products, such as XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, etc., whether they’re licensed separately or as part of a MissionKit product bundle.

Doing so greatly simplifies license management for the IT administrator in your organization and allows you to maximize your usage of the investment you’ve made in Altova software products. The Altova LicenseServer can now handle the management of installed-user, concurrent-user, and named-user licenses for all desktop developer tools and allows you to centralize license management either on a per-department level or for an entire organization.

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Show Off Your Collections with MyCollections 2


The MyCollections app from Altova has become a popular tool for Android, iPhone, iPad, and Windows users to catalog and keep track of their collections of books, watches, recipes, vacation destinations – you name it.

It’s easy to share portions of or entire collections with your friends who have the MyCollections app, and now you can even publish your carefully curated creations to the web – and then share them via email or on your social media accounts.

Publishing collections is just one of the new features in MyCollections 2 – let’s check out the full list of improvements.

MyCollections App

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New Features for Mobile App Development in MobileTogether 3.2


The latest release of Altova’s mobile app development framework introduces over 18 features with highlights including support for NFC messages, text-to-speech, the ability to read device contacts, flexible options for dynamic tables, and more.

Read more below or check out our quick MobileTogether 3.2 video.

 

New in MobileTogether

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Converting a StyleVision Design to MobileTogether


StyleVision, Altova’s visual XSLT stylesheet designer and report designer, is also a powerful enterprise form designer popular with customers who need to get their XML or database data into e-forms for use with Altova Authentic.

Authentic is a WYSIWYG editor for non-technical users and is available in desktop and browser plug-in versions. However, due to increasing security issues, support for native plug-ins is being phased out in most modern web browsers. If you are an Authentic Browser Edition customer, fear not – you can now convert any existing StyleVision design to a MobileTogether design to deploy it via MobileTogether Server as a simple URL that can be accessed by web browsers, or even as a native app on a mobile device.

Let’s take a look at the advantages of that approach.

Enterprise Form to Mobile App
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Patient Mobile Form – New Sample App


It’s time for your yearly checkup. However, first, you must update your paperwork. You can practically feel the hand cramp coming on as soon as the receptionist hands over the clipboard.

What if you could update all your info ahead of time – or even in the waiting room – on your mobile device? You could definitely build an app for that.

We’ve created the New Patient sample app to demonstrate a few key features, including how MobileTogether lets you develop cross-platform apps that include rich, mobile form based solutions for capturing data. Let’s take a look at how it works.

Patient form mobile app

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Flexible App UI Design with Multi-level Style Sheets


Using a cross-platform mobile development framework like MobileTogether is a great choice for building native apps, because the design environment takes care of rendering the app UI properly using the native look and feel of each operating system. You just have to build one design.

This gives app developers the ability to build sophisticated, data-centric apps for all users very quickly. To help this work, MobileTogether employs an RMAD approach along with flexible options for designing a beautiful UX. To help specifically with this last point are multi-level style sheets that let you customize and apply styles – either statically or dynamically – at various levels of the app UI design with just a few clicks.

Viewing a mobile app

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Database Features Across the Altova Product Line


We have written previously about database features like SQL Merge for data integration, and summarized database features in the latest release. But if you’ve only used one or two Altova products, you may not be aware of the powerful support for working with relational databases is provided throughout Altova’s tightly-integrated tools.

Database features across the Altova product line

The Altova MissionKit and MobileTogether products include SQL database features with rich functionality for database-related tasks, supporting all major relational databases in their native interface languages.

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Scan Now: Barcodes in Mobile Apps


Barcodes are used in various industries to provide an optical, machine readable representation of data, usually related to an object they are placed on, such as a book, retail product, shipping package, or even the wrist of a patient in a hospital.

Recent developments in barcode technology include 2D codes that use shapes beyond the original bars (think of those QR codes you see on everything from magazine ads to cereal boxes). More significant, though, is the ability of smartphones and other mobile devices to scan barcodes using their built-in camera. Where in the past a specialized barcode scanner was required to read the coded information, now anyone can scan a code, greatly expanding the usefulness of barcodes for communicating data that can then be used a variety of ways.

Apps that can process barcode information are useful in a number of industries, and they can be used in apps that target workers as well as consumers. Let’s take a look at how easy it is to build an app that scans and processes barcodes in MobileTogether.

Barcodes in mobile apps

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MobileTogether Adds Barcodes, Automated Testing, and More


It’s time for the latest release of MobileTogether, Altova’s cross-platform framework for building native, data-centric apps.

Coming a short five months after MobileTogether 2.2, version 3.0 ships with an impressive array of new functionality, from developer-requested features such as barcode scanning and automated testing support, to flexibility improvements in the form of multi-level stylesheets and print-to-file functionality, all of which are sure to set your apps apart from the crowd.

Let’s take a look at the new features in detail.

 MobileTogether 3.0

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Multimedia for Mobile


Thanks to invaluable feedback from developers building apps in MobileTogether, we’re constantly adding new functionality to the product. Close on the heels of MobileTogether 2.1, which added over 30 new features, is the latest release: Version 2.2.

Additions to MobileTogether 2.2 are focused on integrating multimedia assets in your mobile apps, with new tools for using audio and video functionality to enable seamless interactivity that your end users will love.

 

New in MobileTogether: Audio and Video

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Excel Add-in Generates XBRL WIP Data


The reach of the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is rapidly expanding beyond financial reporting requirements to provide the advantages of standardized data submission across verticals. One recent development is the Work in Process XBRL Taxonomy created by XBRL.US for the surety industry.

The good news is that non-technical stakeholders can be completely shielded from the complexity of XBRL using software tools developed in concert with the taxonomy standards.

We’re excited to introduce the Altova Work in Process (WIP) XBRL add-in for Excel: a new product that lets contractors build their WIP reports directly in Excel, where they’re already comfortable working, and then export the reports in WIP XBRL for submission to sureties and underwriters.

Contractors writing WIP XBRL reports in Excel

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Build your Collections with the MyCollections App


For the longest time, I’ve searched in vain for a collection app that would help me manage my favorite recipes. I have a ton on Pinterest, and an equal number in my ever-growing cookbook collection. The problem is, when it comes time to make a favorite dish, I can never remember where the recipe is and end up spending half my cooking time looking for it. Enter the new Altova MyCollections app: I’ve already started using this for my recipes and other collections, and I’ll never go back.

MyCollections lets you catalog any collection whatsoever – whether it’s comprised of actual objects like books, CDs, watches, or camping equipment – or if it’s your favorite places to visit, your great-hikes bucket list, or your birthday wish list. Oh, and it’s free.

MyCollections App
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New Features for App UI Design


As the saying goes, “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” This age-old advice still rings true today in myriad contexts – even when thinking about mobile apps. A successful app is an extension of the user’s hand, and a beautiful, functional UI is what makes that connection seamless.
MobileTogether makes it easier than ever to build sophisticated UIs to front-end complex programming logic. In its latest release, we’ve added even more options for developing intuitive interfaces for native iOS, Android, and Windows apps.

Mobile app

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New Features for Mobile Development


The latest version of MobileTogether is available today, adding even more functionality to this game-changing framework for building and deploying native mobile apps faster than any other solution.

To start with, we’ve completely revised the pricing for MobileTogether, with a new model that’s simple to understand and ridiculously affordable.

In addition, Version 2.1 introduces over 30 important new features added based on real-world developer feedback, from new functionality for building tables, to sophisticated error handling actions, to flexible options for beautiful UI design.

Let’s take a look at how these new features combine to let you build the most sophisticated data-centric apps for iOS, Android, and Windows devices.

MobileTogether 2.1 announcement

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Starting Business Reports from Word


So much content these days is in the form of Microsoft Word documents. Word is where content or report creators often begin, and it has great tools for designing layouts and including images, tables and hyperlinks, and so on. What Word lacks though, is the ability to publish dynamic content or publish multiple versions of that content using the same template in an automated way, and that’s where Altova StyleVision comes in.

StyleVision is a unique product that is often difficult to describe because it does so much. Whether you want to auto-generate an XSLT stylesheet based on a visual design, create multi-channel business reports from dynamic XML or database data, or build user-friendly enterprise forms, StyleVision has you covered.

Starting with StyleVision 2016 Release 2, you can begin your StyleVision design based on an existing Word doc. Let’s take a look at why this saves an incredible amount of time, giving report and form designers the best of both worlds.

Designing a business report

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XBRL Data Mapping: WIP Taxonomy


The usefulness of the XBRL standard reaches far beyond SEC requirements for filing financial statements. Organizations such as XBRL.US and XBRL International are working to develop XBRL taxonomies and accompanying software solutions for countless other practical applications where standardizing data submission results in increased accuracy and productivity for all involved – for report filing, data analysis, and beyond.

One such project is the Work in Progress (WIP) Taxonomy created by XBRL.US for the surety industry. The new taxonomy helps save time and increase accuracy for report submission, and at the same time enables new opportunities for data analysis and decision making.

Construction-site-surety

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Don’t Make This App Development Mistake


You’ve done everything right, making sure your app has powerful access to back end data, a beautiful and intuitive UX, and availability for iOS, Android, and even Windows phones. It’s in the app stores and ready for those five star ratings. What could you possibly have overlooked?

You’re too mobile.

 Mobile Development: Don't Forget the Desktop

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Demand These 10 Features for Mobile App Development


“We need an app for that.”

This simple declaration carries with it underlying implications that can be anything but simple to implement: an app must be available for all devices, it must delight end users – and it must be ready yesterday.

As the need for mobility in data centric apps has increased, so has the number of products claiming to provide the best in cross-platform mobile development. But how can you cut through the flowery marketing claims? We’ve put together a list of the top 10 criteria for choosing a mobile development framework.

Data-centric mobile app

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Is it just a wrapper around HTML5 and JavaScript?


When we demonstrate MobileTogether at tradeshows, we often get asked this question: “So is it just a native app wrapper around HTML5 and JavaScript?” The simple answer is: “No.”

MobileTogether is a complete mobile app development framework that is based on our very own rendering and processing engine, which gives us a lot more flexibility and power to provide a true native app experience on each mobile operating system platform and also make important mobile platform functions that are not commonly accessible from JavaScript or HTML5-based web apps available to the developer.

Table user question

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ERN Registration for SSL use in Mobile Apps


Apps built with MobileTogether include the ability to use SSL encryption between the mobile app and the back-end server, and with it come restrictions on importing and exporting the app in the United States and potentially other countries. If you intend to submit the AppStore App to Apple’s App Store or Microsoft’s App Store (and potentially others), their submission processes will ask whether the app includes encryption. Since all AppStore Apps built with MobileTogether include the ability to use the OS-provided libraries for SSL use in mobile apps and in particular for the encryption of the communication between the mobile app and server using the https protocol, the answer to this question is “YES.” At some point in the process, this answer will then trigger a prompt to upload your Encryption Registration Number (ERN). So how does one obtain an ERN?

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How to stay productive in the age of distraction – the secret to getting things done


If you live in the 21st century and are not actually hiding underneath a rock or living in a cave, you probably are suffering from some form of information overload and feel overburdened by the number of things you have to do at any given moment in time. New information is constantly coming at you in the form of Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, text messages, or the latest social media app you installed on your smartphone, as well as good old radio, TV, newspapers, and magazines in their classic or digital versions, not to mention work or school email, personal email from friends and family, and all the social obligations from clubs, charities, and local community organizations.

So how do you actually manage to stay productive and deal with this onslaught of information without going crazy? How do you get things done, achieve your goals, and get to the mountaintop despite the constant head-wind?

Ascending Mt. Washington in the winter

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Manipulating Data in Cross-Platform Mobile Applications


Altova MobileTogether empowers enterprises of any size to design and deploy custom mobile solutions that run on all mobile platforms. This post is part 2 of a discussion of the MobileTogether Actions Dialog that lets developers quickly create sophisticated event handlers, control flow, and operations that work the same on iOS®, Android™, Windows® Phone 8, and Windows 8 devices, as well as an HTML5 browser-based client, without worrying about the unique details of the API or SDK for each mobile operating system.

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(Click here if you missed part 1, titled Defining Event Handling and Control Flow for Cross-Platform Mobile Applications.)

This post covers some of the MobileTogether actions that manipulate data and are flexible, powerful, and accelerate building data-driven mobile enterprise apps to deliver up-to-the-minute information to busy users on the go.

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Defining Event Handling and Control Flow for Cross-Platform Mobile Applications


Altova MobileTogether empowers companies of any size to quickly design and deploy custom enterprise mobile solutions that run on all mobile platforms. The Actions dialog in the MobileTogether Designer is one key feature that makes it possible to develop robust mobile solutions in days, not months.

The Actions dialog lets developers create sophisticated event handlers, control flow, and operations that work the same on iOS®, Android™, Windows® Phone 8, and Windows 8 devices, as well as an HTML5 browser-based client, without worrying about the unique details of the API or SDK for each mobile operating system, because the ActionTrees built with MobileTogether are independent of any particular device-specific programming language.

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A Cross-Platform Simulator for Enterprise Mobile App Development


In the past it was difficult and time consuming to synchronize development of cross-platform mobile enterprise applications because each mobile operating system required a different tool set or unique steps to build a compiled result.

Altova MobileTogether simplifies and accelerates cross-platform mobile development with the MobileTogether Designer. Using MobileTogether, developers create a single Solution file for Android, iOS, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8, and in HTML-5 browsers on other platforms.

Even better, the MobileTogether Designer includes a Simulator window that lets developers instantly execute the Solution to test logic, view the design as it will appear on a variety of devices, and examine changes in workflow data during execution.

Here is a view of the BizBudget example Solution as seen in the Simulator representations for iOS and Android devices:

MobileTogether Simulator showing iOS and Android devices

Both views were generated from the same solution file, simply by changing the simulation preview device.
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Cross-Platform Mobile Development with Altova MobileTogether


Software engineers have long wanted to create an application once and run it on multiple platforms. With today’s rapidly evolving mobile devices, the problem is even more urgent, as iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Surface tablets all compete for developer resources.

If you’re working on apps to communicate with enterprise users, you risk disenfranchising and alienating influential and important subsets of your colleagues when you build for each device sequentially or deliver unequal functionality.

Altova MobileTogether lets you create a cross-platform mobile solution once and deploy it in seconds to all mobile users in the enterprise, who may run it on iPhones, iPads, Android phones or tablets, Windows Phones, Surface tablets, or even laptop or desktop computers.

And these are not simple .html-based one-size-fits-all Web pages, but true native mobile solutions that take advantage of all the rich interface features users already know, delivering mission-critical data from databases, XML files, or by issuing HTTP requests to remote servers and filtering and formatting the response as necessary.

A mobile sales report application created with MobileTogether

The MobileTogether Designer is an easy-to-use development tool for creating high-quality business intelligence dashboards, interactive reports, enterprise forms, and other mobile applications by using drag-and-drop functionality. You simply drag various controls into the work area and assign data structures and actions to build a cross-platform solution.

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Automating Data Integration Workflows – Download the E-Book


We’ve published an e-book titled Automating Data Integration Workflows with Altova FlowForce Server that is now available for free download from the Altova Web site.

Here is a brief description: FlowForce Server is a highly-customizable platform to automate data transformations defined by MapForce data mappings, report and document generation, and other tasks on dedicated servers, virtual machines, or workstations scaled for the scope of the project. FlowForce Server empowers data architects, analysts, and other IT professionals to efficiently complete enterprise-level data integration tasks.

Automating Data Integration Workflows with Altova FlowForce Server provides an overview of the Altova FlowForce Server platform through a series of real-world data integration tasks and examples.

Automating Data Integration Workflows with Altova FlowForce Server

The new e-book collects updated information from the Altova Blog, the Altova Web site, and some all-new material, organized in one location to help new FlowForce Server users get started and to suggest new applications and efficiencies for experienced users.

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Process Multiple Input Files in a Single Data Mapping


Typical data conversion tasks require processing numerous input files that arrive in batches. Altova MapForce includes features that let you handle groups of files with minimal intervention.For instance, we recently copied a set of files from the memory card of a digital camera with GPS support. Each .LOG file is a CSV containing GPS coordinates for a single route.

Directory list of source files for data conversion

We quickly designed a mapping to convert the CSV data to XML-based .gpx format and processed all three files to generate three output files in a single execution:

List of automatically generated output files

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The Altova MissionKit 2013 Introduces Seamless Integration of XMLSpy, MapForce, and StyleVision in Java Applications


The Altova MissionKit 2013, empowers developers to integrate XMLSpy, MapForce, or StyleVision functionality seamlessly in custom Java applications for Windows. This frequently-requested capability adds to existing support for integrating these MissionKit tools in Visual Basic or C# applications, giving developers flexibility to add some or all XMLSpy, MapForce, or StyleVision views and functionality to their own custom apps.

Version 2013 of XMLSpy, MapForce, and StyleVision include a new API that allows each to run inside a window within a Java application developed using the Java Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) or Java Swing. This functionality allows MapForce 2013, for instance, to be embedded in larger applications where data mapping and transformation is only one requirement.

MapForce running in a Java ActiveX window

Altova provides sample applications with XMLSpy, MapForce, and StyleVision illustrating use of the Java API. You can access the sample applications from the command line or from within Eclipse.

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Stored Procedures in Database Mappings


In response to user requests, the new release of MapForce 2013 includes robust support for stored procedures in database mappings as:

  • input components (for stored procedures that provide results)
  • output components (for stored procedures that insert or update data in a database)
  • or, stored procedures may be inserted as a function-like call (allowing users to provide input data, execute the stored procedure, and read/map the output data to other components)

The screenshot below shows the mapping of a stored procedure in SQL Server to create an XML file.

A MapForce database mapping with a stored procedure

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Resist Data Integration Redundancy


The Internet makes massive amounts of data available for lots of interesting applications. But whenever you design a unique analysis and presentation of information you don’t privately control, you risk that the owner will offer the same view at some point in the future, instantly making your application redundant.

That’s exactly what happened to the Groupon API data-mining project we originally wrote about in August, 2011. Fortunately, the core of our project is a MapForce graphical data mapping. We can quickly and easily tweak the mapping and repurpose it to present an entirely different data set that provides new value.

HTML output from MapForce and StyleVision

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Building Web Pages – HTML Design with StyleVision


The rapid pace of today’s business environment means that information – along with the format in which it is required – changes often. Although some Web pages contain content that doesn’t often change (e.g., About Us and directions pages), the majority of today’s corporate Websites are continually updated with new data.
For this reason, many organizations choose to store Web content in XML. This allows organizations to develop content in a highly efficient manner because information in the XML file can be used for multiple purposes and in multiple output formats – the XML Schema associated with the XML file describes the content model.
StyleVision is a powerful stylesheet and report designer that can help you leverage XML. StyleVision will allow you to build Web pages with sophisticated formatting in a template-based, drag and drop design window. StyleVision auto-generates XSLT stylesheets so that you can integrate your design into a new or existing site – you can even generate ASPX Web applications right from the File menu.
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In this post we’ll design a Web page that will show off some of StyleVision’s HTML formatting capabilities. Although StyleVision’s built in formatting capabilities allow you to create sophisticated designs via simple drag-and-drop, for this example we’ll use CSS3, images, and other standard design elements to create a Web page that doesn’t need to be reformatted when content changes.

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Processing the Groupon API – Epilogue


Rare edge cases can derail loosely coupled data mapping applications. This is especially true when you are consuming large datasets available over the Internet and have little or no influence over the source data. In this article we describe a debugging technique that lets developers working on data mapping and transformation projects quickly identify and accommodate unexpected data in a stream from a remote source. The Problem Last summer we wrote a series of blog posts describing how to work with the Groupon API to retrieve a subset of offers in all Groupon cities and format the list for a web browser or mobile device. MapForce output from the Groupn API, displayed on a mobile device We concluded with a command line to run a MapForce data mapping that calls the Groupon API over 150 times — once for each Groupon city, then filters the data to extract deals sold on the Internet instead of a physical location, and formats the results in HTML using StyleVision. Every morning we run the command line in a batch file that saves the HTML output on a local server so our colleagues can check it out with any Web browser to find interesting offers from all over the country. The mapping ran fine for more than two months until one day it failed with this error message: “Source-value “” of type dateTime could not be converted into target-type dateTime.” The specific explanation is that somewhere in the mapping where we expected a dateTime, we received an empty value. On a more abstract level, the error suggests a potential defect in the logic of our mapping strategy. Every time we call the Groupon API we receive a well-formed XML data stream enclosed in a <response> element, but the API specs do not include an XML Schema defining the data that may be returned. When we developed our mapping we needed to analyze the raw data and select the output we wanted, so our first step was to call the API to capture all the Groupon deals for one large metro area. We assumed we would get a large enough data sample to include every possible option in the API response. After our mapping ran successfully for two months, the API finally delivered a rare edge case that did not fit the pattern we expected. Debugging Tools MapForce provides debugging help. We can run our data mapping using the MapForce built in execution engine to see more details in the Messages window. MapForce Messages window siplays data mapping error The lines labeled Related location are hyperlinked back to components in the mapping where the error occurred. Clicking on the result error takes us to a format-dateTime function. format-dateTime function in MapForce We can either click the “” error or trace the value connector to identify the input element to the format-dateTime function. Either way, we locate the element that triggered the error. clip_image004 The suspect element resides in the input component that captures all the data returned by our calls to the Groupon API before any filtering or conversion takes place. When we designed the mapping, the endAt element in our sample data always reported the ending date and time for each Groupon offer, but for some reason we must have received an empty value in this field. If the error had occurred by running a local input file we could simply examine the file contents, but in this case the data came from multiple URLs, and is only held temporarily until it is mapped to the output component. Fortunately, we can apply a trick to easily modify the mapping and preserve all data received from the Groupon API. We simply copy the input component and paste a duplicate into the mapping. We can connect the response element from the original to the duplicate, which simultaneously maps all the child elements between the components. clip_image005 Our original input component is now connected to two output components. We can select which output component will be generated by the MapForce built-in execution engine by clicking the eye icon at the top right corner of any output component. The new output component simply saves a copy of everything in the input component. When we examine the raw data using XMLSpy, sure enough we find an empty element where we expected a date and time: clip_image006 The Solution Now that we know an offer might have no specific end time, we can plan for that possibility in the mapping. In the revised treatment of the endAt element, we do an if-test before the original format-dateTime function and provide an alternate output when the endAt element is empty. clip_image007 We had to work fast because all Groupon data is time sensitive. The edge case would eventually expire and disappear from the data stream. This experience showed us how important it is to have powerful debugging tools and to use them creatively, even after you think a data mapping project is running successfully! Altova MapForce is available in a free trial – the next edge case you solve could be your own. Editor’s Note: Our original series on mapping data from the Groupon API ran in three parts you can see by clicking the links here: Part 1 of Processing the Groupon API with Altova MapForce describes how to create dynamic input by collecting data from multiple URLs. Processing the Groupon API with MapForce – Part 2 describes how we filtered data from the API and defined the output to extract only the most interesting details. Processing the Groupon API – Part 3 describes formatting the output as a single HTML document optimized for desktop and mobile devices, and reviews ways to automate repeat execution.

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DiffDog Takes to the Cloud


Techy folks generally have a good diff tool they rely on to compare and sync files and directories. But what happens when, as more and more info is bound for the cloud, your data lives on servers accessed via URL? DiffDog diff/merge tool There are myriad applications today that live on servers accessed via HTPP – but let’s take a look at a common example: SVN. Subversion (SVN) repositories include WebDAV as a commonly used server option. WebDAV is a natural protocol for SVN because its concern is hierarchy, structured metadata, and versions. Since WebDAV is an extension of HTTP it gives easy access to basic information about files and folders to any HTTP-aware client, including DiffDog – Altova’s diff/merge tool for files, directories, and databases. However, DiffDog knows a few tricks that set it apart from the other breeds.

Diff/Merge via WebDAV

SVN clients typically support command line differencing; however, a text-only representation of the changes in even one file can be hard to read and use. When you want to compare the trunk against a tagged version, the problem is magnified.  There are several visual differencing tools available that can help with analyzing version changes in SVN. They have varying degrees of compatibility with how SVN works. Some tools are well integrated with the SVN command line. DiffDog includes all the common comparison options for a tool that is tightly integrated with SVN clients.  Where it excels is its ability to talk to SVN servers.  Accessing an SVN repository with DiffDog using WebDAV is simple. The easiest starting point is to open Directory Comparison View and paste in the URLs of the folders you want to compare. In this case we’re comparing SVN branches on Projectlocker.com. The two sets of files open, and DiffDog provides a color-coded, browsable view of the differences between the two directories. Directory Comparison in DiffDog   Clicking on either one of a pair of files opens a detailed file comparison.   File comparison in DiffDog DiffDog’s ability to distinguish between changes to XML and meaningful changes is key in this situation – most development trees have some amount of XML in them.  DiffDog also supports comparing Word docs and databases – so all bases are covered. XML-aware diff options Of course, folders you compare do not have to both be WebDAV SVN folders.  It is equally straightforward to compare the SVN server with a local directory. DiffDog’s ability to access servers via HTTP (or FTP) opens a world of possibilities: comparing a local directory with a Google Docs directory, or diffing a local Web server against files hosted on the Amazon CloudFront , or even just synching photos between your local drive and your chosen back- up service.   If you’d like to try DiffDog, it’s available for a 30-day trial over on the Altova Web site.

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Digging deeper with the Twitter API: iPhone 4S vs. Galaxy Nexus


We found some interesting data when we dug below the surface of the iPhone 4S vs. Galaxy Nexus debate using the Twitter Search API.In today’s world there is a vast quantity of data available online that can be used for research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence. While “Big Data” can be a problem for those who produce it, store it, and compile it, it is highly beneficial for those of us who are looking for answers.Some of that data is fortunately available to be queried online, and, in particular, there is a vast quantity of data on social media interactions out there.TweetsQueryingSearchAPIIn this article we will explore how to use the Twitter Search API from MapForce, Altova’s data mapping/conversion/integration tool, to aggregate data on recent user submissions (“tweets”) on two highly popular topics – the Apple “iPhone 4S” vs. the “Galaxy Nexus” as the latest hot Android phone – and extract some statistical data about the users engaged in those discussions. One of the benefits of this abundance of data available to us today is that we can query it in interesting ways and extract new meaning from it. While there are undoubtedly many existing services that already provide trends over Twitter topics (e.g., Trendistic), those services only offer very simple trends and do not allow us to query any deeper.But all of the underlying data is available for grabs if you are just willing to learn a tiny bit about web service APIs and how to use them to extract XML data for further processing. As a starting point, let’s use the Twitter Search API to query the stream of recent tweets for the last 100 postings that are about the “Galaxy Nexus”. The Usage Guidelines for Twitter Search tell us that using both words in a query will result in the use of the default operator, which is AND, so we are going to search for posts that contain “Galaxy AND Nexus”. So let’s try that and request the most recent 100 items:

http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=galaxy+nexus&rpp=100

If you follow this link, you will get a second window with a lot of raw XML data that is formatted according to the Atom Syndication Format specifications. Alternatively, you could request the data in JSON format, if you wanted to directly process it via JavaScript code by hand, but we will use the XML-based Atom format so that we can easily analyze the data and extract the information we want.Viewing the above search result in a browser is not very user-friendly, so we can take a quick peek at the XML data in our favorite XML Editor using the Open from URL function:TweetsAtomGridAs you can see, the data for each entry includes a language code, so for this example we will extract data from this Twitter feed as well as from a second search result on the “iPhone 4S” and combine them into one intermediate XML file for further analysis.Extracting XML data is really easy in MapForce: using the “Insert XML File” option to drop in an XML source, we can again specify the same URL as before. If needed, MapForce will automatically create an XML Schema for the supplied data so we can visualize it and extract information from it:TweetAtomMappingIn our mapping we have dropped in two sources on the left side – one using a query string to search for “Galaxy Nexus” and the other to search for “iPhone 4S” – and on the right side we have dropped in a simple XML Schema that will allow us to aggregate our data and analyze it more conveniently going forward. In this case the mapping between the two sides is straight-forward as we are only extracting basic information about the user, the date, and the language of the tweet, but in other applications the mapping could be more complicated and include functions as well as queries to other data sources, databases, or web services…Previewing the resulting XML data can be done directly inside MapForce using the output tab, and this is what we see as a result of our data transformation:TweetsRawDataNow we can easily use the reporting capabilities of StyleVision to group this data by language within each topic and count the number of posts in each language. We can then report this data in the form of pie charts, which produces the following interesting results:TweetsByLanguageObviously, this data is highly dependent on the date of execution and time of day, as well as the particular announcements happening about these products, so the numbers will fluctuate quite a bit, but it can be used as a nice monitoring for seeing different language-specific trends. And once this has been set up, the report can be refreshed easily with the click of a button to get a snapshot at that point in time. For more long-term analysis it would of course be necessary to modify the mapping a bit to query more than 100 recent tweets.In this article we have used Twitter’s Search API as one example data source and only looked at language as one unique data point, but there are many more interesting sources of data available online today, and this approach can be used on all of them in a similar fashion.If you want to experiment with other data sources and other kinds of information that you want to extract, we invite you to try for yourself. A free 30-day evaluation version of MapForce is available, and there are no limits on how you can use the other features of Altova’s data mapping and conversion tool for data processing tasks that go beyond analyzing social media trends…

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