Audio and Video in Cross-Platform Mobile Apps


Altova MobileTogether combines UI design by visual drag and drop with functional programming using Actions and Action Trees to let developers quickly build mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows devices. MobileTogether 2.2 recently added support for multimedia features that will delight end users with sound effects, video, and audio recording functionality.

Add audio and video to delight mobile app users

Read more…

Tags: , , , , ,

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

Read more…

Tags: , ,

Scrolling Tables for Data-Driven Mobile Apps


Mobile device users always demand maximum information in the most convenient package, but small screen sizes can force a trade-off. Mobile app developers are challenged to fit data, navigation controls, and helper information all into a pleasing layout or risk frustrating end users who could be customers, colleagues, or c-level executives. MobileTogether 2.1 introduces scrolling tables and other cool new features to help developers create apps that present data elegantly and work the same way on all devices.

shutterstock_160560011

Read more…

Tags: , , , ,

What’s New in XML Schema 1.1?


Since the introduction of XML Schema 1.0, the standard has been widely adopted. Developers have requested several changes over the years, most notably the ability to specify and validate more granular business rules and also to allow flexible schema evolution. There are numerous changes and enhancements in the XML Schema 1.1 Recommendation aimed at addressing these issues.

Let’s take a look at the most notable new features and some resources for learning more or getting started right away with XML Schema 1.1.

shutterstock_137938508

Read more…

Tags: , , ,

Software Modeling for Projects of Any Size


UModel is Altova’s tool for software modeling with support for all 14 UML diagrams, additional UML-style diagrams for databases and XML Schemas, plus Business Process Modeling (BPM), and SysML. UModel 2016 Release 2 adds code engineering support for C# 6.0, complementing support for Java, Visual Basic, and earlier versions of C#. Creating a UML model from existing code can be a great way to analyze and document an unfamiliar project.

BLOG_State_machine02

Read more…

Tags: , , , ,

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

Read more…

Tags: , , , ,

Data Mapping REST Web Services


MapForce 2016 Release 2 includes expanded functionality for Web Services data mapping, providing robust support for REST Web services. MapForce accepts XML or JSON as the Web service response, allows definition of parameters, and supports custom HTTP headers. Users may define the Web service interface manually or by importing settings from a WADL file or a URL. Manual definition of REST Web Service Settings lets developers create settings based on a template URL. This is a convenient step when developers test and refine REST calls in a Web browser window, since the URL can be copied from the browser to become the template.

REST Web Services can be a pipeline of information for a data mapping project

Read more…

Tags: , , , ,