Validating and Debugging Data Transformations


Software developers and other data professionals often need to transform data from one format to another. These transformations can be simple one-to-one conversions or may require more complex manipulation. For instance, relationships must be generated when importing flat CSV files into a database, or source data may need to be split for the target, as in full name vs. first, middle, last, and optional suffix. Validating data transformation is critical to prevent data loss or corruption.

In an earlier post on Web service data integration, we combined a string value for GMT time with a numeric offset in seconds to generate the local time for weather forecasts. We created a user function that performed all the steps required to complete this operation. MapForce includes a powerful interactive data mapping debugger that can easily trace and validate this transformation. Let’s take a look at how it works.

A software developer working on a computer
Read more…
Tags: , , , ,

Benefits of an XML Schema Manager


Developers working with XML often need to deal with multiple DTDs and XSDs that define industry-standard vocabularies. Whether it’s DITA for technical writing, HL7 for healthcare data, CbCR for financial reporting or any number of examples, it becomes a challenge to manage the various schemas—and numerous versions thereof—on a day-to-day basis.

Altova recently introduced a new XML Schema Manager integrated in its XML-enabled products. This provides a centralized utility that makes it easy to download and manage industry schemas for use across the product line. Let’s see how it works.

Developer working at a computer
Read more…
Tags: ,

ESEF Tools


The ESEF acronym has been top of mind for finance professionals across the EU and UK since mid 2019, when an upcoming reporting mandate from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) was announced.  

ESEF, which stands for European Single Electronic Format, is a digital financial reporting standard based on XBRL. As of early 2020, companies on EU regulated markets are mandated to prepare their annual reports in accordance with ESEF rules.

What exactly is ESEF compliance, and what does it take to meet reporting requirements? Let’s take a look at the basics and some tools that make it easy.

Finance pros
Read more…
Tags: , , , ,

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
Read more…
Tags: ,

The Easy Way to Track GDPR Compliance


GDPR is an acronym that has been top of mind for of privacy officers, CIOs, and even marketers across the EU since the early months of 2018. Now that it’s been a few years since the regulation went into effect, organizations should have a handle on what type of data is impacted and how to handle compliance. The ongoing challenge is tracking and documenting the steps required for GDPR compliance as a business evolves over time.

While numerous one-off templates to create GDPR reports based on a moment in time are available, Altova has created the first long-term solution for documenting and tracking the entire GDPR compliance management process.

Let’s take a look at what GDPR compliance entails and how the Altova GDPR Compliance Database makes managing it organized and straightforward.

An easy way to document and track GDPR compliance
Read more…
Tags: , , ,

Learn about XULE for XBRL


XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is an open, XML-based standard for the electronic submission of business and financial data. Though XBRL specifies what data must be reported and provides a standardized way of doing so, companies and regulatory agencies need a way to ensure the quality of data that is submitted. One approach is by using business rule validation, and XULE is one method that is growing in popularity.

Read more…
Tags: , , , ,

How to Build a Data Entry App


Data entry is a vital activity for businesses and organizations across every vertical. While much data entry has been automated thanks to advances in technology, there are circumstances where manual input is still required. Whether entered data is for reporting financials, tracking research, documenting health data, or managing inventory, end users need easy-to-use tools that help them quickly enter valid information.

As apps have evolved, so has data entry software, offering users new options for getting the job done in the field, in the lab, or at a desk – on the user’s device of choice. App developers are challenged to quickly customize data entry apps with advanced features for automatic field population, validation checks, and reporting tools.

No-code app development frameworks offer a viable solution for building data entry apps for all platforms quickly and without a huge investment. Let’s take a look at some best practices and how no-code solutions can help tick the boxes.

Person using a tablet for data entry
Read more…
Tags: , , , , ,