(Altova today announced the availability of Version 2008 Release 2 (v2008r2) of its award-winning line of software tools. The release of v2008r2 adds a host of new features and enhancements to Altova’s product line, including support for working with very large files in XMLSpy, extended Office Open XML (OOXML) functionality across multiple products, support for creating Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) diagrams in UModel, and much more.
Visit https://www.altova.com/whatsnew.html to view a complete list of new v2008r2 features with screenshots.
Very Large XML File Support – XMLSpy v2008r2 contains a number of advanced optimizations that allow you to open and work with files that are about 4 to 5 times larger than those supported in the past*, providing a huge benefit for working with large amounts of data in the context of database applications, financial services, data gathering, and enterprise data integration. This new support results in a reduction of memory-consumption by up to 75-80 percent as compared to the previous version when opening and validating XML documents in Text View.
In this latest release, XMLSpy v2008r2 also provides multiple features for optimizing XSLT development, including new entry helper windows and support for Java, C#, JavaScript, and VBScript in the XSLT 1.0/2.0 and XQuery engines. This enhanced functionality makes XMLSpy and AltovaXML(TM) the first universal XSLT engines to support all of these programming dialects.
In addition, XMLSpy’s support for seamless integration with and code generation for Visual Studio(R) has been extended in v2008r2 to include support for Visual Studio 2008.
Extended Microsoft(R) Office 2007 / OOXML functionality – With OOXML functionality already available in XMLSpy, Altova now expands that support across its MapForce(R), StyleVision(R), and DiffDog(R) products. MapForce supports the OOXML data format in Microsoft Excel(R) 2007. Now you can map Excel 2007 data to and from XML, databases, text, EDI, and Web services, and then convert data instantly or autogenerate royalty-free program code for recurrent transformations. As Microsoft customers continue to upgrade to the newest version of the Office suite, support for Excel 2007 will become an indispensable feature for sophisticated data integration projects and applications.
In StyleVision v2008r2, new OOXML support allows designers and developers to create stylesheets to publish XML and database data in Word 2007. StyleVision’s drag-and-drop stylesheet design interface simultaneously generates output in HTML, PDF, RTF, Word 2007, and Authentic(R) e-Forms, plus the corresponding XSLT stylesheets. Support for Word 2007 / OOXML in StyleVision will now enable you to design stylesheets for an even larger network of users as adoption of Office 2007 / OOXML continues.
In addition, Altova has reduced the price of StyleVision considerably to further ease the transition for developers working with the new OOXML formats.
For DiffDog v2008r2 users, detailed differences in Office 2007 / OOXML file pairs and other ZIP archive pairs are now displayed. You can perform extensive comparisons of OOXML files and ZIP archives, identify differences, and merge changes with more accuracy and efficiency than ever before.
Expanded Modeling Capabilities – UModel v2008r2 now supports the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), allowing you to create BPMN diagrams to illustrate a business process prior to development.
UModel v2008r2 also includes updated code generation and reverse engineering support for Java 6.0, C# 3.0, and Visual Basic 9.0, including accurate parsing of new language constructs introduced in C# 3.0 and VB 9.0 that directly support XML. This added functionality makes UModel the first UML tool to support C# 3.0 and VB 9.0. These are just a few of the many compelling new features being introduced in UModel v2008r2.
Access to Global Resources – Direct access to global resources is now available within XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, and DatabaseSpy(R), providing increased integration between these tools. This new functionality will be especially useful for customers with multiple Altova products, such as those using the Altova MissionKit(TM) product bundle.
Global resources support allows you to define, share, and access file, folder, and database resources across multiple projects and multiple software tools. This will allow MissionKit users to, for example, access and work with the output of a MapForce data mapping project — as it is produced on-the-fly — in XMLSpy and/or StyleVision. Countless other scenarios of tight integration between XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, and DatabaseSpy are possible.
You will also now be able to define a target deployment environment on-the-fly within XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, and DatabaseSpy projects, specifying ancillary files, directories, data sources, databases, etc. This means that a project can be thoroughly tested in multiple environments without having to be redesigned before it goes live. Support for global resources only adds to the numerous other productivity-enhancing features of the Altova MissionKit, which bundles up to eight Altova XML, data integration, and data management tools for less than the price of two.**
v2008r2 is a free update for Altova customers with an active Support and Maintenance Package. Visit https://www.altova.com/download.html to update now.
To download a 30-day free trial of any of the Altova products visit: https://www.altova.com/download.html
*Reduced memory-consumption of up to 75-80% measured in internal tests at Altova with XML files ranging from 10MB to 200MB in size, comparing XMLSpy 2008r2 with XMLSpy 2008sp1. Your results may differ.
**Pricing comparison is edition-specific and based on Altova MissionKit vs. any two individual licenses of the following included products: XMLSpy and MapForce.
Producing Word 2007 (Open XML) from XML and database data
This article originally appeared on the XML Aficionado blog of Altova CEO, Alexander Falk.
The latest release 2008r2 of StyleVision gives users important new functionality for creating advanced stylesheets to publish XML and database data in Word 2007, which uses the new Open XML (OOXML) data format, as well as simpler processes for publishing the same source content in other formats. And, to further ease the transition for developers and designers working with OOXML, we have just reduced the price of StyleVision considerably. As adoption of Open XML increases, StyleVision developers will be ready with a powerful tool for publishing XML and database data in what is sure to be the most predominant end-user document format, now that Open XML has been approved as an ISO standard. Here is how the process works:
StyleVision can access data from database tables,views, or you can directly enter a SQL SELECT statement to query only for particular data from a database. This makes StyleVision ideal for flexible database reporting, too. If you are interested in further details, you can read more about the new features of StyleVision 2008r2 here.
Altova Adds Word 2007 (OOXML) Capabilities to its Graphical Stylesheet Design Tool and Cuts the Price to Ease Adoption
Altova, (www.altova.com) creator of the industry-leading XMLSpy XML Editor and other leading XML, data management, UML, and Web services tools, today announced the availability of Altova StyleVision Version 2008 Release 2 (v2008r2). The latest update to StyleVision provides users with numerous features and enhancements, including capabilities for generating output in Microsoft® Word 2007, which uses the Office Open XML (OOXML) file format, support for grouping functionality when designing XSLT 2.0 stylesheets, and much more – all at a significantly reduced price point compared to previous versions.
Altova Announces Version 2008 Release 2 of its Software Product Line
(Altova today announced the availability of Version 2008 Release 2 (v2008r2) of its award-winning line of software tools. The release of v2008r2 adds a host of new features and enhancements to Altova’s product line, including support for working with very large files in XMLSpy, extended Office Open XML (OOXML) functionality across multiple products, support for creating Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) diagrams in UModel, and much more.
Visit https://www.altova.com/whatsnew.html to view a complete list of new v2008r2 features with screenshots.
Very Large XML File Support – XMLSpy v2008r2 contains a number of advanced optimizations that allow you to open and work with files that are about 4 to 5 times larger than those supported in the past*, providing a huge benefit for working with large amounts of data in the context of database applications, financial services, data gathering, and enterprise data integration. This new support results in a reduction of memory-consumption by up to 75-80 percent as compared to the previous version when opening and validating XML documents in Text View.
In this latest release, XMLSpy v2008r2 also provides multiple features for optimizing XSLT development, including new entry helper windows and support for Java, C#, JavaScript, and VBScript in the XSLT 1.0/2.0 and XQuery engines. This enhanced functionality makes XMLSpy and AltovaXML(TM) the first universal XSLT engines to support all of these programming dialects.
In addition, XMLSpy’s support for seamless integration with and code generation for Visual Studio(R) has been extended in v2008r2 to include support for Visual Studio 2008.
Extended Microsoft(R) Office 2007 / OOXML functionality – With OOXML functionality already available in XMLSpy, Altova now expands that support across its MapForce(R), StyleVision(R), and DiffDog(R) products. MapForce supports the OOXML data format in Microsoft Excel(R) 2007. Now you can map Excel 2007 data to and from XML, databases, text, EDI, and Web services, and then convert data instantly or autogenerate royalty-free program code for recurrent transformations. As Microsoft customers continue to upgrade to the newest version of the Office suite, support for Excel 2007 will become an indispensable feature for sophisticated data integration projects and applications.
In StyleVision v2008r2, new OOXML support allows designers and developers to create stylesheets to publish XML and database data in Word 2007. StyleVision’s drag-and-drop stylesheet design interface simultaneously generates output in HTML, PDF, RTF, Word 2007, and Authentic(R) e-Forms, plus the corresponding XSLT stylesheets. Support for Word 2007 / OOXML in StyleVision will now enable you to design stylesheets for an even larger network of users as adoption of Office 2007 / OOXML continues.
In addition, Altova has reduced the price of StyleVision considerably to further ease the transition for developers working with the new OOXML formats.
For DiffDog v2008r2 users, detailed differences in Office 2007 / OOXML file pairs and other ZIP archive pairs are now displayed. You can perform extensive comparisons of OOXML files and ZIP archives, identify differences, and merge changes with more accuracy and efficiency than ever before.
Expanded Modeling Capabilities – UModel v2008r2 now supports the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), allowing you to create BPMN diagrams to illustrate a business process prior to development.
UModel v2008r2 also includes updated code generation and reverse engineering support for Java 6.0, C# 3.0, and Visual Basic 9.0, including accurate parsing of new language constructs introduced in C# 3.0 and VB 9.0 that directly support XML. This added functionality makes UModel the first UML tool to support C# 3.0 and VB 9.0. These are just a few of the many compelling new features being introduced in UModel v2008r2.
Access to Global Resources – Direct access to global resources is now available within XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, and DatabaseSpy(R), providing increased integration between these tools. This new functionality will be especially useful for customers with multiple Altova products, such as those using the Altova MissionKit(TM) product bundle.
Global resources support allows you to define, share, and access file, folder, and database resources across multiple projects and multiple software tools. This will allow MissionKit users to, for example, access and work with the output of a MapForce data mapping project — as it is produced on-the-fly — in XMLSpy and/or StyleVision. Countless other scenarios of tight integration between XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, and DatabaseSpy are possible.
You will also now be able to define a target deployment environment on-the-fly within XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, and DatabaseSpy projects, specifying ancillary files, directories, data sources, databases, etc. This means that a project can be thoroughly tested in multiple environments without having to be redesigned before it goes live. Support for global resources only adds to the numerous other productivity-enhancing features of the Altova MissionKit, which bundles up to eight Altova XML, data integration, and data management tools for less than the price of two.**
v2008r2 is a free update for Altova customers with an active Support and Maintenance Package. Visit https://www.altova.com/download.html to update now.
To download a 30-day free trial of any of the Altova products visit: https://www.altova.com/download.html
*Reduced memory-consumption of up to 75-80% measured in internal tests at Altova with XML files ranging from 10MB to 200MB in size, comparing XMLSpy 2008r2 with XMLSpy 2008sp1. Your results may differ.
**Pricing comparison is edition-specific and based on Altova MissionKit vs. any two individual licenses of the following included products: XMLSpy and MapForce.
Altova XMLSpy Earns Programmer’s Paradise Riding the Crest Award
Altova, (www.altova.com) creator of the industry-leading XMLSpy XML Editor and other leading XML, data management, UML, and Web services tools, today announced that Altova XMLSpy has received the 2007 Programmer’s Paradise Riding the Crest® Award in the XML Tools category. Programmer’s Paradise®, a subsidiary of Wayside Technology Group&tm;, Inc., is the leading independent marketer of software development and infrastructure tools for technology professionals, offering thousands of products that aid programmer efficiency. The Riding the Crest Awards, given annually, are determined by total sales in each category featuring at least three competitive products.
Using TrueType Fonts for StyleVision PDF Generation
StyleVision is Altova’s visual stylesheet designer for publishing XML and database data in PDF and other formats. Limitations in the design of the Apache FOP processor cause TrueType fonts to be unavailable for PDF generation. This tip for creating TrueType font metrics files, along with the downloadable scripts, provides StyleVision users with a workaround for this issue.
A metrics file is created by calling the Java application TTFReader. TTFReader is included with Apache FOP, so if you have Apache FOP installed, TTFReader is already installed, too.
If you are proficient in calling a Java application, you can call TTFReader yourself to create the metrics file for each TrueType font. Alternatively, we have provided a set of command files below that ease this task. With these command files, you can easily create metrics files for all the TrueType fonts installed on your computer.
Please visit https://www.altova.com/technote12.html to view the complete tip with screenshots and a link to download the command files.
If you’re not already a StyleVision user, you may download a free, 30-day trial here: https://www.altova.com/download.html
LANSA OEMs MapForce to Convert Data in Business Process Integration App
A recent article in Database Trends & Applications magazine highlights how MapForce, Altova’s graphical mapping, conversion, and integration tool is working behind the scenes for LANSA Composer to give non-technical users the power to perform business process automation tasks.
LANSA, a software company offering a development environment for application generation and integration on multiple computer systems, chose MapForce because it was the only candidate that met the project’s four most important criteria:
LANSA Composer uses the MapForce application as its transformation component. MapForce generates a platform-independent Java applet behind the scenes based on the user input from the mapping. While invisible to the LANSA Composer user, the code enables the business processing engine to execute the transformation component of the business process integration sequence.
Read the entire article, featured in the March issue of Database Trends & Applications magazine, as well as other recent reviews and news stories here: https://www.altova.com/news_and_reviews.html
Download a free 30-day trial of Altova MapForce at: https://www.altova.com/download.html to see how easy it can be to map between XML, database, EDI, flat file, and Web services data formats.
Altova Receives the ComponentSource Bestselling Publisher and Product Awards
Altova, (www.altova.com) creator of the industry-leading XMLSpy XML Editor and other leading XML, data management, UML, and Web services tools, today announced that Altova XMLSpy, and the Altova MissionKit received 2007 ComponentSource Bestselling Product Awards. Altova was also presented with the Top 25 Bestselling Publisher Award.