XQuery Update Facility is an extension of the XQuery language that allows you to make changes in an XML document using “update expressions” that insert, delete, replace, or rename nodes. This extension provides a convenient way to make intelligent updates to XML documents, and XMLSpy has a unique implementation that makes it even easier. Let’s see how it works.
YAML is increasing in popularity due to its combination of human readability, simplicity, and versatility. Often used in configuration files and for data serialization, YAML can be used alongside JSON and XML in modern systems. It makes sense, then, for developers to choose an IDE that supports all three standards.
New YAML tools in XMLSpy add to comprehensive support for XML and JSON development, giving users the flexibility to choose the most suitable serialization format for their specific use cases and preferences.
Let’s take a look at YAML support in the XML and JSON editor.
The latest release in Altova’s line of desktop developer tools and server software products includes support for new industry standards, updated database support, and performance optimizations.
With each new product version, we aim to provide customers with a mix of developer-requested features, support for emerging standards, and performance improvements. Version 2024r2 is no different, with tools introduced for working with YAML, FORTRAS EDI, and XBRL Report Packages as well as multiple performance and usability enhancements across the product line.
Here’s a look at the highlights.
The explosion of AI tools has made a significant impact on the field of software development – not by replacing software engineers as some have predicted – but by actually increasing their value by freeing them to focus on higher-level tasks. By automating low-level code generation, for instance, AI increases development speed and opens the doors to deeper innovation.
To give developers the AI tools they need to realize these productivity and creativity gains, Altova has integrated AI functionality in XMLSpy for XML and JSON editing tasks.
Here’s how the XMLSpy AI Assistant works.
The advantages of JSON as a lightweight, human-readable, interoperable data format have led to its widespread adoption in various domains, including web development, mobile app development, and backend services. Many programming libraries and frameworks provide built-in support for JSON parsing and serialization.
That said, most applications still benefit from or require validation of client-submitted data. Enter the JSON Schema spec, which lets you describe the structure of JSON data for a particular application, for both documentation and validation purposes.
Though JSON Schema code is by design human-readable, building a complex schema with nested and repeating sections in a text-only editor becomes time consuming and error-prone quickly. Let’s look at five ways a graphical editor is a must-have for JSON Schema development.
Automated sentiment analysis of text, such as user reviews, has historically been a challenge. Because of the myriad intricacies of natural language, systems faced difficulties in analyzing context and nuances. This required an inordinate amount of manual work to overcome.
One of the many useful capabilities of modern AI systems that are based on large language models (LLMs) such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 is that they are very good at sentiment analysis of natural text inputs. We can use that capability to build a very efficient database solution in MapForce that, for example, goes through all the new incoming records in a support database and automatically determines whether a particular support request or other customer feedback is positive, negative, constitutes a bug report, or should be considered as a feature request.
Code editors with a graphical option in addition to the traditional text view are great for developers working with XML or JSON. Graphical editors like Grid View in XMLSpy provide a visual representation of the JSON or XML structure, making it easier to understand, navigate, and edit complex data hierarchies.
XMLSpy introduced Grid View years ago and has been improving on it ever since. The most recent update includes the ability to split the editing pane horizontally or vertically, which is especially handy when working with large documents.
Let’s see how it works.
The latest release of Altova software includes ongoing enhancements for graphical XML and JSON editing in XMLSpy Grid View, new tools for working with XPath/XQuery, support for integrating VDA EDI data in MapForce, and much more.
Here’s a quick overview of all the new functionality being introduced.
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.
XBRL International has finalized the sunrise period for its important new OIM (Object Information Model), which includes the xBRL-JSON and xBRL-CSV standards. In turn, it has completed the software certification process. Any product awarded the XBRL Certified Software designation has been thoroughly tested by XBRL International for conformance with the current XBRL specifications.
OIM represents a years-long effort of the XBRL community to modernize the financial reporting standard, providing a model for easily transforming XBRL data between XML and other popular formats like CSV and JSON. This way, organizations can take advantage of the functionality of XBRL and at the same time have XBRL documents written in the format(s) most convenient for them.
Altova XMLSpy and RaptorXML Server were some of the very first tools on the market to support xBRL-JSON and xBRL-CSV and are now officially named XBRL Certified Software for the OIM standards (in addition to being certified for a variety of other core XBRL technologies).
Big Data trends have developers working with XML alongside other data protocols such as JSON and Apache Avro, and XMLSpy supports both of these with dedicated editing views and functionality.
Let’s see how specialized Avro support in XMLSpy makes visualizing and searching Avro files, as well as editing Avro schemas, uniquely easy. We’ll also look at some of the advantages of utilizing RaptorXML Server for high-performance Avro processing.
Software developers and other data professionals often need to examine new data instances before designing processes for efficient production. As JSON becomes a more popular format for data exchange, the tradeoff for smaller data payloads can be loss of clarity of the underlying data structure.
XMLSpy has supported viewing, modeling, and editing JSON files since 2010 and includes rich tools to analyze JSON data, including applying filters, formulas, and charts.
Let’s take a look.
Nothing’s more frustrating than getting unintended results from an XSLT or XQuery transformation and having to spend hours tracking down the issue – especially if you’ve inherited the project from another developer or haven’t looked at the code in a few months. Of course, XMLSpy has long included an XSLT debugger and XQuery debugger for setting break points and stepping through transformations to identify problems.
For a more interactive debugging process, XMLSpy also includes XSLT/XQuery back-mapping.
With back-mapping enabled, you can simply click on or hover over the portion of your output document you want to zero in on, and XMLSpy will immediately highlight the source XML and XSLT or XQuery instruction that is responsible. Let’s see how it works.
The latest release of Altova desktop developer tools, server software, and regulatory solutions introduces a host of productivity-boosting features across the product line, as well as updated support for standards, databases, and integration with popular IDEs.
Let’s take a look at the highlights.
The ability to diff and merge files is a necessity for every developer. This can be especially troublesome when trying to compare differences between files containing structured data, such as XML.
The video tutorial below provides an explanation on how to compare XML files – and more – using both XMLSpy and DiffDog. These powerful utilities perform diff and merge operations in an XML-aware manner, which reduces the number of false positives seen when comparing files.
XBRL – the eXtensible Business Reporting Language – is a global framework for exchanging business information. The standard, maintained by XBRL International, is based on XML and designed to offer a standards-based approach to communicating and exchanging financial information between business systems.
The current version of the standard was finalized in 2003 and since then has received widespread uptake and eventual mandates from numerous countries and regulatory agencies, including the United States SEC. Adoption of the standard is due to advantages that include enabling automation and cost savings, better quality of reported data, improved analysis, and better quality of information used for decision making.
Despite its benefits, the complexity of XBRL presents a sharp learning curve for accountants and other stakeholders not familiar with XML, leading to errors and increased consultancy costs. In addition, coinciding with the adoption of big data technologies, XBRL has been used to represent ever growing datasets, which can be resource intensive.
XBRL International has worked over the years to modernize and simplify the standard in response to those challenges, and the Open Information Model (OIM) is an exciting and innovative solution.
XMLSpy is known for its graphical editing views, which make working with and editing XML and JSON more straightforward – and therefore increase developer productivity.
Both XML Grid and JSON Grid have received major updates in recent releases, and we’re committed to making these graphical views as feature-rich and effective as possible through continuous improvement. As such, we rely on and appreciate feature requests and developer feedback. The latest release of XMLSpy provides some great updates in response to this input.
Altova Software Version 2022 is now available, with exciting new support for mapping and converting NoSQL databases in MapForce, pure text report output in StyleVision, and Windows 11 across the product line. The release also adds support for the exciting new OIM standard from XBRL International.
Here’s a look at the highlights.
Altova XMLSpy and MapForce JSON tools have long supported JSON and JSON5 for editing as well as data mapping and conversion. As new JSON formats arise in response to real-world usage, the support in these tools is expanding.
This article will help explain the advantages of two newer formats – JSON Comments and JSON Lines – and show how to use them in XMLSpy and MapForce.
I was recently talking with one of our Support Engineers about common questions he receives from customers. One that comes up a lot is schema generation, specifically, “How can I generate an XSD from XML?” The answer, of course, is to use your favorite XML editor. XMLSpy will generate a valid XSD from a DTD, a relational database structure, a JSON Schema, and of course, an XML instance.
But what many customers are surprised to learn is that the XML editor will also create an XML Schema based on a group of related XML files – and this is a common requirement. Let’s take a look at how it works.
Prior to starting at Altova I had zero experience with both XPath and XQuery. The first task I was presented with was to train myself on both query languages as quickly as possible and produce a concise video that would serve as an XPath tutorial and XQuery tutorial. It was important to develop a thorough understanding of their features and capabilities because both languages are integral to app development in MobileTogether and querying data in XMLSpy. I started with a strong background in SQL, learning XPath and XQuery by building queries first in SQL, and then determining how to replicate them in both query languages.
If you’ve worked with XML in XMLSpy you’ve likely utilized XML Grid View to get a graphical representation of your XML document’s structure. This visual representation of the document’s hierarchical structure makes it immediately easier to understand and edit the content.
In the latest version of the XML editor, XML Grid looks a little different – in fact, it’s been completely rebuilt from scratch to offer even more unique functionality for editing, querying, calculating, and sharing XML data.
In the latest release of Altova desktop developer tools and server software products, we’re introducing a completely rebuilt XML Grid View, support for XSLT3 for XML data mapping, statistics and charts for monitoring FlowForce Server, and much more. Let’s take a look at the highlights of Altova Software Version 2021 Release 2.
Web and web services developers often need to send HTTP requests – whether for testing APIs, testing REST and SOAP web services, or managing web sites.
XMLSpy makes it easy to send and receive HTTP requests directly in the XML and JSON editor during development with its HTTP Window and WADL/WSDL Import Wizard, a great time-saving tool for debugging web services.
In Version 2020, Altova introduced an entirely new approach to JSON editing in XMLSpy called JSON Grid View. This visual JSON editor offers a graphical representation of the JSON document structure that is immediately easier to understand and work with than the corresponding JSON code in a text editor, especially for long, complex documents with multiple nested levels of arrays and objects.
With each release we improve upon the list of unique editing tools in JSON Grid. Let’s take a look at some important updates announced in Version 2021, which was released in October of 2020.
As standards-based technologies and their applications evolve, so does the functionality that users require from developer tools. In our latest release, we’ve added new ways to work with XBRL, JSON, EDI, and more that help Altova customers work faster and more efficiently.
Let’s take a look at some highlights from the Altova Software Version 2021 release.
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.
The latest release of XMLSpy adds several user-requested features for working with JSON and XML, as well as new functionality for debugging XPath, updated standards and database support, and more.
One of the really cool features added to XMLSpy a few years ago based on customer requests is the ability to embed external files – such as images – directly in an XML document as encoded text. This gives you the option to package all required data from various external files together in one large XML document. The functionality is also available for embedding images in JSON documents.
Let’s take a look at how easy it is to accomplish this in the XML and JSON editor in just a few steps.
From updated support for standards and relational databases to several new data mapping options, Altova’s Version 2019 Release 3 product line addresses developer requests and ups the ante with innovative new functionality. Let’s take a look at the highlights.
Altova Software Version 2019 introduces over 20 new features to help you sharpen your development game – starting with support for high-res monitors in both XMLSpy and UModel. There are also tools for working with new standards and database versions across the product line, the ability to map and convert data in Google Protocol Buffers format, and much more. Let’s take a look at the highlights.
Once you’ve written XSLT code to produce HTML or some other output, optimizing it to deliver the fastest execution is tricky business. Even with the powerful XSLT profiler in XMLSpy, a developer is required to have expert-level XSLT skills to test and fix the bottlenecks that the XSLT profiler identifies. Is the problem in an XPath expression? Is it an XSLT instruction? This can be a frustrating and time consuming task.
To help alleviate this issue and bring the power of XSLT to developers of all skill levels, XMLSpy also includes the XSL Speed Optimizer, which provides fixes to remove bottlenecks automatically, to immediately speed up your XSLT execution – it’s a revolutionary approach to optimizing XSLT performance.
While XMLSpy might not be the first tool developers think of when they’ve got a JSON development task, XMLSpy includes comprehensive support for working with JSON, JSON Schema, and related technologies.
Over the past few product releases, we’ve added intelligent functionality for editing and converting JSON and JSON5 data to the product. We’ve completed the circle with one-click conversion between XML Schemas and JSON Schemas, as well as sample instance generation and JSON Schema documentation generation. And, most recently, we’ve added support for processing JSON with XSLT, XPath, and XQuery.
Let’s walk through some common examples demonstrating this functionality – and see how these time-saving tools make XMLSpy the only JSON development tool you’ll need.
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.
When it comes to developing sophisticated software and data integration applications, the more building blocks a developer has at his or her disposal, the better. With each release of our developer and server software, we aim to provide customers with unique tools that give them the edge to get the job done – faster, and more efficiently.
To that end, Version 2018 delivers a unique HTTP testing window, 3-way file comparison functionality, support for SQL Templates, super-powered new server options, and much more.
Altova products have supported JSON for several years. Now, Version 2017 Release 3 of MissionKit and Server products, and MobileTogether Version 3.2 all include support for JSON5 across the product line.
The JSON data format was originally designed to be machine-written and consumed, promoting efficient communication between servers. Usage has expanded and JSON5 is a proposed extension intended to make JSON code easier for humans to write and read. JSON5 extends JSON by adding some ECMAScript 5 features and, like JSON, is a strict subset of JavaScript. Specifically, JSON5 permits inline and block comments, allows long strings to be split over several lines, and defines alternate legal syntax options for quotes and commas. These features are not permitted in standard JSON, so files containing the proposed enhancements are typically identified with the .json5 filename suffix.
This post details specific support for JSON5 in each Altova product.
Though XMLSpy includes a helpful Grid View for visual editing, Text View remains the most popular pane for developers using the XML editor. Intelligent XML editing functionality helps make the job easier, and we’re continuously adding functionality to the XMLSpy Text View to facilitate this.
Let’s look at some new functionality XML developers will have at their disposal starting with Release 3 of XMLSpy 2017.
It’s time for the latest release of Altova desktop developer tools and server software products, and this one introduces numerous innovative features across the product line, including a brand-new version of MapForce Server called MapForce Server Accelerator Edition for even faster processing of data integration jobs.
Let’s take a look at the highlights of Version 2017 Release 3.
JSON is a popular format for transferring data between systems thanks to its simple markup, small footprint, and heritage based on the JavaScript programming language. MapForce supports JSON as both an input and output format for JSON data mapping and transformation. For instance, MapForce can extract information from any popular database and produce a JSON file ready for transfer.
The Requirement: Here is an example of a typical need for JSON data mapping: A manufacturing company controls costs by exploiting a just-in-time assembly process with very little parts inventory on hand. New customer orders are logged in a sales database, and at the end of every day the components needed to assemble that day’s sales are tabulated via a query into the database. The required parts will be ordered from suppliers via a purchase order transferred in JSON format.
Starting with Version 2017, XMLSpy developers will have access to some new, time-saving productivity tools in their favorite XML editor, including a modernized Find/Replace dialog, an easy way to select all occurrences of a particular string, and a shortcut for finding a parent element.
I was amazed how much time and effort these new tools saved me right away – let’s take a look, and I’ll show you how.
It’s time for the latest release of Altova’s MissionKit and server software products, and this one delivers a huge boost in functionality for working with big data, databases, XBRL, and much more.
With support for Apache Avro in multiple products, additional databases and drivers across the product line, and two new XBRL specifications in developer and server products, plus a new way to build and process PDF forms, Version 2017 connects all the data dots.
What will be your favorite new feature? Let’s take a look.
Nothing interrupts the flow of development like waiting for a collection of files to transform – yet this step is unavoidable when writing, testing, and debugging XSLT and XQuery code.
In addition to offering the XSL Speed Optimizer, we’ve worked hard over the years to make sure the processor in XMLSpy is as fast as possible. As quick as it is today, it’s still limited to a single core execution on the CPU in your development machine – well, not any more.
Schema development is often an iterative process, and developers don’t typically start from scratch – XML Schemas, and, increasingly, JSON Schemas, are pieced together from existing documents or inherited from other teams. The ability to discern how schema components relate and analyze notes about development choices is infinitely helpful – but so often impossible due to lack of effective documentation.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons documentation should be an integral part of your XSD, JSON, or other schema development.
e-Books have revolutionized how an increasing number of people consume written content, allowing convenient access to myriad publications on e-readers, mobile devices, and computers. But did you ever wonder about the technology that makes it all possible?
There are various formats used to create e-books, and one of the most popular is the standards-based EPUB format. Let’s take a look at how EPUB works by creating our own EPUB e-book, then re-purposing some existing HTML pages to flesh out the content.
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.
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.
The most recent few releases of XMLSpy included some pretty powerful speed increases for validations jobs, achieved by strengthening synergy between Altova products. Now, developers using XMLSpy can take advantage of RaptorXML Servers installed on their network for the processing of large or complex XML, XBRL, and project-based validation jobs – directly inside the XML editor.
The XML validator in XMLSpy is powered by the Altova RaptorXML validation engine, which already provides the closest possible standards conformance coupled with fast validation speeds. However, the validation rates achieved are still limited to single-core execution on the CPU available in the developer’s machine. RaptorXML Server, on the other hand, benefits from the substantial increase in processing power afforded by multi-CPU, multi-core servers for increased throughput and more efficient memory utilization.
What does this mean for you? Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of connecting XMLSpy to RaptorXML Server.
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Let’s take a look at a few of the features recently added to the Altova MissionKit desktop developer tools and complete line of server software products, including screaming-fast XML validation speeds using RaptorXML Server inside XMLSpy, frequently requested functionality for EDGAR filing validation, support for SQLite databases and the TRADACOMS EDI format, and much more. You can always learn about the latest and greatest new features on the Altova What’s New page.
Support for XPath and XQuery in XMLSpy got a major boost with Release 3 of Version 2015. In addition to adding support for the latest standards versions – XPath 3.1 and XQuery 3.1 – we’ve added innovative new tools for developing and testing XPath and XQuery expressions in the XPath/XQuery window.
These new tools make it much faster to develop, evaluate, and refine expressions and statements before adding them to larger XSLT or XQuery documents. This will save you time and frustration – because you can understand how each operator or function works and ensure that your expressions return the desired results immediately. I found the function descriptions and entry helpers especially helpful for learning how the new maps and arrays features in XPath/XQuery 3.1 are implemented.
Release 3 of the Version 2015 Altova MissionKit desktop developer tools and Altova server software products is now available with updated standards support, customer requested features, and innovative new functionality that will save you time on everything from XPath and XQuery development, to advanced data mapping, to XBRL report rendering and beyond. You can skip right to the good stuff and upgrade now, or click Read More below for all the details.
