30 January 2007 15:00
NewsForge | Open source XML editors examined
by pvergain & 1 otherDespite the numerous benefits of XML, users and developers that work with it realize that XML's versatility is a mixed blessing. How does one design an effective editor for a data format that can be used to express virtually any kind of structured content? A visual editing idiom that is appropriate for developing a user interface with XUL content may not be appropriate for writing an essay with DocBook content. In many cases it becomes necessary to construct a specialized editing environment that provides a unique interface and produces valid XML code, such as Glade or OpenOffice.org.
If one were to build a generic XML editor that could support a multitude of vastly disparate content types, how would it work? The structure of a given XML content type is usually specified in a Document Type Definition (DTD) or a Schema. An application can use this data to introduce specializations and interface refinements. Many XML editors employ document meta-data to provide context-sensitive assistance and automation mechanisms.
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