- From: xmlschema-dev <xmlschema-dev@xmlspy.com>
- Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2001 03:30:12 +0200
- To: "'xmlschema-dev@w3.org'" <xmlschema-dev@w3.org>
We are pleased to announce the final stage of the beta testing phase for the upcoming XML Spy 4.0 product line and would like to invite everybody to participate in this event. XML Spy 4.0b3 is a Public Beta and accessible to anyone interested in XML development and document editing on the Windows platform. For this 4.0 Beta 3 release, all components of the 4.0 product line are available for public testing! Specifically, the 4.0b3 version includes the following new features or feature enhancements: + improved support for the final XML Schema Recommendation released by the W3C on May 2nd, 2001 + the ability to automatically convert schemas from the April 7 WD or Oct 24 CR to the final Rec version + the ability to convert existing DTDs, XML-Data, or BizTalk schemas to the W3C XML Schema Definition Language + new support for the following XML Schema components: fixed, redefine, abstract, nillable, xsi:nil + added support for validating against multiple schemas (schemaLocation with more than one namespace/location pair) + lots of bug-fixes in the XML Schema validation core (all, any, xsi:type, anyURI, numeric datatypes, etc.) + lots of bug-fixes in the Document Editor and XSLT Designer + complete support for Undo in the XSLT Designer + expanded online help for XSLT Designer + new online help for Document Editor Furthermore, the new 4.0b3 release includes our new XML Spy License Manager, which replaces the previous Registration dialog and now allows you to manage and organize your key-codes in a much more intuitive way. Consequently, this version requires all beta testers - including our registered customers - to obtain an "evaluation" key-code from our server in order to activate the software. The new license manager will automatically pop up, once you have installed and launched the software, and you will find the "Request" button there. The XML Spy 4.0 Integrated Development Environment (IDE) builds on the success of the award-winning XML Spy 3.5 product in the developer market and adds expanded ODBC database access functionality, enhanced user interface customization, a new plug-in architecture for 3rd party developers, as well as support for the final XML Schema Recommendation for both graphical XML Schema editing and validation of XML instance documents based upon XML Schema. In addition, the new 4.0 product line includes the XML Spy 4.0 Document Framework - a revolutionary solution for all document or content editing applications that is based on a combination of XML Schema and XSLT Stylesheets. This provides the customer with a highly user-friendly interface - very much like a typical word processor - that allows for true XML content editing and creation. The framework consists of two applications: The XML Spy 4.0 Document Editor supports free-flow WYSIWYG text editing, form-based data input, graphical elements, presentation and editing of arbitrary repeating XML elements as tables, real-time validation, and consistency checking using XML Schema and is typically deployed on the end-users desk. The XML Spy Document Editor is available in three variations: + as a stand-alone application, to be deployed on the PC of any non-technical user + integrated as a separate view within the XML Spy IDE user-interface (if you purchase the XML Spy Suite product) + NEW: as a Browser Plug-In for Internet Explorer, which dramatically eases deployment in the enterprise The XML Spy 4.0 XSLT Designer is a graphical Stylesheet creation tool that enables the customization of the document editor by defining an XSLT Stylesheet and additional editing-specific options based upon the underlying DTD or XML Schema for use during the content creation or editing process. The XML Spy 4.0 Document Editor is currently available both integrated into the XML Spy IDE as an additional view (i.e. what you get, when you purchase the XML Spy Suite product) and as a Browser Plug-In for Internet Explorer. To get a live demonstration of the new Browser Plug-In, please visit: http://plugin.xmlspy.com (this requires Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0) This Document Editor Browser Plug-In is a unique solution that allows live XML content editing from any desktop in your enterprise, which dramatically eases deployment and reduces total cost of ownership (TCO). This is indeed the first browser-based XML editing solution in the entire industry, and it is based upon open standards, such as XML Schema and XSLT! The XSLT Designer is also available as part of the XML Spy Suite 4.0b3 installation and allows you to create XSLT Stylesheets for use with the Document Editor as well as any other XSLT processor. The unique graphical design environment of the XSLT Designer provides you with a view of the content model of your document, XML Schema, or DTD, and allows you to drag elements and attributes to the design pane, where you can create tables, paragraphs, and assign any other common style information, such as font and color settings. This highly intuitive process greatly reduces the time required to create XSLT Stylesheets - a truly daunting task without the help of this software. The integrated Preview pane allows you to see your XML document styled with the Stylesheet you are creating, which lets you preview your results at any time during the design process. To participate in the public beta program, please use this URL to access our 4.0 product line preview page on the XML Spy web site, which contains a more detailed introduction to the new 4.0 product line as well as the download link for the actual XML Spy Suite 4.0b3 software release: http://www.xmlspy.com/beta/ Please note, that due to the huge interest in our product we are providing this download hosted on multiple sites with automatic load-balancing. If you are still experiencing any download difficulties, please retry the download at a later point in time, as we typically anticipate a large number of simultaneous requests during the first 8-12 hours of the availability of the new release. This is also the perfect opportunity to save money: if you purchase XML Spy 3.5 now (i.e. before version 4.0 is released), you'll be able to take advantage of our special limited-time 4.0 upgrade offers next month, which will enable you to get the full XML Spy 4.0 Suite for $20 less: Upgrade from XML Spy 3.5 to XML Spy 4.0 IDE = FREE Upgrade from XML Spy 3.5 to XML Spy 4.0 Suite = $179 For a more detailed 4.0 pricing information and other available product versions and upgrade options, please visit our online pricelist for XML Spy 4.0 at http://www.xmlspy.com/order_pricelist4.html Once again, thank you for your interest in our product and for participating in our beta program! Sincerely, Altova The XML Spy Company
Received on Friday, 24 August 2001 21:30:59 UTC