New XML Tools Announced this Spring

New Options for XML Editing

This spring, a number of new options have been announced to provide XML editing and authoring. Some are tools from established vendors in the SGML market space. But others are new to the market. If you are putting together an XML authoring solution, take some time and check out what's new!

XMetal 1.0 Released!

The long awaited XML editor from SoftQuad has just been released. XMetal combines features from both the popular HTML editor, HotMetal Pro, as well as from their original SGML editing tool, AuthorEditor. XMetal uses its years of Web experience to bring a familiar, easy-to-use, authoring environment to XML. XMetaL aims to capture an audience that can be customized to "mimic" common word processors and provide an alternate authoring environment for creating XML data. The goal is to eliminate the need to convert documents authored in traditional word processors into XML because authors will feel so comfortable that they can easily work in this tool. This, according to SoftQuad, will streamline the publishing process and substantially reduce conversion expenses. In the first version, XMetal import any DTD, in many instances without programming. Its COM-based architecture and support for any Windows scripting language ensure that XMetaL can be extended and integrated into any existing publishing infrastructure. Its comprehensive support of SGML and web technologies makes XMetaL the ideal tool for any hybrid SGML/XML environment. See the "XMetaL Features" document for further description.

XML Pro v2.0 Provides XML Editing at Attractive Price!

Vervet Logic recently announced the release of XML Pro v2.0. XML Pro v2.0 features the IBM XML 4J Parser, offering solid support for the W3C Document Object Model and the SAX interface. The upgraded version of XML Pro is available via the Vervet website at www.vervet.com. XML Pro is one of the most attractively priced XML editing tools, selling for a mere US$174.95 on CD-ROM and $149.95 for download. XML Pro v2.0 offers a clean, easy to use interface. The XML Pro editor will continue to be offered in a product bundle with Microstar's Near & Far Designer, to provide robust DTD editing for a complete XML solution."

IBM's XML EditorMaker!

This spring IBM announced their new XML EditorMaker technology. The XML EditorMaker is a software tool written in Java to generate Visual editors out of XML Schema files (DTD files) automatically. The goal of the EditorMaker is to alleviate the tedium of having to write editors for editing XML documents. It generates the editor automatically. The EditorMaker reads a DTD files and generates editor classes automatically). This is a rather revolutionary approach to XML editing and deserves to be investigated further!

New XML-Based Search Tools

Now that XML content is hitting the Web, you can expect to see a number of new tools which will enable both XML storage and search technologies.

MetaStar Enterprise Provides XML Database Search

Blue Angel Technologies recently announced MetaStar Enterprise, an integrated XML solution designed to enable organizations to create Web based knowledge solutions using XML. Enterprise combines database, search engine and Web technologies to provide a turn-key knowledge solution. MetaStar Enterprise lets users add, update and delete records in MS SQL or Oracle databases from their Web browser. The changes are reflected in the database in real time and are automatically indexed so they are also available on the Web in real time. Enterprise also includes workflow features that can be configured to automatically take specific actions when user-defined events occur. Blue Angel uses XML as an underlying data interchange format so that customers are not locked into a vendor's proprietary solution.

XML Search by IBM

At XML '99 Europe in Granada, Spain, IBM launched xCentral the Internet's first search engine designed to look exclusively for Extensible Markup Language (XML) information on the Web, such as XML documents, document type declarations (DTDs), style-sheets, press releases, tutorials, Web pages and bulletin board postings. xCentral delivers highly target information in order to leverage existing online XML resources. xCentral is a new feature available today on IBM's XML Web site. IBM gives the example of a meteorologist wanted to find information on DTD's that have already been created about weather patterns which included rainfall, average temperature and barometric pressure, this meteorologist could enter 'weather' in xCentral to see what data already exists or find newsgroups that might be interested in sharing information of this type. According to IBM, "xCentral is part of an emerging trend toward "specialized" search engines. With over five million Web pages on the Internet, traditional search engines turn up hundreds of irrelevant matches to simple queries. IBM first introduced this kind of resource last year with jCentral, a similar tool devoted to searching, logging and retrieving Java information and code found on the Web. jCentral has been a great success handling over 40,000 search requests a day."