We recently blogged about the release of the Version 2011 MissionKit and all the new features it included. Let's take a closer look now at XMLSpy 2011 and what's new in the XML editor:
- Creation of pie, line, bar, and gauge charts from XML
- Validation of SOAP messages against the SOAP spec & corresponding WSDL file
- Schema flattener
- Schema subset picker
Creation of charts & graphs from XML data
Like several other tools in the MissionKit 2011, XMLSpy now supports chart and graph generation. Chart creation is unique to XMLSpy and brings a whole new dimension to working with data in an XML editor. Now you can visualize and analyze numerical XML data – and XBRL data – directly inside XMLSpy with just a few clicks. No more exporting to Excel!
The following types of charts are available:
- 2D & 3D pie charts
- 2D & 3D bar charts
- Category line graphs
- Value line graphs
- Gauge charts
Below are two example charts that show just some of the possibilities for representing XML data in attractive, meaningful way - with just a few clicks:
To create a new chart, simply highlight a range of data in Text View or Grid View, right click, and select New Chart. You can also specify the data to chart via XPath expression.
Once you’ve used the Select Columns dialog to specify which data you want displayed, either via XPath or by highlighting it in the window, and how you want to display it….
...you can choose the type if chart you require, and the appearance of the chart, from colors to fonts and more.
You can create up to nine different charts on the available tabs in the Output Window, and you can save each as a custom-sized image file with just a click or print it directly from XMLSpy. You can also copy it to your clipboard to paste it in another application, such as Microsoft® Word or PowerPoint.
One of the coolest aspects of these charts is that they're totally dynamic. Once you make a change to the underlying XML data, the chart can be instantly regenerated, either automatically by hitting Reload, depending on your preference.
What’s more, you can copy the XSLT or XQuery code to create the chart to the clipboard for use in your own stylesheet or application. The XSLT/XQuery code can be executed in XMLSpy and via AltovaXML 2011 Enterprise Edition, Altova's XML standards processor.
Chart support extends to the XMLSpy XSLT profiler and XQuery profiler, as well. After profiling an XSLT or XQuery execution, one click creates a chart to help you immediately visualize the results based on one or more criteria. This makes it easy to immediately interpret the results of a profiling an XSLT or XQuery execution or to communicate those results with other team members in a powerful, visual way.
Validation of SOAP messages
Requested often by our customers, this new feature will be very useful for Web services developers, as it allows them to ensure their SOAP messages are valid against the SOAP specification as well as any XML Schemas referenced in the corresponding WSDL definition.
Schema flattener
The new schema flattener in XMLSpy 2011 allows schema designers to write all the dependent files that are included in a schema into one file. This way, you can use the flattened XML Schema without having to rely on a network connection to access the required files. This could be especially important when shipping a schema within an application.
Schema subset picker
Many schemas are quite large and contain more types and elements than are required for a particular application or information exchange. Furthermore, the larger a schema is, the longer loading and validation may take. The ability to create a new schema from a subset means a developer can select some global elements or types from a large schema to create a smaller one, using just the elements required. This feature is especially useful for working with NIEM information exchanges, but has also been requested by other users for a variety of applications.
Read about all the features added to the Altova MissionKit tool suite or download the latest version now.
If you're a current customer with an active Support & Maintenance Package, you can update to v2011 for free.
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