Overview

DocFlex/XSD is a new template-driven XML Schema documentation generator able to produce professional quality documentation for any W3C XML Schema(s) in the form of both multi-framed Javadoc-like HTML and printable RTF output.

The framed HTML documentation generated with DocFlex/XSD will allow you to decipher any XML schemas and represent them in a beautiful clear-cut form with great a lot of details about the schema components and all interconnections between them. This may dramatically save your time in understanding what those schemas actually describe and largely relieve you of working through verbose syntax of original XML schema documents.

The documentation generated in RTF format reproduces absolutely the same sophisticated content and formatting as in HTML output. However, now it is in the form of a single RTF document friendly to open both with Microsoft Word and OpenOffice.org Writer under Linux. In addition, most of hyperlinks are supplemented with page number references, which helps navigating the documentation in a printed form.

If you are an XML schema author yourself, DocFlex/XSD may be even more useful tool for you! In fact, it may greatly help you to automat the process of documenting your XML schemas.

Using DocFlex/XSD, you won't need anymore to write a separate documentation for every your XML schema. Instead, using the <xs:annotation> elements, you can insert all your descriptions directly into the schemas themselves. What is new now is that, along with the text, you can also insert the XHTML markup tags so as to format your descriptions in almost any imaginable way you wish:

• use different fonts and colors
• construct tables of any complexity
• specify bulleted and numbered lists
• insert hyperlinks

Moreover, using <img> tags you can even insert images directly into your XML schema annotations!

Since, according to the W3C XML Schema specification, each <xs:documentation> element (where the annotation's text is exactly specified) is allowed to contain children from any other namespaces, the XML schemas containing annotations preformatted with XHTML tags will be the valid W3C XML schemas as well. At the same time, DocFlex/XSD will process such XML schemas into a splendid HTML or RTF documentation.

DocFlex/XSD is a pure Java application able to run on any computer platform with the installed Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.4.x or later. In particular, it is supplied with the command files prepared to run immediately on MS Windows and Linux.

The DocFlex/XSD software consists of three base components:

1. The graphic Templates Designer.
2. The templates interpreter / output generator.
3. The "XSDDoc" template set.

The XML Schema Documentation Generator itself is implemented entirely as a set of "XSDDoc" templates processed by a special interpreter that generates the output documentation. It can be run both in command-line mode (including seamless integration with Apache Ant) and using a generator GUI.

The generator GUI allows specifying all generator setting (including numerous templates parameters, which control great a lot of features included in the output documentation) interactively using parameter/option inspector dialogs as well as starting the generation and visually tracking its progress (with the possibility to stop it at any time).

The "XSDDoc" templates are open for any changes and modifications. The high quality graphic Template Designer included in the package represents the templates in the form that visualizes the result output documentation. Using it, you can quickly and easily customize the generated XML schema documentation according to your specific requirements and needs.

The entire DocFlex/XSD system is based on a much more general innovative technology that to some degree may be considered as a rival of XSL Transformations.

Using DocFlex/XSD requires licensing. However, there is a freeware edition, which includes only "XSDDoc" templates and interpreter. So, you can start using the best quality XML Schema documentation generator immediately and absolutely free!

Links

DocFlex/XSD home page:
http://www.filigris.com/products/docflex_xsd/

Examples of generated XML Schema documentation:
http://www.filigris.com/products/docflex_xsd/examples/

Free downloads:
http://www.filigris.com/downloads/

This information has been provided by the vendor and has not been evaluated by O'Reilly's editorial staff.