If you’ve worked with XML in XMLSpy you’ve likely utilized XML Grid View to get a graphical representation of your XML document’s structure. This visual representation of the document’s hierarchical structure makes it immediately easier to understand and edit the content.

In the latest version of the XML editor, XML Grid looks a little different – in fact, it’s been completely rebuilt from scratch to offer even more unique functionality for editing, querying, calculating, and sharing XML data.

New XML Grid view

Starting with Version 2021r2, the rebuilt XML Grid is even easier to use and offers powerful new options and functionality. For instance, XML Grid now includes SmartFix XML validation, which detects errors This detects validation errors and offers solutions for fixing them.

The editor still includes the familiar table view that rearranges repeating elements in a table for easy viewing and sorting, using attributes and child elements for the columns and showing repeating XML element as rows.

What’s new is that rows and columns in the table can now be flipped to rearrange the display of the document to make it even more human-readable. For instance, table comparing mobile phones below has many columns but few rows.

Flipping the rows and columns makes the content immediately accessible.

Viewing Base-64 images as graphics

XML Grid View now supports automatic viewing of images (like the mobile phone shots shown above), including PNG, JPG, BMP, SVG, and animated GIFs – which is of course not possible in a text view.

You can even copy an image directly from an image editor and paste it into XML Grid View. Images are stored in base-64, which can be seen by switching to text view.

Adding content directly from external applications

In addition to copy/pasting images, you can easily copy content to or from external applications and its structure will be automatically detected in XML Grid. For instance, you can select content in Excel or a text editor and drag it directly into XML Grid.

Filters

One of the most compelling aspects of the new XML Grid View is that it lets you take advantage of XPath and XQuery to filter and process data directly in the view.

The right-click context menu helps you get started creating filters quickly – when you select the Filter to Focus option, a filter is automatically created to display the selected node. Then you can expand the filter to include exactly the required criteria. This is faster than starting from scratch and gives you a hint about how to structure the filter.

Below we’ve created filter to narrow the display to phones in a particular price range, and the result returns two phones. The filter can be toggled on or off as needed.

Formulas

While filters simply change the display of content in XML Grid View and do not modify the underlying XML document, formulas composed with XQuery can be used to calculate a result or generate a nodeset that can be stored in the document.

To define a formula, add a new node and use the in-cell Type button to change the type to Formula and enter an XQuery expression. Here’s a formula that calculates the average price of the phones in our document.

Clicking the disk icon will save the formula as a processing function and the result as a new element in the XML file itself.

Charts and graphs

XML Grid even lets you define charts and graphs to visualize numerical data directly in the editing view using the altovaext:chart XQuery extension. Below is a chart of phone prices in the XML document.

Once generated you can save the chart with the file, copy the chart image, or copy the chart as XML data.

Check out the demo video below to see these new features in action.

The post XML Grid Gets a Makeover appeared first on Altova Blog.

The latest release of Altova desktop developer tools and server software products introduces support for the newest JSON Schema versions in all JSON-enabled products. This adds to support for previous versions of the JSON Schema specification.

JSON Schema Editing & Validation

In addition to previous versions of the JSON Schema specification, XMLSpy now supports the two latest versions for JSON Schema editing as well as validation of schemas and instances:

• JSON Schema 2020-12
• JSON Schema 2020-09 (formerly known as Draft 8)

It’s easy to select the desired version when building a schema in the graphical JSON Schema editor.

Support for JSON Hyper-Schema has also been updated to include the latest versions. JSON Hyper-Schema is a JSON Schema vocabulary for annotating JSON documents with hyperlinks and instructions for processing and manipulating remote JSON resources through hypermedia environments such as HTTP. The term JSON Hyper-Schema is used to refer to a JSON Schema that uses these keywords.

Mapping and Converting JSON Data

For mapping and converting JSON data, MapForce and MapForce Server now support JSON Schema versions 2019-09 and 2020-12 in addition to previous versions.

High Performance JSON Validation

RaptorXML Server provides hyper-fast validation and processing of JSON instances and schemas based on JSON Schema 2019-09 and 2020-12 as well as older versions.

Update now

To get support for these new JSON Schema versions make sure you’re running the latest release of Altova software.

The post Updated Support for the Latest JSON Schema Versions appeared first on Altova Blog.

The latest release of MobileTogether introduces new tools for monetizing your apps and integrating them in new ways – making the platform even more flexible and useful for developers in firms of all types and sizes.

If you haven’t tried the MobileTogether framework for rapidly building enterprise apps and native apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and more, now is the time. Learn about all the new features below and try MobileTogether Designer for free.

Support for In-app Purchases

The RMAD (rapid mobile app development) approach employed by MobileTogether makes it easy for any developer to build highly sophisticated, data-driven mobile apps for all platforms – all based on a single design.

Now you can also enable in-app purchases in your apps with support for both one-time purchases and subscriptions, providing further flexibility and options for monetizing your apps.

In your MobileTogether design, you will define the interactions between your app and the app various stores to correctly transact an in-app purchase.

Features supporting in-app purchasing include new MobileTogether Actions and extension functions for defining what can be purchased, configuring events to occur when purchase states change, and querying available products.

The main interface between the MobileTogether design and app stores is the new In-App-Purchase Page Source, which can dynamically hold app store data about products and purchases that can then be used by your app.

MobileTogether ships with a tutorial and sample app to get you started implementing in-app purchases in your apps quickly and easily.

Embedding Windows client in your own UWP app

As an additional integration option, it is now possible to integrate one or more MobileTogether solutions in a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) application using the MobileTogether Windows client. This way you can take advantage of MobileTogether for quick, easy development of sophisticated functionality and then integrate it seamlessly in another application.

This is a must for building more complex enterprise solutions on the Windows platform and gives you the ability to extend the functionality of your solution if the built-in controls and views provided by MobileTogether are not sufficient for your particular use-case.

A MobileTogether solution is placed in a UWP app via a new SolutionView control that Altova has introduced specially for this purpose. Each UWP app can integrate more than one MobileTogether solution, all of which can run at the same time.

To help you get started, the MobileTogether Designer installation contains an example C# project that shows how to use the SolutionView control in a simple UWP app.

Support for Tooltips

Tooltips are a great way to provide helpful info to users about how to navigate and use the various features in your app. Now, it’s easy to configure these in your MobileTogether enterprise solutions and apps. Tool tips will show up on mouseover on computers and on long click on mobile devices.

Tooltips are defined in the Styles and Properties window for the respective control, e.g., a button, text field, check box, etc.

Support for Android 11

MobileTogether is constantly updated with support for new OS versions as they’re released, with most recent support added for Android 11.

Support for Additional Database Versions

MobileTogether supports direct connectivity to the most popular relational databases and has added support for the newest versions of the following, adding to support for previous versions.

• IBM DB2 for iSeries 7.4
• IBM DB2 11.5
• PostgreSQL 13
• MySQL 8.0.25

Update Now

To take advantage of all these new features, MobileTogether customers can update their software for free.

New users can get started by downloading MobileTogether Designer for free!

The post MobileTogether Adds In-App Purchasing appeared first on Altova Blog.

Altova Software Version 2022 is now available, with exciting new support for mapping and converting NoSQL databases in MapForce, pure text report output in StyleVision, and Windows 11 across the product line. The release also adds support for the exciting new OIM standard from XBRL International.

Here’s a look at the highlights.

Windows 11

Windows 11 represents a significant operating system upgrade from Microsoft that brings improved stability, security, scalability, and enhanced performance to developer desktops and laptops.

We are proud to release full Windows 11 compatibility across the product line.

NoSQL Data Mapping and Conversion      

MapForce is an award-winning data mapping and conversion tool that supports a wide variety of data formats. The software has long supported numerous relational database types with new databases added regularly, and we are excited to announce new support for NoSQL databases.

Starting with Version 2022, MapForce supports MongoDB and CouchDB, two of the most prominent NoSQL databases.

To transform data between NoSQL databases and other supported data formats (e.g., XML, JSON, Protobuf, CSV, EDI, relational databases, etc.), a schema is required to represent each data structure being mapped.

For NoSQL databases, users can either point to an existing JSON Schema or have MapForce auto-generate a JSON Schema based on all, or a selection of, the documents in the NoSQL collection being mapped.

Below is an example mapping that is reading BSON (Binary JSON) data from MongoDB and processing it before mapping it to a target XML document.

NoSQL databases are also now supported by MapForce Server for high-performance automation of data mapping projects designed in MapForce.

Pure Text Report Output

StyleVision is a multichannel report builder for XML, databases, and XBRL. With support for a variety of web and print output formats, StyleVision now also provides an option for pure text output. Text-only reports are ideal for machine reading or in circumstances when it’s useful to view large amounts of data without the need for styling and layout considerations.  

Based on your graphical report design, StyleVision will generate the text report as well as an XSLT stylesheet for automating the transformation. You can also automate these transformations using StyleVision Server.

From your single design, StyleVision also generates the same report in HTML, PDF, RTF, and Word, as shown below.

OIM for XBRL

Several of Altova’s XBRL tools now support a promising new standard from XBRL International called the Open Information Model (OIM). 

To help organizations more easily realize the benefits of XBRL for financial reporting, the OIM offers new and simpler ways of working with and consuming XBRL data. For instance, though XML-based XBRL provides an efficient, standards-based representation of business report data, such data is often originally generated, stored, and/or consumed in other formats.

The OIM provides a model for easily transforming XBRL data between XML and other popular formats including CSV and JSON. This way, organizations can take advantage of the functionality of XBRL and at the same time have XBRL documents written in the format(s) most convenient for them.

Support for the OIM in Altova software is as follows:

• XMLSpy supports the OIM with validation of XBRL reports in XML, JSON, and CSV, as well as one-click conversion between those formats.

• RaptorXML Server offers high volume, high performance validation of documents in OIM format (xBRL-XML, xBRL-JSON, xBRL-CSV) as well as automated generation of the different OIM output formats (XML, JSON, CSV).
• Altova EBA XBRL Add-in for Excel gives customers submitting to the EBA (European Banking Authority) the option of exporting reports built in Excel directly to EBA-conformant XBRL-CSV.

Learn More and Update

For news about all the new features across the product line, select your product from the What’s New page.

To update to the latest version or download a free, 30-day trial, head to the download page.

The post NoSQL Database Support and More in Version 2022 appeared first on Altova Blog.

XMLSpy is known for its graphical editing views, which make working with and editing XML and JSON more straightforward – and therefore increase developer productivity.

Both XML Grid and JSON Grid have received major updates in recent releases, and we’re committed to making these graphical views as feature-rich and effective as possible through continuous improvement. As such, we rely on and appreciate feature requests and developer feedback. The latest release of XMLSpy provides some great updates in response to this input.

XML Editing Performance Boost

Users of XML Grid view for will notice a significant performance boost starting with XMLSpy Version 2022. XML Grid is fast and responsive, even with large XML documents.

Sticky Header when Scrolling

Speaking of large documents, working with complex JSON and XML files just got even easier with sticky headers.

As you scroll down an XML or JSON document in Grid View and the top-level node goes out of the view window, a header bar appears at the top of Grid View and shows that top-level node.

The sticky header is automatic and dynamic: As you scroll further down, more ancestor elements of the node currently at the top of the view window will be displayed in the header bar.

For easy navigation, you can click a node in the header bar and that node will be selected and displayed in the view window.

Whitespace Indicators

Grid View typically collapses whitespace (space, tab, carriage return, and linefeed characters) for efficient viewing, but for some types of XML or JSON documents, whitespace is significant. A new setting allows developers to preserve whitespace in Grid View. In this case, whitespace characters are represented with special grey indicators for spaces, carriage returns, etc.

See Grid View in Action

These new features add to the comprehensive editing tools available in XMLSpy’s grid views. For a better overview of how XML Grid and JSON Grid work, check out these demo videos:

Visit the XMLSpy Download Page to update your software to the latest version or download a free, 30-day trial.

The post New Features in XML and JSON Grid Editors appeared first on Altova Blog.

The latest release of Altova desktop developer tools, server software, and regulatory solutions introduces a host of productivity-boosting features across the product line, as well as updated support for standards, databases, and integration with popular IDEs.

Let’s take a look at the highlights.

New in Version 2022 Release 2

Support for MongoDB clusters in MapForce

Recently added support for NoSQL database mapping and conversion in MapForce has been enhanced with support for MongoDB clusters. In contrast to a single-server MongoDB database, a MongoDB cluster allows the database to either horizontally scale across many servers with sharding or to replicate data to increase performance and availability.

MapForce can now connect to MongoDB clusters as well as single-server databases.

Convenient features for working with images

Multiple Altova software products include support for projects that group related files and allow for easy batch operations. Now, when a project includes images, the user can mouseover the image in the Project Window to preview it or double-click it to open the image in an external editing application.

This new functionality is found in XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, and Authentic.

XMLSpy has also been updated with a new Project toolbar (shown above) as well as enhanced support for saving images directly from its Grid and Text editing views (below).

Code generation for Visual Studio 2022 and .NET 6

Products that provide code generation, including XMLSpy and MapForce, can now target the latest releases of these environments.

Updated database support

Relational database support across the product line has been updated for the latest versions of:

• IBM DB2 11.5.7
• MySQL 8.0.28
• MariaDB 10.6.5
• SQLite 3.37
• PostgreSQL 14.1

Support for macOS Monterey 12

Altova Server Software is available on Windows, Linux, and macOS platforms with support added in v2022r2 for macOS Monterey 12.

And much more

Check out the per-product What’s New pages for more details.

Customers can visit the Download page to update their software to the latest version now.

The post New Features Increase Developer Productivity appeared first on Altova Blog.

Version 8.0 of MobileTogether adds several exciting new features to the innovative platform for building enterprise and mobile apps, giving existing customers a major upgrade and paving the way for new customers to create full-featured apps even faster than before.

Major additions to the platform include a brand new way of interacting with relational databases, support for modularization, and much more.

Version 8.0 also coincides with the launch of Altova RecordsManager, a new offering that gives system administrators a completely no-code option for creating business database apps in MobileTogether Designer.

Let’s take a look at the highlights.

New Database Wizard & hierarchical database read/write

Previously, connecting apps with backend data in relational databases required quite a bit of hand-written SQL work to perform commonly required tasks. For instance, including data from two tables in a single form required two separate database queries. As such, saving the same data back to the database was also complicated.

MobileTogether 8.0 takes an entirely new approach that lets developers more readily build a query that returns hierarchical data – and write the data back in hierarchical form. The new Database Wizard offers an easy way to build SELECT statements visually, and any parameter to the SQL query can now be directly expressed using an XPath statement, i.e., there is no longer a need to explicitly declare parameters.

The Database Wizard also lets developers add tables connected via foreign keys to the result – all in a single step. This means an entire hierarchy can be retrieved at once.

Any changes made during app execution will be intelligently written back to the relationally linked database at once. 

The new approach to working with hierarchical data in otherwise flat relational databases in MobileTogether will prove to be a huge time saver that makes app development that much simpler.

Modularization support

Multiple new features make it possible to modularize MobileTogether Design files and components so that multiple developers can work on the same project. Modularization support also adds the ability to automatically organize related design components and reuse parts of projects in other projects.

Sub-projects

To facilitate refactoring of existing projects, there is a new option to extract part of an existing project as a new sub project. This enables a wide range of components that are defined in a project to be re-used across multiple projects. A new Refactor menu provides options for working with subprojects.

Modules

Modularization is also implemented with a new Modules pane, which organizes design components into logical parts.

Modules are grouped automatically based on their names. This way, you can tell at a glance which functions and actions go with which pages, and you can navigate to them automatically from the modules listing.

Adding a custom color to a module highlights the module items in that color across the project for easy identification.

Additional features that enable modularization include:

• Server Libraries: these can be exchanged at any time without needing to redeploy the app
• Server-side solution files

Refactoring and modularization offer numerous advantages from reducing development time and enabling teamwork to supporting fast, flexible updates and maintenance.

No-code development with RecordsManager

With the release of MobileTogether 8.0 comes a brand new approach for building custom database apps called Altova RecordsManager.

Now, when you open MobileTogether Designer you will have the option to create a classic MobileTogether solution — or start with Altova RecordsManager. RecordsManager has a visual, no-code interface for quickly building business database apps for desktop and mobile users.

One of the biggest advantages of RecordsManager is that app creators don’t need to build the database backend themselves. They simply focus on the objects they want to model, and RecordsManager takes care of the rest. This saves an incredible amount of time and work and allows system administrators or developers of all skill levels to easily create effective apps.

Powerful features and shortcuts cut down on development time as you define and link the repositories, data containers, forms, fields, and filters that drive your app. It’s easy to add powerful data and business logic validation, granular search tools, reminders, reports and more.

When your database app is ready, you can deploy it to users on desktop and mobile devices just like any other MobileTogether solution.

RecordsManager is the fastest way to build sophisticated business database apps – with zero manual coding required.

New Functionality for Actions

The powerful Action Tree visual programming language for event handling in classic MobileTogether designs has been enhanced with some additional Actions and options including:

• New lock/unlock Action for server access during critical changes
• New Action to rename file/folder
• New copy file/folder Action to move file/folder to new location on the same device or server
• Option to move deleted files to Trash or Recycle Bin
• New option to switch device theme via an Action

Additional new features

• Support for additional database versions
• Ability to restrict logging in MobileTogether Designer during simulation
• Comments in page sources
• Support for iOS 15 and Android 12
• Support for Windows 11 (MobileTogether Designer and Server)
• Support for macOS Big Sur, macOS Monterey, and Linux Debian 11 (MobileTogether Server)

Try RecordsManager and all the new MobileTogether features by downloading MobileTogether Designer for free.

The post MobileTogether Gets a Major Update appeared first on Altova Blog.

Long-time XMLSpy and MapForce customers may remember the fun drawings and depictions from Altova’s early ads and logos. Those dark spy images have given way to brighter colors and imagery over the years – but at the same time, developers have gravitated towards dark mode in their applications. Now, dark mode is finally available for XMLSpy and MapForce!

This fun option is being released alongside important support for additional standards and databases, a new tool for managing schemas across the product line, and a brand new product for building ESEF XBRL reports in Excel.

New Dark & Light Modes

Most developers have a strong preference for either light mode or dark mode. XMLSpy and MapForce users will now have the option to switch to dark mode or a new, modern light mode.

Here’s a look at XMLSpy dark mode:

And MapForce in the new light mode:

Of course, developers can stick to the classic view of either application if they prefer.

These fun options are available starting with Version 2023 alongside important new functionality and standards support.

New Altova XML Schema Manager

All Altova XML-enabled products now include the integrated XML Schema Manager, which was created to assist with staying up to date with the ever-increasing volume of XML standards and frequent updates.

Users may access the XML Schema Manager in the Tools menu of desktop developer tools or via the command line for Altova server software.

Offering a centralized way to install and manage standard XML Schemas for use with all Altova XML-enabled applications, the convenient interface lets you simply select the schemas you want to install (or uninstall). The XML Schema Manager will automatically select any required dependencies.

Advantages of using the XML Schema Manager include:

• Viewing all schemas on your system and checking if newer versions are available
• Downloading new versions independently of the Altova product release cycle
• Ability to install one or multiple versions of a given schema
• Automatic detection and installation of dependent schemas
• Faster processing of large schemas
• Changes made in the Altova XML Schema Manager take effect for all installed Altova products

Altova will update available schema versions frequently when they are released from standards bodies and include the latest versions in the XML Schema Manager. This way you can get the most up to date versions independent of the Altova product release cycle.

Support for ESEF XBRL

ESEF (European Single Electronic Format) is a type of Inline XBRL that is mandated for financial reporting in the EU. New support for ESEF is available in the following XBRL tools:

• XMLSpy: Validation of reporting documents according to the ESEF Manual
• RaptorXML Server: High performance, automated validation of ESEF reports
• ESEF XBRL add-in for Excel: a new product that lets end users create ESEF XBRL reports in Excel

Additional New Features

Other new features across the product line include:

• Updated support for databases
• Updated support for EDI formats and versions
• Code engineering for the latest versions of Java and Visual Basic
• And much more

Learn more about What’s New in Version 2023 and update your software to the latest version.

The post Dark Mode and Much More in Version 2023 appeared first on Altova Blog.

The latest release of Altova software includes ongoing enhancements for graphical XML and JSON editing in XMLSpy Grid View, new tools for working with XPath/XQuery, support for integrating VDA EDI data in MapForce, and much more.

Here’s a quick overview of all the new functionality being introduced.

New in XMLSpy

XMLSpy received some important enhancements for editing JSON and XML documents, including new XPath and XQuery tools.

• Horizontal / vertical split mode in Grid View
• Option to create a new document from XPath/XQuery results
• Support for Firebird 4, PostgreSQL 15, and SQL Server 2022
• Integration with Eclipse 2.45, 4.27

New in MapForce

Support for VDA EDI, used by the German Automotive Industry, is now available for data integration in MapForce. This meets a common customer request, along with new support for generating the standalone=”yes” declaration in XML output.

• Support for converting/transforming VDA EDI messages
• Support for standalone=”yes” in XML output
• Support for comments in data mapping projects
• Support for additional EDIFACT version: 2022B
• Support for Firebird 4, PostgreSQL 15, and SQL Server 2022
• Integration with Eclipse 4.26, 4.27

New in StyleVision

New support for embedding images in HTML output makes StyleVision even more useful for generating reports from XML, XBRL, and database data. The option to embed images makes HTML output easier to share, for example, via email.

• Support for embedding images in HTML output
• Support for FOP 2.8 for generating PDF output
• Support for Firebird 4, PostgreSQL 15, and SQL Server 2022
• Integration with Eclipse 4.26, 4.27

New in DiffDog

Another frequently requested feature is generation of diff reports in HTML (in addition to text and XML). These are more human readable, whereas XML and text reports are well suited for machine analysis.

• Exporting differences in HTML
• Support for Firebird 4, PostgreSQL 15, and SQL Server 2022

What’s New Video

See these features in action:

Visit the Altova web site to learn more about all the new features and update to the latest version.

The post Split Mode in Grid View and More in v2023r2 appeared first on Altova Blog.

Code editors with a graphical option in addition to the traditional text view are great for developers working with XML or JSON. Graphical editors like Grid View in XMLSpy provide a visual representation of the JSON or XML structure, making it easier to understand, navigate, and edit complex data hierarchies.

XMLSpy introduced Grid View years ago and has been improving on it ever since. The most recent update includes the ability to split the editing pane horizontally or vertically, which is especially handy when working with large documents.

Let’s see how it works.

Working with Large JSON or XML Files

Grid View doesn’t just lessen the learning curve for developers who may be new to XML or JSON technology; it can also increase productivity for seasoned software engineers who can use it to simply drag and drop to edit documents. Advanced features like database/table view, which automatically detects sequences of repeating elements and rearranges the presentation in a table; automatic image display; XPath filters and XQuery functions to manipulate data; and even built-in chart creation take that productivity to the next level.

Of course, the corresponding XML or JSON code is updated in the background and can be viewed and edited as needed in Text View.

These tools save a lot of time and effort, especially when working with complex data structures. However, working with large documents in a visual editor can require a lot of scrolling, and it’s easy to get lost in the navigation. That’s where split mode in Grid View comes in.

Available in XMLSpy versions 2023r2 and higher, split mode lets users drag to split the editing view either horizontally or vertically, depending on the data at hand.  

In the screenshot below, we’ve dragged the vertical slider to split this large course catalog XML document into two panes, which can scroll independently as we work. Any changes made in one pane are reflected in the other and the document as a whole.

Watch this snippet of our latest What’s New video to see split mode in action.

Split mode is just the latest in a long line of features Altova has added to Grid View to make it more useful for XML and JSON developers. Is there a feature you’re missing? Drop us a line in the comments section!

If you’re not already a customer, you can try Grid View and all the advanced features in XMLSpy free for 30 days.

The post New Tools for Large XML and JSON Documents appeared first on Altova Blog.

It’s an exciting week here at Altova! We have several new offerings to tell you about, including Release 2 of the Version 2012 Altova MissionKit and entire product line, a new Altova Online Training course on XSLT Technology, and a new service called Altova Product Consulting. Let’s start with what’s included in the latest product release. Version 2012 Release 2 delivers a host of the new features that have been most frequently requested by our customers, including support for EPUB 2.x, sorting of data mapping results, RichEdit functionality for Authentic eForms, code generation from UML sequence diagrams, and much more.

Version 2012 Release 2 Highlights

EPUB As the demand for e-books and other digital publications has exploded, so have the number of requests we’ve received from developers who need an easy way to create and edit these documents in XMLSpy 2012. In Release 2 we’ve added support for EPUB® (electronic publication), the open standard for e-books from the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). It’s easy to view and work with the various files that make up an EPUB document in XMLSpy’s Archive View, which supports creating, editing, validating, and previewing EPUB digital publications. XMLSpy already provides validation and support for editing XML, XHTML, CSS, and other standards-based files that comprise EPUB documents, making it a natural choice for creating and working with EPUB content. Check out all the new features in XMLSpy. Sorting for Data Mapping Projects Another frequently requested feature is the ability to sort data in mapping projects where the final output format needs to be ordered differently than it was in the input. MapForce 2012r2 includes two powerful new sorting features that you can apply in a variety of ways. The screenshot below shows a new function that performs a multi-level sort on the source data before writing the output file: Another option is available for sorting relational input. MapForce users have long been able to sort database data through ORDER BY statements in SQL queries. However, SQL queries that operate inside the database are not always sufficient for complex data mapping tasks. MapForce 2012r2 adds additional database sorting functionality to the existing MapForce SQL-WHERE component to become SQL-WHERE/ORDER, which is especially useful when database input requires additional processing that cannot be accomplished in a SQL query, or other data or conditions can impact the sorted order of data rows. Read more about new MapForce features. Other important features added in R2 include RichEdit functionality for Authentic eForms created in StyleVision, code generation from UML sequence diagrams in UModel, support for logical files in IBM® iSeries® databases across the product line, and much more.

Upgrade Info

Check out the rest of the features added in Release 2. This new version is free to download and install for customers with Support and Maintenance. If you’re not already an Altova customer, you can download a free, fully functional 30-day trial.

XSLT Technology Training

We are thrilled to announce the latest Altova Online Training course, XSLT Technology. This free, online, self-paced class introduces students to the concepts of XSL, XSLT, XPath, XSL-FO, and more, through guided tutorials and videos. You can practice working with these technologies using the tools of the Altova MissionKit to transform XML to XML, to HTML, and to PDF.

Altova Product Consulting

Have you ever wished you could purchase a few hours of a product expert’s time – whether you need to determine if a particular tool could solve your problem, or need help creating a schema or mapping project, or simply require in-depth product support? We’ve heard from a lot of customers with this very requirement – and in response we have created Altova Product Consulting. Altova’s Product Consulting engineers are experts on Altova software and related technologies. Services include determining if an Altova product meet the needs of a particular project, creating a MapForce mapping file (.mfd), designing a StyleVision design (.sps), and so on. Unlike typical complicated consulting engagements, Altova Product Consulting services are sold per hour, the allotment of which is agreed upon in advance, so there are no surprises. Get more information on specific services provided, pricing, and how to get started.

The post Release 2 of the Altova MissionKit 2012 appeared first on Altova Blog.

The Altova MissionKit 2013, empowers developers to integrate XMLSpy, MapForce, or StyleVision functionality seamlessly in custom Java applications for Windows. This frequently-requested capability adds to existing support for integrating these MissionKit tools in Visual Basic or C# applications, giving developers flexibility to add some or all XMLSpy, MapForce, or StyleVision views and functionality to their own custom apps.

Version 2013 of XMLSpy, MapForce, and StyleVision include a new API that allows each to run inside a window within a Java application developed using the Java Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) or Java Swing. This functionality allows MapForce 2013, for instance, to be embedded in larger applications where data mapping and transformation is only one requirement.

Altova provides sample applications with XMLSpy, MapForce, and StyleVision illustrating use of the Java API. You can access the sample applications from the command line or from within Eclipse.

The screen shot above shows the MapForce version of sample application, which has launched MapForce, opened a mapping file, and displayed validation results. The buttons for each MapForce window, such as Mapping, DB Query, Output, etc. below the mapping window all operate exactly as if MapForce is running in its normal stand-alone mode. Right-click context menus in the mapping window are also supported.

The Java API also includes extensive documentation to help Java developers get started quickly. An example from the MapForce API documentation is shown below.

Please note: you must install the corresponding free XMLSpy MapForce, or StyleVision Integration Package to access the sample applications and Java integration functionality. Although Java is known as a cross-platform development tool, MapForce integration functionality is available for the Windows platform only.

Try Version 2013 Now

Version 2013 is a free update for Altova customers with an active Support and Maintenance Package. Visit the Altova Download page to update now! If you’re not already a customer, you may download a free, fully-functional 30-day trial.

The post The Altova MissionKit 2013 Introduces Seamless Integration of XMLSpy, MapForce, and StyleVision in Java Applications appeared first on Altova Blog.

Release 2 of Altova MissionKit desktop developer and server software products is now available for downloading. This release packs a punch, delivering enhancements that boost performance by two or even three times, as well as updated standards support – and a revolutionary new approach to speeding up XSLT execution called XSL Speed Optimizer.

Let’s take a look at some of these new features in depth.

XSL Speed Optimizer
This new technology is a ground breaking approach to speeding up XSLT transformations, providing tremendous increases in throughput with no analysis required by the developer to determine exactly which XSLT or XPath expressions are causing bottlenecks. The XSL Speed Optimizer analyzes an XSLT transformation and derives an optimization strategy that can be saved within the stylesheet as processing instructions (PI).

Subsequent transformations with the optimized stylesheet using either XMLSpy or RaptorXML will be executed faster using those optimization hints. The XSL Speed Optimizer allows developers to focus on the transformation logic of their stylesheets – rather than spending valuable time identifying and correcting bottlenecks – and leave speed optimization to XMLSpy.

Additional Support for XSLT, XPath, and XQuery 3.0
First introduced in Version 2014, support for XSLT 3.0 has been updated to include even more functionality, and support for XQuery 3.0 is now finalized in XMLSpy and RaptorXML Server, allowing developers to harness the power of these new standards versions during editing, debugging, reporting, and processing.

Support for XPath 3.0 and XSLT 3.0 is now also available in StyleVision for report generation based on XML, database, and XBRL data sources.

An example of an XPath 3.0 expression being written for an XSLT 3.0 stylesheet is shown below, in the newly enhanced XPath dialog in StyleVision:

New Altova extension functions
XMLSpy, StyleVision, and RaptorXML Server all include support for a large number of new Altova extension functions for XSLT and XQuery development and processing. The new extension functions augment the standard XPath functions to meet common requirements quickly and efficiently. Examples include adding years, months, days, hours, minutes, or seconds directly to a date/time without a need to understand complex duration syntax, calculating age, repeating a string, converting between hex and integer formats, and so on.

Support for XBRL Table Linkbase
XBRL Table Linkbase provides a mechanism for specifying how XBRL data should be displayed that goes beyond the standard capabilities of the presentation linkbase to define the presentation of multi-dimensional XBRL data in a format that is more familiar to non-technical stakeholders such as accountants, financial professionals, and other business users.

XMLSpy 2014r2 now includes a graphical XBRL Table Linkbase editor for creating, editing, and validating XBRL Table Linkbases, as well as generating tables based on table linkbase definitions, providing developers all the tools they need to start utilizing this important new specification.

XBRL Table linkbase is also supported on RaptorXML+XBRL Server for lightning-fast validation and processing of XBRL documents.

New data mapping options
MapForce 2014r2 includes a number of new features for customizing any-to-any data mapping projects, including support for CDATA generation in XML files, new functions for processing and generating sequences, time-out settings for Web services calls, and more.

StyleVision is now powered by RaptorXML
The RaptorXML engine is now built into StyleVision, enabling lightning-fast XSLT transformations as well as support for XSLT 3.0 and XPath 3.0. StyleVision joins several other MissionKit products powered by RaptorXML, including XMLSpy, MapForce, and SchemaAgent.

Significant speed increase for XML and XBRL validation
RaptorXML Server 2014 already delivered on the promise of lightning fast XML validation, and v2014r2 is even quicker – up to two times faster* on multi-core machines when taking advantage of the parallel validation option.

Validation speeds on multicore machines are much faster for XBRL, as well – up to three times faster* on RaptorXML+XBRL Server 2014r2.

Job caching enhancements
FlowForce Server job caching has been enhanced with several new features. Job caching allows administrators to schedule execution of time consuming jobs, store the results, and deliver output instantaneously to a Web browser window, upon an HTTP request by an end user. Now in Version 2014 Release 2, job caching is supported for jobs that use parameters and combinations of multiple parameters. Administrators simply define the parameter combinations that will be available in the job configuration dialog.

Bulk insert for databases
Bulk Insert is now supported on MapForce Server, allowing a large volume of data to be inserted into a database table in a single SQL statement, as opposed to the typical method of using individual Insert statements for each row. Since processing overhead by the database engine is greatly reduced, performance is much faster. Testing has shown Bulk Insert can be more than 10 times faster* than individual Insert statements, greatly enhancing MapForce Server performance when writing to a database.

These and many more features are available in Release 2 of Version 2014 of MissionKit desktop developer tools and server software. For a complete list of new features, supported standards, and trial downloads please visit the links above.

Current customers with active Support and Maintenance or active server product licenses can update to the latest version for free.

*Performance results based on Altova internal tests conducted on a typical selection of files comparing Version 2014r2 to the prior version of the server software. Your results may vary.

The post Altova’s Latest Release Sets the Performance Bar Even Higher appeared first on Altova Blog.

Release 3 of the Version 2015 Altova MissionKit desktop developer tools and Altova server software products is now available with updated standards support, customer requested features, and innovative new functionality that will save you time on everything from XPath and XQuery development, to advanced data mapping, to XBRL report rendering and beyond. You can skip right to the good stuff and upgrade now, or click Read More below for all the details.

New in XMLSpy 2015 Release 3

• Support for XPath 3.1 and XQuery 3.1
• Significantly extended XPath/XQuery tab
• Support for Web Services Security (WS-Security) and other security extensions
• Support for XBRL Extensible Enumerations 1.0
• Support for custom fonts in Output Windows

Significantly extended XPath/XQuery window with builder mode, enhanced entry helpers, XPath/XQuery 3.1 support & more:

New in MapForce 2015 Release 3

• String processing as XML, JSON, EDI, CSV, FLF, and FlexText
• FlexText Support for Regular Expressions
• Support for SQLite databases
• Support for Web Services Security and other security extensions
• Support for Excel 2013 files
• Support for additional X12 standards: 5040, 6030, 6040
• Support for additional EDIFACT standards: D.14A, D.14B
• New string processing functions

Process any text file component (XML, JSON, EDI, CSV, FLF, or FlexText) as a string rather than a file:

New in StyleVision 2015 Release 3

• Support for XPath 3.1
• Support for XBRL Table Linkbase

Generating tables based on XBRL Table Linkbase definition:

Rendered table:

Altova Server Software 2015 Release 3

Version 2015 Release 3 of Altova Server Software products includes enhanced standards and API support and other helpful functionality.

New in Altova LicenseServer 2015 Release 3

• Failover support, making it possible to install primary and secondary LicenseServers and combine them in a fully automatic failover installation

New in RaptorXML Server 2015 Release 3

• Support for XPath and XQuery 3.1
• Significant improvements to Python API
• Support for additional XBRL standards, including Extensible Enumerations 1.0 and Generic Preferred Label 1.0 (RaptorXML+XBRL Server only)

New in MapForce Server 2015 Release 3

MapForce Server preprocesses and automates execution of data mappings designed in MapForce, and as such supports the same new functionality added to MapForce 2015r3.

New in StyleVision Server 2015 Release 3

StyleVision Server automates report and document generation based on stylesheets and supporting design elements designed and uploaded by StyleVision, and as such supports the new functionality added to StyleVision 2015r3.

Update Now

Upgrading to v2015r3 is included for all customers with an active Support and Maintenance package, as well as all current customers of Altova Server Software.

Update now!
If you’re not already a customer, download a free, 30-day trial.

The post New Support for XPath/XQuery 3.1, WS-Security, and More Debut in R3 appeared first on Altova Blog.

Let’s take a look at a few of the features recently added to the Altova MissionKit desktop developer tools and complete line of server software products, including screaming-fast XML validation speeds using RaptorXML Server inside XMLSpy,  frequently requested functionality for EDGAR filing validation, support for SQLite databases and the TRADACOMS EDI format, and much more. You can always learn about the latest and greatest new features on the Altova What’s New page.

Tight integration between XMLSpy and Installed RaptorXML Servers

RaptorXML Server is a lightning-fast XML validation and transformation server that benefits from the parallel processing power afforded by multi-core servers. Now XMLSpy users can take advantage of a RaptorXML Server installed on the same network to harness the speed provided by multi-core execution. This makes validation of large and complex XML documents faster than was ever possible before – directly inside XMLSpy. Developers can also take advantage of this integration to validate entire XMLSpy projects at warp speed.

Similarly, when a RaptorXML+XBRL Server is present, XMLSpy developers can utilize it for hyper-fast validation of XBRL documents, as well as execution of XBRL Formula calculations and EDGAR filing validation (below).

Test cases reveal validation speeds anywhere from 6 to 18 times faster!* For example, we compared validation speeds in XMLSpy alone on a typical developer’s machine [Win7 32bit, Core2 Duo E8600 3.3GHz (2 cores), 4GB RAM] against validation speeds using a common RaptorXML Server configuration [Linux server 64bit, Xeon E5-2630 2.3GHz (12 cores), 128GB RAM] from inside XMLSpy over a 1 GB network. Results from a variety of test cases include:

EDGAR filing validation

EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) is a system that performs automated collection, validation, and indexing of financial statements filed by companies to the United States SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). Starting with Version 2015 Release 4, EDGAR filing validation is available on both RaptorXML+XBRL Server and in XMLSpy. This ability for customers to perform EDGAR validation prior to submitting files to the SEC is one of the most often requested XBRL-related features.

Support for TRADACOMS

TRADACOMS is an early EDI standard used primarily in the United Kingdom retail, insurance, and book industry business sectors. Although the development of TRADACOMS standards ceased in 1995, it is still widely used in legacy systems, and data mapping of TRADACOMS messages is frequently required. Starting with Version 2015 Release 4 of MapForce and MapForce Server, TRADACOMS data may now be used as a source, intermediate, or target component in data mapping projects involving other EDI data, XML, relational databases, flat files, and more.

Support for SQLite databases

 Altova database-enabled products support all major relational databases, the most recent addition being SQLite, which has become increasingly popular on a variety of platforms. SQLite support was introduced in Altova MapForce and MobileTogether in earlier releases, and has now been extended to XMLSpy, StyleVision, DatabaseSpy, and other products in the Altova MissionKit, as well as Altova Server Software products.

For more details and a complete list of all of the new features included in version 2015r4, check out: www.altova.com/whatsnew.html .

*Performance results based on Altova internal tests. Your results may vary.

The post XML Validation Speeds Reach New Levels appeared first on Altova Blog.

We are excited to announce details of the latest release of Altova MissionKit desktop developer tools and server software products. Version 2016 includes full Windows 10 compatibility and updated relational database support across the product line, and it also introduces some new features that you simply will not find anywhere else.

XMLSpy 2016 includes the first full featured, enterprise-grade graphical JSON Schema editor. MapForce, our data integration tool, now includes a data mapping debugger that will revolutionize the way you define and test data mapping projects. Let’s take a closer look at these new features.

JSON Schema Editor

The JSON Schema standard emerged in response to the need to define and enforce the structure of data on a per-application basis. Slower to develop, however, was a JSON Schema editor with the features and functionality today’s developers need.  That all changes with the new JSON Schema editor in XMLSpy. Current customers will immediately recognize JSON Schema view, which was based on the ever-popular XML Schema editor – but if you’re new to XMLSpy you’ll grasp it right away too. It’s easy to use and will expedite your JSON schema development with features including:

• Graphical, drag and drop JSON Schema design
• Intelligent entry helper windows and context menus
• Validation of JSON Schemas and instances against schemas
• One-click generation of JSON Schemas from JSON instances
• High-performance validation of JSON projects (see next section)

This new functionality enhances existing features in XMLSpy including:

• Intelligent editing of JSON instances in text or grid view
• XML to JSON conversion, JSON to XML conversion

RaptorXML Server Integration for XSLT and XQuery Jobs

In XMLSpy Version 2015 Release 4, we introduced the option to run XML validation jobs on your installed RaptorXML Servers from inside XMLSpy, increasing validation speeds for large numbers of files anywhere from 6-18 times.

Now, that same functionality is extended to XSLT and XQuery jobs. Because you’re utilizing the parallel processing power of a RaptorXML Server running on multiple cores, these transformations will complete up to 14 times faster – all directly inside XMLSpy!

This increased synergy makes RaptorXML Server even more useful for development teams, because you can now take advantage of a single shared RaptorXML Server to torch previously time-consuming transformation jobs for large numbers of documents.

By the way, RaptorXML Server 2016 now also supports JSON validation, so this functionality is available for validating large JSON files in XMLSpy, as well.

MapForce Data Mapping Debugger

MapForce makes it easy to define sophisticated data mapping rules for integrating all types of data. However, for complex mapping projects with multiple functions, data sources, or custom decision logic, it can sometimes be difficult to track down errors when the mapping does not produce the expected results.

Now, the MapForce data mapping debugger lets you examine your mapping output step by step, to diagnose and perfect projects of any complexity.

Once invoked, the debugger allows step by step execution of your data mapping design with display of all intermediate values. The MapForce data mapping debugger comes with new menu commands, a new toolbar, and new helper windows that are opened automatically while the debugger is running, so you can trace the intermediate processing operations and examine data values as your mapping executes.

The MapForce data mapping debugger supports:

• Setting breakpoints on any input or output node
• Conditional breakpoints
• Manual, step by step debugging
• Display of all intermediate values in the graphical mapping view during mapping execution
• Context window showing which nodes/functions have been processed
• History window showing a list of every value that passed through a selected point during execution
• Partial output that shows what content has been written to the output file already during single-step execution or when reaching a breakpoint

This new data mapping debugger is revolutionary because it gives you deep insight into the exact inner workings of your data integration and ETL projects in a way that was never possible before, not even in much higher-cost mapping products. The ability to easily define breakpoints, watch the data essentially flow through your mapping, and examine throughput data at each step makes it much more efficient to isolate and resolve errors to produce the most accurate data mappings possible.

These are just a few highlights of the new release. Check out all the new features in v2016 and update to the latest version now!

The post New JSON Schema Editor and Data Mapping Debugger Debut in Altova Version 2016 appeared first on Altova Blog.

I’m excited to reveal some details of today’s Release 2 of Altova MissionKit 2016 desktop developer tools and software products!

v2016r2 introduces over 20 new features and updates to the Altova product line – but that’s a lot to cover in one blog post. Let’s take a look at the top five that are sure to blow your socks off.

1. Enterprise-grade XPath and XQuery Debugger

Writing and testing XPath and XQuery statements is often a game of trial and error, constantly tweaking each expression until it selects or returns the data exactly as you intended. The ability to test as you’re working, with interactive entry helpers and instant results helps speed the process greatly. That’s exactly what the XPath/XQuery window in XMLSpy is designed to do – and it just got even better with the addition of the first-of-its-kind XPath and XQuery Debugger.

This new window lets you analyze the results of your XPath or XQuery step-by-step as you run it against an XML document, with all the features developers expect from a full-featured code debugger, including step into, step over, and step out functionality, as well as Result, Variables, and Call Stack tabs. It’s easy to set break points and trace points to halt the debugger so you can examine the results at a particular point.

The debugger makes it easy to test and perfect your XQuery and XPath in the same window where you’re editing it, saving developers time and frustration.

2. New Tools for JSON Schema Conversion & Generation

When we added the graphical JSON Schema editor to XMLSpy earlier this year, we knew users would love it. We also knew they’d expect the very same functionality available for working with XSD applied to JSON Schema development – and we’ve rounded out that support in this release. XMLSpy now provides additional functionality to speed JSON development:

• XML Schema <=> JSON Schema conversion
• Generating sample JSON instance from JSON Schema
• JSON Schema documentation generation in HTML or Word

This new functionality completes comprehensive JSON support in XMLSpy, which now includes intelligent instance editing and validation, as well as JSON Schema editing, generation, conversion, and documentation – all in the same environment where you’re working with XML and related technologies.

3. Support for REST Web Services in Data Mapping Projects

Adding to the long list of data formats available for any-to-any data mapping  and integration in MapForce is new support for REST Web services.

MapForce accepts XML or JSON as the Web service response, and allows definition of parameters and supports custom HTTP headers, when required. Users can either define the Web service interface manually or by importing settings from a WADL file or a URL.

This new, often-requested support for REST Web services as data functions within a mapping allows users to more easily integrate information available from a wide range of sources over the Internet.

4. Starting Multi-Channel Publishing Designs from Word Docs

StyleVision makes it easy to build elegant reports and forms for publishing XML, XBRL, and database data in web and print formats. Now, it’s even easier to get started on a new design by basing your report or form on an existing Word document.

Compared to starting from scratch, basing a designs on an existing Word doc can save hours – or even days for complex projects – of design time otherwise spent replicating existing documents, since StyleVision preserves all the existing formatting and layout properties that exist in the Word doc.

Once the Word file is loaded, you can optionally add additional XML, database, or XBRL data sources to produce dynamic, multichannel output. It’s a great way to add value to existing forms or simply get a jumpstart creating a sophisticated StyleVision design.

5. .NET API for Building Custom XBRL Solutions, including Excel Plugins

In addition to Java, COM, and Python APIs, RaptorXML Server now includes a .NET API.

The .NET API allows developers to integrate RaptorXML Server functionality for high-performance XML, JSON, or XBRL validation and processing in applications written for the Microsoft platform, in C# and other .NET languages.

The potential applications for this synergy are limitless: developers can now integrate RaptorXML functionality into any application for the Microsoft platform. For instance, the .NET API makes it possible to build Excel plugins to generate XBRL directly from data in Excel, offering a powerful alternative to existing tagging-based solutions that could revolutionize the generation of XBRL data.

You can upgrade or get more information on these new features – and the numerous others introduced in v2016r2 – on the Altova What’s New page.

The post Five Not-to-Miss Features in Altova’s Latest Product Release appeared first on Altova Blog.

It’s time for the latest release of Altova’s MissionKit and server software products, and this one delivers a huge boost in functionality for working with big data, databases, XBRL, and much more.

With support for Apache Avro in multiple products, additional databases and drivers across the product line, and two new XBRL specifications in developer and server products, plus a new way to build and process PDF forms, Version 2017 connects all the data dots.

What will be your favorite new feature? Let’s take a look.

Modernized Find/Replace Functionality

Perhaps the most immediate productivity gain in this latest release comes to us in XMLSpy for working in Text View. We’ve completely redesigned and modernized the Find dialog and added powerful new features.

The new, modeless dialog stays open as you work, highlighting all instances of a search term immediately, as you type, allowing you to identify and navigate to each instance much more quickly than before. You can now search within a selection or even select a string of text to instantly highlight all instances throughout your document – with indications of all the matches both in Text View and also on the scrollbar.

All the powerful advanced features of the Find dialog are still available, of course, including filtering by granular criteria (element/attribute names, content, etc.) and searching with regular expressions.

Apache Avro Tools

Visualizing, Validating, and Editing and Avro

Apache Avro enjoys wide use as a compact, fast binary serialization format for Big Data, especially within the Hadoop framework. Despite this prevalence, however, there’s long been an unfilled need for working with binary Avro data in a user-friendly way. Enter XMLSpy 2017.

With the new Avro View, you can get an immediate visualization of binary data structures in an easy-to-read tabular format.

Because Avro files are extremely large, a Blocks pane organizes the data into groups, which you can view with a click. Avro View also supports searching through these huge files of data at lightning speed.

You can also extract and optionally edit the Avro schema. Since it’s a JSON file, the Avro schema can be edited in XMLSpy’s Grid View for a visual representation, or in Text View. Both options provide editing guidance and intelligent entry helpers.

During editing, validation against the Avro schema specification is provided.

High-performance processing

For ultra-fast validation of Avro data, RaptorXML Server brings the heat. Optimized for processing huge amounts of data, RaptorXML Server supports numerous Avro processing commands, including extracting the schema from an Avro data file, validating Avro schemas, and validating Avro instances against their associated schema.  

New Database Functionality

Extended Database Support

Rich database integration is found throughout the Altova MissionKit desktop developer toolset, and we’re constantly adding additional support based on industry developments and customer feedback.

New support is now available across the product line for:

• Support for ADO.NET database drivers – adds another option to existing ADO, ODBC, and JDBC drivers
• Native support for PostgreSQL – native support removes the need for intermediate drivers, so working with PostgreSQL databases is faster, easier, and consumes less memory
• Support for Progress OpenEdge databases – we’ve received numerous requests to add this as a supported database
• Support for SQL Server 2016 – adds to support for previous versions

Database Mapping Tools

In addition, database support in MapForce has been enhanced with support for executing database table actions as SQL merge. For certain mappings that both update and insert data into a database table and typically require the Update-If and Insert-Rest table actions, MapForce can now generate SQL Merge statements to be executed against the database. This improves execution throughput by reducing the number of database server calls, since they combine the INSERT and UPDATE statements into one.

Our tests indicate that bulk execution of SQL Merge by MapForce Server can be up to 15 times* more efficient than previous techniques.

Support for Additional XBRL Specifications

Tools for end-to-end development and processing of XBRL can be found throughout the Altova product line, and this latest release adds functionality for working with two newer specifications: XBRL Taxonomy Packages and Inline XBRL.

XBRL Taxonomy Packages

Since XBRL taxonomies are generally comprised of numerous related documents, they’re often packaged together in a ZIP file.

The XBRL Taxonomy Packages specification makes this approach more convenient by defining a standard format and location for a file in that ZIP archive that provides important information including a description of the package and the entry point. The taxonomy package  contains a catalog XML file that remaps URIs to the offline taxonomy’s file locations, making the taxonomy available offline to applications.

We’ve now added support for accessing the offline resources in an XBRL Taxonomy Package in both XMLSpy for development and RaptorXML+XBRL Server for high-speed, server-side validation.

Inline XBRL

The Inline XBRL (iXBRL) specification extends XBRL by allowing filers to embed their XBRL data directly into an HTML document, in effect combining the benefits of tagged data with a human-readable report.

Since the XBRL data contained in an iXBRL document still must be extracted into an XBRL instance document for further processing, XMLSpy now provides that functionality with the Transform Inline XBRL command. You can also validate iXBRL files on RaptorXML+XBRL Server.

New Excel Add-in Generates XBRL

We’re also excited to announce a brand new product for generating XBRL directly in Excel. The European Banking Authority (EBA) XBRL Add-in for Excel is targeted for institutions that submit filings to the EBA in XBRL format. It allows end-users to enter data directly in Excel – where they’re already comfortable working. In the background, the add-in saves the data in a valid XBRL instance document based on the EBA XBRL Taxonomy for submission.

Fillable PDF Forms

StyleVision, well known for generating attractive, multi-channel reports in PDF and other formats just got important new functionality for designers building fillable PDF forms. All of StyleVision’s user-friendly design tools are now available for PDF Forms, making it easy to build these functional tools for capturing user data.

Whether you start from scratch or base your design on an existing form imported into StyleVision, you’ll have access to all of StyleVision’s advanced functionality, entry helpers, and wizards for designing static and dynamic design components for use in forms.

Once users enter their data, organizations can extract the data in XML or FDF format using StyleVision Server, process it further to generate reports, and so on.

This powerful functionality immediately adds more value to the PDF forms workflow.

French Language Versions

As a last note, all MissionKit products and server software products are now also available in French versions, adding to those for English, German, Spanish, and Japanese.

Update Now

You can upgrade or get more information on these new features – and the numerous others introduced in the latest release – on the Altova What’s New page.

*Performance results are based on Altova internal tests and may vary.

The post Big Data, Database, and XBRL Tools Get a Huge Boost appeared first on Altova Blog.

It’s time for the latest release of MobileTogether, Altova’s cross-platform framework for building native, data-centric apps.

Coming a short five months after MobileTogether 2.2, version 3.0 ships with an impressive array of new functionality, from developer-requested features such as barcode scanning and automated testing support, to flexibility improvements in the form of multi-level stylesheets and print-to-file functionality, all of which are sure to set your apps apart from the crowd.

Let’s take a look at the new features in detail.

New in MobileTogether 3.0

Version 3.0 of MobileTogether adds the following:

• Support for scanning barcodes
• Multi-level style sheets
• Automated testing facility
• New action: print to PDF, Word, or RTF from client
• Ability to open files (e.g., PDF) on client
• Significant speed increase for Windows and Windows Phone client
• Completely re-written browser client

Support for Barcodes

Support for scanning barcodes is now available when developing apps in MobileTogether. This action will be immediately familiar to end users, who can now use the camera function of their mobile device to scan a barcode and retrieve the information stored therein.

MobileTogether supports numerous popular linear and 2D barcode standards, including:

• Aztec
• Codabar
• Code 39
• Code 93
• Code 128
• Data Matrix
• EAN-8
• EAN-13
• EAN-128
• ITF
• PDF 417
• QR Code
• RSS-14
• RSS-Expanded
• UPC-A
• UPC-B

Below you can see how to configure barcode use as an action in an app, and an example of an app scanning an ISBN (which uses the EAN-13 format) barcode.

Barcode support makes MobileTogether apps even more useful in a variety of industries and vertical markets.

Multi-level Style Sheets

For the ultimate flexibility in UI design, you can now define and assign styles either project wide or individually: per page, per table, or per control. Developers simply define styles using the Style Sheets dialog, and then can assign them with one click, as needed. As you can see below, the dialog supports project styles, which are applied everywhere, and custom styles that can be assigned on a granular basis for the various elements and controls in the app UI.

Styles – and the application of styles – can be defined with static values or calculated via XPath.

Creating a one-stop style repository not only saves a tremendous amount of time, but it also makes it much easier to control the appearance of apps across all platforms. For instance, if you need to make all app buttons look the same across iOS, Android, and Windows (i.e., instead of using the native button-looks), you can now define that once per project (or at any granular level, as required).

Automated Testing Facility

MobileTogether 3.0 includes features that greatly enhance the ability to test and debug mobile apps. In the Simulator portion of MobileTogether Designer, it is now possible to record a sequence of user actions, save the sequence in a file, and replay saved user action sets later when the app is modified. However, unlike other products, actions may be replayed either in the Simulator window itself, or on a client device that is connected to the Designer for a trial run!

You can save entire suites of test scripts to validate apps as they evolve over time, which allows you to:

• Validate app behavior if underlying data changes, such as the result of database queries or REST web service requests
• Verify bug fixes by replaying the set of actions that caused the error in a new version of the app that incorporates the fix
• Ensure no unexpected behaviors are accidentally introduced in new versions of the app
• Preview how the same sets of user actions look on different mobile client devices

The Manage Test Cases and Runs dialog shown below  lets you manage libraries of test cases for each app, control playback speed, and collect snapshots of client views and page sources after each step.

Full-blown support for automated testing in MobileTogether makes it possible to deploy apps to end-users on multiple mobile platforms much more rapidly than other mobile development tools.

Print-to-File from Mobile App

It’s now possible to generate reports or documents – straight from a mobile app.

This support is enabled through rich synergy with Altova StyleVision for designing multichannel reports and StyleVision Server for generating them on the fly, based on end user data. StyleVision Server uses a report design created in StyleVision to print the end user’s data to PDF, Word, or RTF.

Once a document is generated, it will be saved on the client for further processing. For instance, a PDF file could be emailed as a file attachment. The screenshot below shows the Actions dialog for configuring the print-to-file functionality and a page from an app using the feature.

The ability to print to documents in predefined, standardized formats greatly enhances potential applications for MobileTogether in enterprise environments.

Ability to Open Files on Mobile Clients

Now app developers can give end users the ability to open files such as PDFs, image files, text files, etc., that are stored on the client device. The file path can be defined in the app design directly or via XPath. Or, you can let the end-user select the file on his/her device, for instance, in a Windows 8 or 10 app. An optional file extension filter lets you specify the types of files that are allowed to be opened.

Speed Increase for Windows Devices

Version 3.0 includes a significant speed increase for Windows apps built in MobileTogether. Page rendering speeds on Windows Phone and Windows 8 & 10 are now up to 5 times* faster.

Completely Re-Written Browser Client

In addition to native apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 8 & 10, MobileTogether includes an HTML5 browser-based client for devices running any other operating system, such as Blackberrys or non-Windows 8/10 laptops.

For Version 3.0, we have completely re-written the MobileTogether browser client to deliver better performance. The new version transfers significantly less data between server and browser, which reduces data traffic, and apps running in the browser are generally smoother and faster.

Internal tests, especially via the 3G network, result in page rendering speeds up to 10 times* faster.

Learn More and Get Version 3.0

Get all the details and upgrade to MobileTogether 3.0. It’s free for current customers. For new customers, MobileTogether Designer is always free-to-use, so you can get started building your first app right away.

The post MobileTogether Adds Barcodes, Automated Testing, and More appeared first on Altova Blog.

It’s time for the latest release of Altova desktop developer tools and server software products, and this one introduces numerous innovative features across the product line, including a brand-new version of MapForce Server called MapForce Server Accelerator Edition for even faster processing of data integration jobs.

Let’s take a look at the highlights of Version 2017 Release 3.

XSLT and XQuery Back-mapping

Testing, debugging, and perfecting XSLT and XQuery code can be a time-consuming, often frustrating, process given the complexity and sheer size of the respective documents. The XMLSpy XSLT debugger and XQuery debugger are great tools for analyzing and perfecting transformations.

XSLT/XQuery back-mapping takes it a step further by allowing a developer to simply click on a portion of an output document to see the source XML node and XSLT or XQuery expression that created it. When working with XSLT back-mapping, you can even click on the output directly in Browser View as shown below.

This new functionality is a huge step forward in XSLT and XQuery development, especially since XMLSpy achieves back-mapping without altering your code in any way. See how it works in this video.

Support for JSON5

Support for JSON across the product line has now been updated to include JSON5, the proposed extension to the spec that makes JSON code easier for humans to read and write. This means you can choose JSON or JSON5 for intelligent editing and conversion in XMLSpy, data mapping in MapForce, and high-speed validation on RaptorXML Server.

Enhanced Find bar

The new, modernized Find/Replace bar that was added to XMLSpy recently is now also available in StyleVision, MapForce, and DatabaseSpy. The Find bar additionally also now supports multi-line searches via regular expressions in all these products.

New ‘join’ component for data mapping

The new ‘join’ component in MapForce is like a SQL JOIN, so it’s intuitive to use and understand, but even more flexible, because it can join data trees of any format. For example, an XML structure can be joined with a CSV file. The Condition element at the bottom of the join window allows you to define how the files will be combined during mapping.

For mapping projects that involve relational databases, the join component produces SQL JOIN statements for fast mapping execution. When you automate mappings with MapForce Server, you can access additional optimizations for mappings that use ‘join’ with the new MapForce Server Accelerator Edition, as described below.

Converting a StyleVision design to MobileTogether

StyleVision, the visual report and electronic forms design tool, now offers the ability to convert an existing design to a MobileTogether design. This means you can take an existing StyleVision report or e-form and use it as a great starting point for creating a mobile app!

Here’s a snippet of the StyleVision “Invoice” design saved as a MobileTogether design file and opened in MobileTogether Designer.

The MobileTogether Designer lets you change the design as necessary, and then deploy it as a native app that may be accessed on mobile devices and Windows 8/10 computers – as well as in any web browser.

This is especially useful for customers using StyleVision to design e-forms for Altova Authentic Browser Edition because it removes the need to use a browser plug-in as modern browsers discontinue plug-in support.

New features in Charting Engine

The charting engine in XMLSpy, StyleVision, DatabaseSpy, and RaptorXML Server received some enhancements that let users define charts with even more sophistication:

• Line chart may be used to draw just dots without the connecting lines
• Y-Axis may be inverted with 0 at the top
• Value labels can be shown directly on gauges or bars
• Text labels can be placed in charts (e.g., for showing units)
• Customizing distances between bars on bar charts

MapForce Server Accelerator Edition

MapForce Server provides efficient automation of data mapping projects defined in MapForce. Now, the MapForce Server Accelerator Edition offers even faster performance for customers utilizing servers with two or more CPU cores by providing specific optimizations:

• Multi-threading execution of individual data mappings
• Execution of data mappings that include the new ‘join’ component described above

During tests, MapForce Server Accelerator Edition has been shown to execute mapping projects submitted by customers up to 70 times faster*!

Learn More and Update

Learn about all the new features added across the product line.

Existing customers can update to the latest version to take advantage of all these new features. You can also try any Altova product free for 30 days.

* Performance results based on Altova internal tests. Your results may vary.

The post New XSLT Back-mapping Headlines Altova Release appeared first on Altova Blog.

DatabaseSpy is the unique database tool that supports all major databases and facilitates database query, design, structure comparison, table content editing and comparison, and even generates elegant charts from query results.

The recent update of DatabaseSpy to version 2017 Release 3 adds several new features, including the ability to automatically generate a complete DDL script for any database schema.

Database Tool for Complete DDL Scripts

A complete DDL script is an important resource that allows a database administrator to recreate a complete database structure. The DDL script will create all tables and relationships, as well as all views, constraints, indexes, functions, procedures, etc. that may be defined in the database.

DDL scripts are essential for backing up complete database structures, or to move a structure to a different server when the actual table contents are not required, such as moving from a development environment into production.

Right-clicking any database schema in the Online Browser helper window opens a context menu where the Show in New SQL Editor option offers the DDL Script command, as shown in the screenshot here:

The generated DDL script is then immediately opened in a DatabaseSpy SQL Editor window where it can be reviewed, saved to a file, or edited with context-sensitive autocompletion.

Enhanced Database Tool Find Bar

The DatabaseSpy SQL Editor Find bar functionality is also enhanced for Version 2017 Release 3. The new Find bar is based on Find features first introduced in XMLSpy 2017. Case sensitive, regular expression, and find in selection searches are supported. The Find bar also supports multi-line searches.

Shown below, the new Find functionality is especially useful to review long SQL scripts, such as the generated DDL script from the example described above.

Completely Revamped SQL Editor Autocompletion

Version 2017 Release 3 introduces completely rewritten SQL Editor autocompletion functionality to improve speed and efficiency while users create or edit SQL statements. The new SQL Editor autocompletion features:

• Greatly improved speed
• More relevant suggestions based on partial matches
• Better handling of quotes and parentheses

In the screenshot below, autocompletion offers the names of columns in the products table:

Autocompletion suggestions adjust based on the exact syntax and datatypes of the connected database type. Users working in a familiar database will find SQL Editor autocompletion improves productivity, and autocompletion is especially helpful for those working with an unfamiliar SQL dialect.

Database Tool Chart Enhancements

A colorful, eye-catching chart communicates information faster and more effectively than a table of numeric data. The already-powerful charting features of DatabaseSpy are further enhanced in Version 2017 Release 3:

• Line chart may be used to draw just dots without the connecting lines
• Y-Axis may be inverted with 0 at the top
• Value labels can be shown directly on gauges or bars

• Text labels can be placed in charts (e.g., for showing units)
• Customizing distances between bars on bar charts

Supported Databases

All the database tool functionality described here – and much more – is supported for the databases listed here. DatabaseSpy even lets users simultaneously open connections to multiple databases of different types and even compare structures and content between them.

Supported Databases:

• Firebird
• IBM DB2 for iSeries®
• IBM DB2®
• Informix®
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft® Azure SQL
• Microsoft® SQL Server®
• MySQL®
• Oracle®
• PostgreSQL
• Progress OpenEdge
• SQLite
• Sybase®

(Click here for the current detailed list of supported versions for each database.)

Existing DatabaseSpy customers can update to the latest version to take advantage of all these new database tool features. You can also try any Altova product free for 30 days.

The post Update to Altova’s Database Tool Adds Important New Features appeared first on Altova Blog.

When it comes to developing sophisticated software and data integration applications, the more building blocks a developer has at his or her disposal, the better. With each release of our developer and server software, we aim to provide customers with unique tools that give them the edge to get the job done – faster, and more efficiently.

To that end, Version 2018 delivers a unique HTTP testing window, 3-way file comparison functionality, support for SQL Templates, super-powered new server options, and much more.

Testing HTTP and WADL Messages

XMLSpy is a great tool for building web and web services applications, and the addition of the new HTTP Testing Window makes it even more useful. Developers often need to send and receive HTTP messages, whether for testing APIs, interfacing with WebDav servers, testing REST web services, or managing web sites.

The new window includes helpful menus and entry fields that make it fast to define and send an HTTP request, then receive and check the response. The left-hand pane of the window lets you specify the HTTP method (GET, POST, PUT, etc.), the HTTP headers of the request, and any connection settings such as time-outs and security options. For POST and PUT methods, you can also enter the message body.

The HTTP window also allows developers to import WADL files for testing. WADL (Web Application Development Language) files provide a machine-readable description of HTTP-based services including REST web services.

A WADL Import Wizard lets you select the WADL file as well as the type of request, method to import, and any parameters. Next, the wizard shows the parameters of the request lets you edit or deactivate them. Any invalid or incorrect values are highlighted so that they can be addressed before sending.

Once the wizard is complete, the request will be imported into the HTTP output window, where you can send it and view the response.

3-Way Diff / Merge

Both XMLSpy and DiffDog have long provided powerful differencing tools for XML and other files, as well as directories. In Version 2018 both products now also support 3-way diff/merge for document comparisons.

The ability to compare three versions of the same document is especially helpful for developers, who often have to reconcile differences between documents in a source control system. Three-way comparison allows you to see changes and conflicts in different forks in a single view and merge them into a final document.

SQL Templates

Altova’s multi-database SQL editor, DatabaseSpy, now supports SQL Templates, which are SQL queries that accept parameters. Parameters can make a query much more flexible, for instance, allowing users to easily test complex join statements with multiple values.

SQL Templates can be saved in a special projects folder and executed dynamically. This is useful, for instance, when a user needs to create queries that generate test results to explore unfamiliar data. After a test query is executed, the user can select values from the result table and supply them as parameters to a SQL Template stored in the project templates folder.

Auto-generation of iXBRL

Generating iXBRL, which is XBRL embedded in a human readable HTML document, just got a lot easier in StyleVision.  Since the United States SEC is increasingly encouraging companies to submit their financials in iXBRL, companies need an easy way to generate it each quarter.

StyleVision now includes an iXBRL Table Wizard for US-GAAP XBRL taxonomies that will auto-generate an iXBRL report based on definitions in the presentation linkbase.

Users simply select which tables they wish to generate along with other options, and StyleVision outputs the iXBRL document.

It also generates the same report in PDF, RTF, and Word for dissemination to a wide range of stakeholders.

 New Advanced Server Editions

In Version 2018 we are introducing two new editions of the popular MapForce Server and FlowForce Server for customers with the most demanding data integration and workflow automation requirements.

MapForce Server Advanced Edition (formerly Accelerator Edition) includes all the data integration automation capabilities of MapForce Server, with the addition of support for the following optimizations that make it even faster:

• Multi-threading of execution of individual data mappings
• Optimization for execution of data mappings that include the MapForce join component

FlowForce Server Advanced Edition includes additional support for the increasingly popular AS2 specification.  AS2 is intended to improve upon existing file transfer protocols with increased security and includes an option feature to further encrypt data. It was developed in conjunction with users who routinely transfer EDI, financial information, and other business data.

These new editions give customers the flexibility to choose the server option that best suits their processing requirements.

Additional New Features

Other new features added across the product line include:

• Significant speed improvements in the XSLT engines
• Improved spec conformance in XSLT/XQuery engines
• Database support updated to include Sybase 16, PostgreSQL 9.6, and MySQL 5.7
• Code generation support for Visual Studio 2013, 2015, 2017
• Integration with Eclipse 4.7
• Support for XBRL Versioning 1.0
• Support for XML Signatures 1.1

Get Version 2018

Read more about the features added to each product, and update to Version 2018. If you’re a current customer with active Support and Maintenance, you can upgrade for free. New customers can download a free, 30-day trial.

The post Add to Your Collection of Development Building Blocks appeared first on Altova Blog.

The latest release of MobileTogether, Altova’s framework for cross platform mobile app development, adds easy-to-use tools for defining push notifications, the ability to embed apps inside web applications, and more.

Let’s take a look at these new features, which only add to the long list of functionality available for building today’s sophisticated, data-centric mobile apps.

Push Notifications

MobileTogether 4.0 introduces the ability to send push notifications to one or multiple devices running MobileTogether apps.

Push notifications provide a way for app publishers to communicate directly to end-users to deliver information, such as news related to the app. They can also be used to drive subsequent user and app behavior, such as accepting invitations, linking to a website, or modifying a database.

It’s easy to define actions for sending and receiving push notifications in the MobileTogether Actions Dialog:

Various options give the developer maximum flexibility for implementing simple or complex notification behavior, as well as selecting which users receive it.

Embedding Solutions in Web Apps

This functionality allows developers to embed one or more MobileTogether solutions directly in a web page to, for example, enable web-based form applications like the one shown below.

The MobileTogether solution itself interacts with MobileTogether Server as usual and receives data that can then be communicated back and forth with the web application.

MobileTogether apps are embedded via an iFrame element in the HTML code of the web page, and multiple options for user or device authentication are available, if required.

 New Actions

MobileTogether 4.0 includes several new actions for defining app behavior:

• Load/Save String: parses a string and generates an XML or JSON page source, or serializes an XML/JSON page source and saves the string. This is especially useful when embedding a MobileTogether solution in a web app, as described above.
• Read Folder: retrieves a list of files and sub folders from a folder on the MobileTogether Server or client at runtime.
• MapForce Transfer: calls MapForce Server directly to perform any-to-any data conversion. This integration greatly expands the list of legacy and other back-end data formats that may be used in a MobileTogether app.
• Set Language: allows the end user to switch the language of a localized app manually (instead of defaulting to the OS language on the device). You can see this already implemented in the Altova Group & Gather app, which is available in five languages. Users can switch back and forth as needed:

Server Usage Statistics

The MobileTogether Server installation now includes a powerful app for the server administrator that displays various statistics about individual solutions running on that server.

This new app makes it easy to get an accurate view of the usage and popularity of each app on your MobileTogether Server, with reports and filters that allow you to view stats on numbers and types of users, devices, app starts, server requests, etc.

Updated OS and Database Support

Support for Android 6.0, 7.0, 7.1

Support has been added for building apps that include the native look, feel, and functionality of these latest Android versions.

Support for PostgreSQL 9.6

This adds to support for previous versions of this popular database.

Get the Latest Version

For existing MobileTogether customers, it’s free to upgrade to MobileTogether 4.0.

If you haven’t tried MobileTogether yet, you can download the free MobileTogether Designer to get started now!

The post Push Notifications Headline Latest MobileTogether Release appeared first on Altova Blog.

Altova Software Version 2019 introduces over 20 new features to help you sharpen your development game – starting with support for high-res monitors in both XMLSpy and UModel. There are also tools for working with new standards and database versions across the product line, the ability to map and convert data in Google Protocol Buffers format, and much more. Let’s take a look at the highlights.

Support for High-PPI Monitors

As more and more developers transition to 4K, UHD, and Retina displays, we’re working on revamping our UIs to be vivid and sharp on high-PPI screens of all sizes. Because XMLSpy and UModel are known for their graphical views, we’re rolling out support here first.

Both XMLSpy and UModel now take full advantage of the benefits of high-res screens and monitors to render graphics with more precision and detail, so the UIs of these products are now beautifully sharp on high-res monitors. The change will be most apparent in the graphical XML Schema, JSON Schema, XBRL, and WSDL editors in XMLSpy and in UML diagrams in UModel.

Read more about what’s new in XMLSpy and what’s new in UModel.

Mapping of Data in Protocol Buffers

The list of formats supported by MapForce for drag-and-drop data mapping is growing again, this time with the addition of Google Protocol Buffers, as requested by numerous customers.

Protocol buffers is a language- and platform-neutral mechanism for serializing structured data. The method generally involves an interface description language that describes the structure of some data and a program that generates source code from that description for generating or parsing a stream of bytes that represents the structured data – but MapForce lets you work with Protocol Buffers visually, without needing to write code.

MapForce can now map data to or from binary instances encoded in Protocol Buffers format to any other format, including XML, relational databases, JSON, CSV, and more, visually, using drag and drop connections.

This makes converting Protocol Buffers to and from other formats easier than ever.

Read about all the new features in MapForce, including advanced filters for defining node functions that apply to multiple nodes at once.

Support for additional database versions

All database-enabled Altova MissionKit products and server software products support numerous versions of the most popular relational databases. In this latest release, that support is updated to include the most recent versions of several of those, specifically:

• Firebird 3
• Informix 12.10
• MariaDb 10.3
• Microsoft SQL Server 2017
• MySQL 8
• PostgreSQL 10

Support for connecting to SQL Server running on Linux has also been added.

Extended XBRL support

We add additional XBRL support with every release, and this time XMLSpy and RaptorXML Server have received three important updates:

Support for XBRL Generic Preferred Label 1.0  

XBRL Generic Preferred Label is an extension of the XBRL specification that provides a syntax to make labels more flexible. XMLSpy includes a new entry helper for specifying preferred labels, and RaptorXML can validate documents that include XBRL Generic Preferred Label definitions.

Removal of duplicate XBRL facts 

When organizations create XBRL instance documents for filing, it’s important to detect and reconcile any duplicate facts.

Starting with Version 2019, XMLSpy can check XBRL instances for various types of duplicate facts and report them for analysis. Both XMLSpy and RaptorXML can optionally ignore duplicates during processing.

New entry helpers for XBRL Typed Domain 

A typed domain is the element declaration that is referenced by a typed dimension.

The Details entry helper in the XMLSpy XBRL Taxonomy Editor includes a new Typed Domain tab that displays additional information about any typed domain referenced by a typed dimension definition.

High-availability options for FlowForce Server

For use in mission-critical scenarios, FlowForce Server, Altova’s customizable workflow engine, offers the option to distribute jobs among multiple servers.

Administrators can configure a primary server and multiple secondary servers, offering excellent scalability with a group of computers sharing heavy data processing jobs. At the same time, this allows for high-availability: if one of the secondary computers stops functioning, the system will continue to process FlowForce jobs.

Of course, for load sharing the corresponding Altova server software (e.g., MapForce Server, RaptorXML Server,  etc.) must be installed on the primary and all secondary servers in the system.

Get Version 2019 Now

Read more about all the features added to each product in this latest release.

Existing customers can update to version 2019 of their Altova products, all of which are also available for a free, 30-day trial.

The post Get Sharp with Altova’s Latest Release appeared first on Altova Blog.

From updated support for standards and relational databases to several new data mapping options, Altova’s Version 2019 Release 3 product line addresses developer requests and ups the ante with innovative new functionality. Let’s take a look at the highlights.

JSON Schema Draft-06 & Draft-07

In response to requests from developers wanting to take advantage of optimizations in these newer versions of the JSON Schema standard, we’ve added support across the product line. This includes:

• XMLSpy: JSON Schema draft-06 and -07 support is available for validating, generating, and editing JSON and JSON Schema documents. Developers can even generate a JSON Schema based on an existing XSD. 

• MapForce: Support for the new JSON Schema versions is available for mapping JSON data to or from other formats including XML, databases, EDI, Excel, and more.

• RaptorXML Server: Support for ultra-fast validation of JSON and JSON Schema documents using Altova’s high-performance validation and processing server software has been updated to include JSON Schema draft-06 and draft-07.

Split Text View in XMLSpy

The XMLSpy text view remains popular for editing not just XML, but XSLT, XQuery, HTML, CSS, and JSON, as well. Developers now have a new option to split the editing window horizontally or vertically to work with different sections of a single document at once. 

This is especially helpful for larger documents, where it’s often helpful to see multiple portions of the document at the same time.

Full Support for High-Res Displays in MapForce

Joining XMLSpy and UModel, which were previously updated with sharp new UIs, MapForce now also takes full advantage of the higher resolution offered by high pixel density (HiDPI, high-PPI) displays to render all graphics with more precision and detail, making complex data mapping projects vivid and easier to read.

New Web Services Mapping Options in MapForce

New options for connecting to Web services for data mapping allow for:

• Handling of REST Web service errors (adds to support for handling SOAP WS errors) – Sometimes an error message returned by a REST Web service is for an issue that doesn’t adversely affect the outcome of the mapping. For these cases, MapForce now includes multiple options for reacting to HTTP error messages instead of simply aborting the mapping.
• Dynamic username/password – allows the username/password required for access to a Web service to be part of the data mapping itself rather than a static value
• Unstructured request/response bodies in REST Web services – a new MIME function library facilitates handling RESTful Web services calls when the request or response structure is unstructured, i.e., flexible or not tied to a particular schema

New Database Mapping Options in MapForce

MapForce includes numerous options for database mapping, and two new additions make it even more flexible:

• Database output logging (tracing) – When tracing is on, events such as database insert or update actions, or errors, are logged in an XML file that you can later analyze or process further.The ability to log database changes provides even more control for mapping designers to refine data processing definitions and/or report issues to stakeholders managing the source of the mapping data.

• Transaction roll back for error handling – Sometimes an error occurs that doesn’t prevent the rest of a data mapping from continuing, such as when certain database constraints prevent the mapping from inserting or updating invalid data. For these instances, MapForce now includes highly-configurable database transaction handling to roll back the affected part of the database data when an error is thrown and optionally proceed with the rest of the mapping.

Database Differencing on DiffDog Server

DiffDog Server, Altova’s high-performance differencing engine, has also been enhanced with new database functionality.

Like the DiffDog desktop comparison tool, DiffDog Server now supports all major relational databases for comparing database structure and/or content.

Other Technology Updates Across the Product Line

In addition to the new JSON Schema drafts, the Altova MissionKit and Server Software product lines have been updated to include support for:

• New database versions:
  • PostgreSQL 11
  • IBM DB2 for iSeries® 7.2, 7.3
• Office 2019 (OOXML)
• Windows Server 2019
• macOS 10.14

Update Now

Head to the Altova Download Page to update to the latest version, or try any product free for 30 days.

The post Updated JSON Schema Support Highlights v2019 Release 3 appeared first on Altova Blog.

The latest release of XMLSpy adds several user-requested features for working with JSON and XML, as well as new functionality for debugging XPath, updated standards and database support, and more.

Validation on Edit

Building on the robust JSON and XML validation tools in XMLSpy is new validate-on-edit in Version 2020r2. Immediate and detailed validation information is now available in both Text View…

…and the graphical JSON Grid View:

This feature can be switched on/off in the program options, as well as via a toolbar icon.

I’ve been testing this feature for several weeks now, and I have to say, it’s changed the editing game for me. The ability to see errors and fix them the moment they’re typed saves so much time compared to addressing them later by running a validation check manually or when saving the file.

Auto-backup

Speaking of saving your work, auto-backup in XMLSpy is great for recovering your file in the event of a software or hardware crash. The Tools | Options dialog gives users full control over whether to run automatic backups and with what frequency.

Green, yellow, red, and grey file modification symbols indicate whether a file is backed up, when a backup is pending, if a backup is not currently possible, and if backups have been disabled by the user.

Improvements to XPath Debugger

To perfect your XPath or XQuery expressions, the XPath/XQuery Debugger in XMLSpy lets you move through the evaluation of an expression against the active file to analyze the results for each corresponding step of the evaluation, and you can also set breakpoints and tracepoints. At each step you can see the content of variables, as well as set custom Watch expressions to check additional aspects of the evaluation. For each step, the part of the expression being currently evaluated is highlighted and the result of evaluating that step is shown in the Results pane of the debugger.

Now XMLSpy is providing even more helpful details in the call stack window, letting you analyze the context and variables at each step in the call stack.

The speed of debugging has also been improved.

Updated Standards and Integration Support

XMLSpy supports a wide variety of XML and JSON related standards, as well as offering full relational database integration and integration with the Visual Studio and Eclipse IDEs. Several updates have been introduced:

Support for X3D

XMLSpy provides built-in support for numerous file types via the File | New menu, with support added in v2020r2 for X3D (eXtensible 3D), a file format used for representing and communicating 3D scenes and objects embedded in applications.

Integration with Eclipse 4.13 and 4.14

XMLSpy supports seamless integration with numerous versions of Eclipse, and support has been updated to include the latest releases.

Support for additional database versions

XMLSpy integrates with all popular relational databases. This reduces interoperability challenges by allowing you to easily query SQL databases and convert back and forth between databases and XML files.

Support for Informix, PostgreSQL, and SQLite in XMLSpy and other Altova products has been updated to include the latest versions of those databases:

• Informix 14.10
• PostgreSQL 12
• SQLite 3.31

Learn more about everything added in the latest release of the XML and JSON editor. You can update to the latest version, or, if you’re not an XMLSpy customer, try it free for 30 days.

The post New Tools for XML and JSON Editing appeared first on Altova Blog.

Altova MissionKit tools offer numerous ways to connect to, query, and integrate data from disparate sources. With multiple product releases each year, we’re constantly working to deliver increased power and efficiency for data integration, while adding features requested by customers. This includes ongoing updates to built-in support for all major SQL databases across the product line.

Let’s take a look at some of the recently added tools and enhancements.

All New Library Management System in MapForce

MapForce, the any-to-any data mapping tool, includes a comprehensive library of data processing filters and functions for manipulating source data before writing it to a target. It also offers the ability to import other function libraries and save user defined functions. In the latest version, increased efficiency and flexibility has been added in the form of a new Manage Libraries dialog.

Adding to the ability to import libraries globally, which makes libraries and user defined functions available to all mappings, the Manage Libraries window lets users import them to a specific data mapping project (.mfd). This way, when you send a MapForce project file to colleague(s), it will already include any imported libraries – they do not have to be installed separately. This also makes it possible to, for example, easily copy and paste user-defined functions from one mapping to another.

To launch the window, click the Add/Remove Libraries button at the bottom of the Libraries pane. 

As noted above, you can import libraries locally or globally. A global import is at the application level, meaning you can use its functions from any mapping. Local imports are specific to a mapping file. When you import a library locally, you can set the path of the library file to be relative to the mapping file. With globally imported libraries, the path of the imported library is always absolute.

This window makes it easy to copy and paste user defined functions between mappings to seamlessly re-use existing work: simply open the affected data mapping projects and copy/paste between them via the right-click menu. Any imported functions or libraries will now be listed in the Libraries pane to be used in your mapping.

If you’re working on a mapping project to convert XML, you may import XSLT or XQuery libraries. The Manage Libraries window now gives you the option to generate XSLT or XQuery code that references the imported library files using a relative path.

The MapForce COM API supports the new library management functionality as well. For example, if you need to configure a standard setup of available common libraries for all users on your team, you can now use the COM API to set up the same set of libraries for each team member when MapForce is configured on their machines.

Update existing Excel documents with converted data

MapForce supports Excel as the source or target of any data mapping project, making it easy to transform data between Excel and databases, JSON, XML, EDI, and other popular formats. Now, when target of a data mapping project is Excel, you can write transformed data to an existing Excel document. This way, for example, you can preserve existing formatting to make the output easier for end-users to work with. Any designated worksheets, rows, and cells in the existing file will be replaced with data from the mapping and all formatting in the existing file will be preserved as-is

The Component Settings for an Excel target let you specify an output Excel file to overwrite or update, as well as how to handle existing formulas in the target document, either stopping the mapping or proceeding without updating cells that contain formulas.

Updated EDI mapping support

MapForce also supports mapping to and from numerous EDI formats, including X12, HL7, IDoc, EDIFACT, and more. UN/EDIFACT support spans multiple versions of the standard and has been updated to include 2019A and 2019B.

New database-related features

In addition to updated support for the most recent versions of several databases across the product line, some new options for SQL editing have been added to DatabaseSpy, Altova’s multi-database query and design tool.

More options for results row formatting

For quick analysis, the DatabaseSpy lets you specify conditional formatting of query results when they’re displayed in the Results window. In addition to defining background colors and font weight and style, new options are now available for choosing font family and size based on custom SQL conditions, to refine data presentation even further.

SQL execution summary

DatabaseSpy includes a Message window that provides a statistical overview on the SQL statements that have been executed in the SQL editor and reports errors that might have occurred during execution. Now, it also offers an execution summary that displays the total count of errors, warnings, or info messages, as applicable. This is particularly useful when executing a lengthy SQL script with numerous statements so that any errors can be identified and addressed immediately.

Update to the latest version

These features for databases and data integration are available starting with Version 2020 Release 2 (or higher). Update your software now or download a free, 30-day trial.

The post New Data Integration Tools appeared first on Altova Blog.

MobileTogether is an easy to use, low-code app development framework that allows you to create sophisticated apps for all platforms from a single app design. Because MobileTogether is capable of building highly complex, elegant solutions, developers need the ability to troubleshoot during development to understand and debug app behavior.

In its latest release MobileTogether introduces a brand new, enterprise-grade debugger alongside other new features for defining controls, actions, and UI refinements.

New in MobileTogether 7.0

Debugger for app development

Starting with version 7.0, MobileTogether Designer supports detailed debugging of both the execution flow of event handlers and operations AND the results of XPath/XQuery functions called during execution. This is accomplished with two debugging views:

• The Actions Debugger – allows you to debug the Actions of a Control event or a Page event. This debugger is opened when an Action that has been selected for debugging is encountered during a simulation.
• The XPath Debugger – opens the XPath/XQuery evaluator window for in-depth analysis and debugging.

The MobileTogether Debugger runs during app simulation. A new toolbar in the Simulator window lets you enable debugging to stop at the next error, next breakpoint, or next Action during the simulation. Breakpoints can be configured prior to or during a debugging session and can be set on any number of Actions or XPath expressions.

The power to test and debug apps with precision and immediately understand any app behavior – all directly inside the low-code design environment – means the sky’s the limit in terms of the level of sophistication and complexity you can build into your apps.

Overwriting Control Template styles and actions at any instance

MobileTogether supports Control Templates, which are powerful design components that allow you to design and group multiple controls to be easily reused in different locations across the various pages and subpages of an app development project.

With this release Control Templates are even more flexible: it is now possible not only to reuse the templates, but to override or modify their behavior at different instances. The ability to reuse the existing template – but modify it slightly – saves tons of work by letting you take advantage of existing resources.

The ability to modify Control Template behavior makes this powerful functionality even more flexible for efficiently re-using work to define sophisticated app functionality.

New UI and Control Features

• Support for new units: dp/sp
• Additional pre-defined button looks
• Padding settings for table rows/columns
• For Edit Fields – new option to trigger control actions after time interval
• Button image resizing to correspond to text size
• Page margins

New Features for Actions

• New action: Update Variable
• Additional scroll-to options

Additional New Features

• Localization of Services
• New XPath function: Chart
• Support for Android 10

Read more about all the features added in MobileTogether 7.0. Visit the MobileTogether download page to update to the latest version or download the free MobileTogether Designer.

The post MobileTogether Adds a Full-Featured Debugger appeared first on Altova Blog.

As standards-based technologies and their applications evolve, so does the functionality that users require from developer tools. In our latest release, we’ve added new ways to work with XBRL, JSON, EDI, and more that help Altova customers work faster and more efficiently.

Let’s take a look at some highlights from the Altova Software Version 2021 release.

XBRL Taxonomy Manager

Adoption of XBRL for meeting business reporting mandates is ever-increasing, and with that, a multitude of XBRL taxonomies targeted at specific verticals or jurisdictions have emerged to meet the wide variety of reporting needs around the globe. This poses a challenge for developers working with XBRL as they need to ensure they have the correct taxonomies and versions installed for use with their software tools.

Altova has long provided numerous taxonomies and their various versions in a free installer package. To make the process easier and more efficient, Version 2021 includes a XBRL Taxonomy Manager that provides a centralized way to install and manage XBRL taxonomies for use across all Altova XBRL-enabled applications.

The XBRL Taxonomy Manager is initialized directly in XMLSpy, MapForce, and other Altova XBRL tools, allowing you to install the taxonomies and versions they need without ever leaving the software. Once installed, taxonomies are available to all Altova products on your system. 

New Tools for JSON Editing

The revolutionary new JSON Editor Grid View introduced in XMLSpy 2020 continues to improve, with several updates and enhancements in this newest version. These include:

• Additional entry helper windows: siblings, children, values
• New copy/paste options including:
  • Copy as JSON text
  • Copy as structured text (TSV)
  • Copy as image
  • Copy XPath
  • Copy JSON Pointer
• Mouse-over tool tips to help users take advantage of grid view features
• Keyboard shortcuts for expanding/collapsing sections, zooming in and out
• Option to turn off word-wrap, option for right-to-left reading order for relevant languages
• Option to group sibling nodes by 100, 1000, or 10K for very large files

In addition, the JSON $id property for combining multiple JSON Schemas is now supported.

New EDI Conversion Tools

Two oft-requested features for mapping between EDI formats and other popular technologies like XML, JSON, and databases have been added to MapForce:

Support for SWIFT messages

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) is a global provider of financial messaging services. Mapping and converting SWIFT messages, for instance to write the data to a backend database, is a common requirement and is now supported by MapForce.

Support for one-click EDI to XML conversion

MapForce allows graphical data mapping to convert EDI to XML. However, developers often wish to perform a straight conversion with no mapping of fields or data processing. This is now supported in MapForce 2021.

When you right click an EDI component and select Create Mapping to XML, the MapForce engine generates an XML file that replicates all the data from the source EDI component, outputting the data element names and their values and reflecting the hierarchy of elements.

Attaching Files to PDF Reports

StyleVision, the report generation tool for XML, database, and XBRL data, makes it easy to design and automate PDF business reports. Users have requested the ability to attach other files to the autogenerated PDF files.

This is now possible in StyleVision 2020. Users can attach files such as high resolution images, source files, etc., to their PDFs. Files attached to a PDF are accessible via the attachments pane in your PDF reader.

Update to Version 2021

Read more about all the features added and download an update (or a free 30-day trial!) now.

The post New tools for JSON, EDI, SWIFT, and XBRL in Version 2021 appeared first on Altova Blog.

In Version 2020, Altova introduced an entirely new approach to JSON editing in XMLSpy called JSON Grid View. This visual JSON editor offers a graphical representation of the JSON document structure that is immediately easier to understand and work with than the corresponding JSON code in a text editor, especially for long, complex documents with multiple nested levels of arrays and objects.

With each release we improve upon the list of unique editing tools in JSON Grid. Let’s take a look at  some important updates announced in Version 2021, which was released in October of 2020.

JSON Grid includes numerous features that help you get more from your JSON data, faster – from automatic type detection and keyboard shortcuts that speed editing to unique, advanced tools like XQuery filters/formulas and chart creation from numerical JSON data. Here are the latest updates.

New JSON Entry Helper Options 

The XMLSpy JSON editor includes a context-sensitive drop down menu that presents valid editing choices, and now it also provides these in Siblings, Children, and Values entry helper windows.

These help you immediately visualize permissible values and also easily insert them via double-click, which can be faster than using the right-click menu in some circumstances. For instance, here I can simply double-click the “Label” sibling to insert it below Genre.

New JSON copy/paste options

New options make it easier to copy and paste portions of a JSON document to work with the content in other applications, use XPath to create filters and functions, and so on.

Support for very large JSON files

To make it easier to work with very large files, the JSON developer can opt to group nodes by 1K, 10K, or 100K using the Tools | Options dialog for JSON Grid.

Additional usability features

• Mouse-over tool tips help users take advantage of JSON Grid functionality (shown below)
• Keyboard shortcuts for expanding/collapsing sections, zooming in and out
• Option to turn word-wrap on/off
• Option for right-to-left reading order for relevant languages, e.g., Arabic, Hebrew.

These new features combine to make JSON Grid even more powerful and easy to use. Do you have a feature request for the next JSON editor update? Comment below!

Try the JSON editing tools in XMLSpy with a free, 30-day trial.

The post New JSON Editing Features appeared first on Altova Blog.

The latest release of Altova’s rapid application development (RAD) framework introduces several new features that make it easier to customize and refine the UI of your app, with new features for styling controls, flexible options for users, and new logging tools.

Let’s take a look at what’s new in MobileTogether 7.2.

Flexible UI Design Options

MobileTogether makes it easy to quickly build and style the UI for your app with built in controls, button images, and granular styling options. This not only makes it fast for you to style your app – your single design generates native iOS, Android, and Windows apps, as well as a browser-based app. MobileTogether Designer takes care of rendering the app UI properly using the native look and feel of each operating system, saving an immeasurable amount of time.

New options in the latest version of MobileTogether include: 

• New button-look: View. This adds to the 30+ refined button icons that ship with MobileTogether.
• Ability to change color settings for pre-defined buttons.
• Padding for table cells (in addition to rows/columns) to precisely control the display of tables with different types of content e.g., a mixture of text and images.
• Support for dragging message/dialog boxes in web client
• Additional color options for slider controls (shown below)

New Logging Tools

MobileTogether includes numerous tools for simulating app behavior, automated testing, and app debugging. For an additional option to closely analyze app behavior in the real world, a new Action called Log Message gives developers the ability to log a customized message on the MobileTogether Server or client during the execution of a specific Action.

It’s easy to drag the Log Message Action into an Action Tree for a particular control or page, as shown below, and then configure it as required. Here we’re logging a message when an error occurs after the user taps a button to save a record. You can also log info and warning messages.

This latest release also includes support for syslog, giving developers the option to collect log information from MobileTogether server on a syslog server for further analysis.

Additional New Features

Two new extension functions have been added to MobileTogether in this release, and the MobileTogether Server also supports backup/restore functionality for SQLite.

New functions:

• mt-server-variable: makes it possible to configure different functionality when the same app is running on different servers, for instance, on a test vs. production server.
• mt-page-stack: Returns a list of pages. When a page calls a subpage, which then calls another subpage, the function will return the full list of pages. This is useful, for example, to allow a dialog to show different options depending on which page it was called from.

Download MobileTogether

Existing customers can download the latest version and update for free. If you’re new to MobileTogether, get started building your first app in MobileTogether Designer for free! 

The post New Features for Refining Your App UI appeared first on Altova Blog.

In the latest release of Altova desktop developer tools and server software products, we’re introducing a completely rebuilt XML Grid View, support for XSLT3 for XML data mapping, statistics and charts for monitoring FlowForce Server, and much more. Let’s take a look at the highlights of Altova Software Version 2021 Release 2. 

All New XML Grid

Editing XML in a graphical view has numerous benefits that have made XML Grid one of the most popular views in XMLSpy for many years running. Now XML Grid has been completely rebuilt to take this editing paradigm to the next level, allowing developers to not just visualize, understand, and edit an XML document more easily – now they can achieve far more than is possible in a text editor alone. 

New features include:

• SmartFix XML validation with automatic error correction
• Customizing the display to suit current content
• Automatic image display
• Easy creation of XPath filters
• XQuery formulas to calculate a result or generate a nodeset
• Pasting content to/from external apps (text editor, Visual Studio/Eclipse, Excel…)
• Customizable grouping of nodes for very large XML files

See an overview of all the new functionality in this demo video.

XSLT 3 for XML Mapping

MapForce auto-generates XSLT for automating XML to XML data transformations. Now, in addition to XSLT 1.0 and 2.0, MapForce supports the latest version of the XSLT standard.

XSLT 3.0 is considered a major upgrade from previous versions of the transformation language and includes an extended set of functions. These are now available in the MapForce Function Library when XSLT3 is selected as the transformation language.

Charts Dashboard for FlowForce

FlowForce Server includes a helpful web interface for managing all aspects of workflow automation. Adding to detailed logging of FlowForce Server jobs, a new visual dashboard offers charts and statistics that help administrators monitor the progress of FlowForce Server jobs, as well as performance of the server itself, in great detail. 

All charts include hyperlinks to corresponding log view for quick inspection and troubleshooting. Charts are customizable and allow server admins to:

• Understand the state of current FlowForce jobs at a glance
• Visualize the FlowForce Server load (how many jobs are executed per time interval)
• Visualize the fail ratio to understand how many jobs didn’t finish successfully
• See how many jobs were started via service URL and via time or file triggers
• Quickly note any abnormality in a number of executed jobs
• Quickly navigate to log view records in at a specific time interval highlighted in the results

Update to the Latest Version

Read more about all the new features and download an update (or a free 30-day trial!) now.

The post New XML Grid and More in v2021r2 appeared first on Altova Blog.

Version 9.0 of MobileTogether, Altova’s low code app development framework, is now available with new features including comprehensive MQTT support, support for new gestures, drawing barcodes and QR codes, dark mode, and much more.

Here’s a look at all the highlights.

MQTT Support

MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is a lightweight messaging protocol used for communication by smart devices in both industrial automation and smart home / smart office scenarios.

MQTT uses a subscribe / publish architecture that is intermediated by a broker. In this way, the protocol enables monitoring, control, and automation of IoT devices from different manufacturers as well as integration of such devices into a centralized control and monitoring solution.

MobileTogether now includes comprehensive support for building MQTT-enabled apps using its unique low code approach to rapid mobile application development (RMAD). MQTT support in MobileTogether allows apps to join an MQTT network as a publisher, as a subscriber, or as both.

New MQTT support in MobileTogether gives developers the flexibility to implement a wide range of IoT automation apps, from smart office and smart city to large-scale industrial automation applications and beyond.

UX Features

MobileTogether offers a unique approach to designing one app that is then simultaneously available on multiple OSes and a variety of form factors. With each release, we endeavor to improve the UX of apps built in MobileTogether by introducing new options. This release includes:

• Additional gesture support: End users may now drag and/or swipe table rows to perform specific actions, such as moving or deleting content.
• Chart generation on clients: It is now possible to enable charts to be rendered directly on the client device without making a round trip to the server, which makes chart generation much faster and smoother.
• New button looks: Developers have access to an ever-growing library of icons for enabling familiar functionality. This release includes new button images for select, link/unlink, close, save, photo/gallery, and others. 
• Drawing barcodes and QR codes: Now, in addition to reading barcodes/QR codes via the device camera, apps built in MobileTogether can be configured to draw them for applications such as inventory management, POS discounting, etc. A variety of barcode types are supported, including UPC, EAN, QR, and others.

Developer Tools

New features to enhance developer productivity include:

• Dark and Light modes for design environment: The long awaited dark mode for MobileTogether Designer is here. Now developers can choose dark mode, a crisp new light mode, or continue using classic mode. (Dark and light modes for client apps have been available for some time.)
• Page source tree editing during simulation: During app simulation in MobileTogether Designer, the page source structure and data itself may now be modified in the Page Sources Pane. This allows developers to simulate real world situations, e.g., to test a specific value or condition during simulation without needing to access or modify the actual source data.
• Native support for MySQL and MariaDB: MobileTogether has long provided support for connecting to MySQL and MariaDB (and numerous other databases) via generic ADO/ODBC/JDBC connections. Now, the framework supports native connections to MySQL and MariaDB without the need for external drivers, which is much faster and more convenient.
• Solution aliases on the server: A single solution can now appear multiple times on a MobileTogether Server via the use of aliases. This allows developers to replicate an app and customize certain parameters, for instance with one alias connected to a test database and one to a production database.

Get the Latest Version of MobileTogether Now

All these features and more are available now in MobileTogether 9.0. The MobileTogether Designer is free to use, so you can download it and get started immediately.

Existing customers may update their MobileTogether Designer software and request a new license for free. 

The post MobileTogether 9.0 with MQTT Support and More appeared first on Altova Blog.