Product Reviews
For XML Editing, Who'd Use Anything Else?
Simply put: It's the best XML editor out there.
Assuming that you haven't been doing your development in a cave, you've
run across XML by now. Or possibly it's run over you. Whether you're working
with databases, help files, e-commerce, or web services, XML files have
become pervasive on today's development landscape. What you may not have
run across is a good way to work with those files. If that's your situation,
you can stop looking: XMLSpy is here. This is simply the best editor I've
yet seen for XML files of all types.
One of the hallmarks of XMLSpy is its flexibility. It can handle XML,
XSL, XSLT, DTD, XSD, and many other types of files. Depending on what
you're doing you can edit in color-coded text, or in a table, or via a
tree view of your document. There's a document editor view that lets you
see an XML file as massaged by an XSL file—and still keeps it editable!
The richness of the editing tool set reminds me of Word or Excel; expect
to spend some time learning all the bells and whistles of this product,
although you can pick up the basics almost instantly.
The XMLSpy Suite also includes an excellent XSLT designer, and the document
editor is available as a browser plug-in. Integration with other applications
includes database import and export and source code control. XMLSpy even
includes its own form editor, automation and event model, and VBScript
or JavaScript based scripting environment to let you extend and automate
the editing interface. The help files also deserve special mention; not
only are they an excellent guide to the product, but they offer a good
tutorial on the ins and outs of XML for the beginner as well.
If XML has crept into your development life, this product will definitely
make things easier. You can download a fully-functional trial version
from the XMLSpy web site if you'd like to take it for a spin.
About the Author
Mike Gunderloy, MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, is a former MCP columnist and the author of numerous development books.