Altova has announced the 2014 release of its MissionKit desktop developer tools and server software products.
MissionKit 2014 products now include integration with the validation and processing capabilities of RaptorXML, support for Schema 1.1, XPath/XSLT/XQuery 3.0, and support for new databases.
New features in Altova server products include caching options in FlowForce Server and increased performance powered by RaptorXML across the server product line.
"We are excited to be able to extend the hyper-performance delivered by RaptorXML Server to developers working in our desktop tools. This functionality, along with robust support for the very latest standards, from XML Schema 1.1 to XPath 3.0 and XSLT 3.0, provides our customers with the benefits of increased performance alongside cutting-edge technology support," said Alexander Falk, President and CEO for Altova.
RaptorXML Server is high-performance server software capable of validating and processing XML — the same hyper-performance engine that powers RaptorXML Server is now fully integrated in several Altova MissionKit tools, including XMLSpy, MapForce, and SchemaAgent.
Altova says this development will deliver fast validation and processing of XML, XSLT, XQuery and XBRL. RaptorXML was built to support the latest of all relevant XML standards including, XML Schema 1.1, XSLT 3.0, XPath 3.0, XBRL 2.1, and others.
XMLSpy 2014 includes support for XML Schema 1.1 validation and editing. The latest version of the XML Schema standard, 1.1 adds new features aimed at making schemas more flexible and adaptable to business situations, such as assertions, conditional types, and open content.
All aspects of XML Schema 1.1 are supported in XMLSpy's graphical XML Schema editor and are available in entry helpers and tabs. Support for XML Schema 1.1 is also provided in SchemaAgent 2014, allowing users to visualize and manage schema relationships via its graphical interface. This is also an advantage when connecting to SchemaAgent in XMLSpy.
Coinciding with XML Schema 1.1 support, Altova has also released a free, online XML Schema 1.1 technology training course, which covers the fundamentals of the XML Schema language as well as the changes introduced in XML Schema 1.1.
Support for XPath in XMLSpy 2014 has been updated to include the latest version of the XPath Recommendation. XPath 3.0 is a superset of the XPath 2.0 recommendation and adds powerful new functionality such as dynamic function cells, inline function expressions, and support for union types. Full support for new functions and operators added in XPath 3.0 is available through intelligent XPath auto-completion in Text and Grid Views, as well as in the XPath Analyzer window.
Support for editing, debugging, and profiling XSLT is now available for XSLT 3.0 as well as previous versions. Readers are asked to also note that a subset of XSLT 3.0 is supported since the standard is still a working draft that continues to evolve. XSLT 3.0 support conforms to the W3C XSLT 3.0 Working Draft of July 10, 2012 and the XPath 3.0 Candidate Recommendation. However, support in XMLSpy now gives developers the ability to start working with this new version immediately.
As with XSLT and XPath, XMLSpy support for XQuery now also includes a subset of version 3.0. Developers will now have the option to edit, debug, and profile XQuery 3.0 with helpful syntax coloring, bracket matching, XPath auto-completion, and other intelligent editing features.
According to Altova, "XQuery 3.0 is, of course, an extension of XPath and therefore benefits from the new functions and operators added in XPath 3.0, such as a new string concatenation operator, map operator, math functions, sequence processing, and more — all of which are available in the context sensitive entry helper windows and drop down menus in the XMLSpy 2014 XQuery editor."
Starting with Version 2014, Altova server products are powered by RaptorXML for faster, more efficient processing. In addition, FlowForce Server now supports results caching for jobs that require a long time to process; for instance, when a job requires complex database queries or needs to make its own web service data requests. FlowForce Server administrators can now schedule execution of a time-consuming job and cache the results to prevent these delays.
Database-enabled MissionKit products including XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, DatabaseSpy, UModel, and DiffDog, now include complete support for newer versions of previously supported databases, as well as support for new database vendors:
- Informix 11.70
- PostgreSQL versions 9.0.10/9.1.6/9.2.1
- MySQL 5.5.28
- IBM DB2 versions 9.5/9.7/10.1
- Microsoft SQL Server 2012
- Sybase ASE (Adaptive Server Enterprise) 15/15.7
- Microsoft Access 2010/2013
