DeltaXML Newsletter - March 2004

We now have a firm release date for our new DeltaXML Sync API product - we'll be launching this technology at XML Europe 2004 in Amsterdam, 18-21 April, where we'll also be presenting a technical paper about our current R&D work with translation. Details below.

We also take a look at how the XML change control market is maturing - and as evidence of this maturation we have a couple of independent views of current offerings. Read why Jon Udell of InfoWorld calls our SVG demo "stunningly cool", and check out an independent roundup by Lars Trieloff, author of the DocBook Toolchain Manager.

Please let us know what you'd like to see in future issues of this newsletter, and indeed in the product suite itself. If you'd like to learn more about anything discussed here, we'd love to hear from you. Free evaluation downloads of the DeltaXML Core API are available at our website: www.deltaxml.com

- The DeltaXML Team.

Contents

In this newsletter:

Recent DeltaXML Customers
DeltaXML Sync API - Launch in Amsterdam at XML Europe 2004
"Stunningly Cool" - DeltaXML In The News
DeltaNet Online XML Comparison
Diary Dates

Customer Focus: Recent DeltaXML Customers

Recent customers include:

Arena Solutions Inc. (USA) (visit) - Providing a centralized environment for managing product data.
nterra (Germany) (visit) - Automating business processes within the enterprise and between partners.
CSW (UK) (visit) - A leading provider of solutions for the creation, management and delivery of information using open standards.
University of Copenhagen (Denmark) (visit) - The largest institution for research and education in Denmark.
Arizona State University (USA) (visit) - One of the premier metropolitan public research universities in the US, enrolling more than 57,000 students.

DeltaXML is powering a documentation control server, enabling synchronization with conflict handling and underpinning a bespoke content management system.

[Read more...]

DeltaXML Sync API - Launch in Amsterdam at XML Europe 2004

In Amsterdam we'll be launching our DeltaXML Sync API for the Java™ platform. Built as an extension module for the DeltaXML Core API, it adds generic XML synchronization - three-way structured merge - to the DeltaXML toolset. Look for a fuller write-up next month.

Weblinks:
http://www.xmleurope.com/2004/ - XML Europe 2004, Amsterdam, 18-21 April (see Diary Dates below for details).
http://www.deltaxml.com/sync/ - DeltaXML Sync API product page.

"Stunningly Cool" - DeltaXML In The News

As XML adoption is broadening, so the problems faced in identifying, processing and synchronizing changes to XML are beginning to receive more attention. We are seeing a definite change in the stories that lead people to DeltaXML - it's no longer just "How can I find what's changed?", but "How can I process these changes?", "How can I handle multiple simultaneous edits?", "How can I manage updates to XML configuration files?" These are the problems we've been working on over the last year, we see their wider recognition as very good news. From being a niche problem, well understood only by Content Management System vendors and legal documentation teams, the difficulties inherent in managing change as the industry moves from textual to structured documents are becoming more general. This in turn is leading more people to evaluate available solutions.

In an InfoWorld article this month on "Structured change detection", the veteran columnist Jon Udell examines the challenges of XML comparison. Having looked at some of the issues involved he writes:
"To get a sense of what's possible, check out Monsell EDM's online demo of its DeltaXML technology. The demo compares two subtly different versions of a complex graphic - the standard SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) "tiger" benchmark - and animates the differences between the two. It's stunningly cool.
As XML becomes the standard way to represent prose, graphics, and other content, we should expect such change visualization to become routine."

We're glad he likes it - but change detection is just the first step, and this demo is a very simple example of the second step, change processing. The fun really starts when you take the third step and use this technology for change synchronization. Stay tuned for developments to this demo.

Elsewhere, Lars Triellof, editor of the Software Documentation Project weblog and author of the DocBook Toolchain Manager, has compiled a review of XML comparison technologies. This comprehensive roundup, originating from discussions on the "XML-DOC" forum, is a good starting point when compiling a list for evaluation. We're glad to see that DeltaXML is recognized as the clear industry leader, with a focus on delivering industrial-strength embedded solutions to our customers.

Weblinks:
http://www.deltaxml.com/svg/ - SVG "tiger" demo.
http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2004/03/04.html - Jon Udell's Weblog discussion (links to main article).
http://www.deltaxml.com/news/press.html - press comment on DeltaXML.

DeltaNet Online XML Comparison

Bookmark this site and spread the word - freely available XML comparison, no registration required. If you choose to register for free you'll get access to FullDeltaNet, allowing documents to be specified as URLs and delivering results as both HTML and as an XML delta.

Weblink: DeltaNet at http://compare.deltaxml.com/

Diary Dates

Tuesday 20 April 2004 : XML Europe 2004: "Documenting the Future", Amsterdam (18 - 21 Apr). DeltaXML Sync API product launch.
Tuesday 20 April 2004 : XML Europe 2004: We'll be presenting a paper: "Beyond Babel - Simplifying Translation with XML" at 11:00 in the Content Management stream. More details will be posted at http://www.xmleurope.com/2004/tuesday.asp

Weblinks:
DeltaXML News: http://www.deltaxml.com/news/
XML Europe 2004 Amsterdam: http://www.xmleurope.com/