June 1, 2006; 03:12 AM Altova (www.altova.com), creator of XMLSpy and other leading XML, data
management, UML, and Web services tools, announced general
availability of version 2006 release 3 (v2006r3) of its XML tools
product line, which includes the totally revised Altova StyleVision®
2006 visual stylesheet designer. In addition to numerous usability
enhancements, StyleVision now includes cascading stylesheet (CSS) and
JavaScript support. V2006r3 also delivers many valuable new features to
its other top-selling XML products, including powerful new XML
validation and error tracking capabilities for XMLSpy 2006, the
industry-standard XML development environment, and seamless integration
with Microsoft® Visual Studio® .NET and Eclipse for MapForce®, its
graphical data integration and Web services implementation tool.
“The improvements in v2006r3 of the Altova XML product line are a real
boon to our customers,” said Tim Hale, Director of Marketing for
Altova. “The new features, like CSS support in StyleVision, hyperlinked
error messaging in XMLSpy, and Visual Studio and Eclipse integration
for MapForce, increase XML development capabilities to the point that
this release is a must for progressive developers.” New in StyleVision
2006 Altova StyleVision (http://www.altova.com/products_xsl.html)
features a unique visual design interface for creating stylesheets to
transform XML and database data into multiple output formats, such as
HTML pages, PDF reports, RTF documents, and Altova Authentic®
electronic forms. What’s more, it can create all of these output types
from a single design. StyleVision 2006 represents a significant upgrade
from its previous 2005 version. The complete set of new features
includes:
• User Interface Enhancements – Offers numerous usability improvements
including windows that can be customized, floated, and docked as
required; support for working with multiple designs at one time; and a
new Design Tree window for viewing and expanding all the specifics of a
design in one place. Also includes a new Style Repository window that
makes it easy to organize and apply styles including those from
external CSS files, and a Local Properties window for viewing and
editing the properties for each element and output format as a design
is created.
• CSS Support – Provides support for cascading stylesheets, enabling
users to specify more precise visual styling rules to transform XML and
database content into HTML pages. Users can import existing CSS files
into the new Style Repository Entry Helper and apply the CSS styles
easily using drag-and-drop functionality.
• Multiple Source Stylesheet Design – Enables the design of stylesheets
that use multiple sources, such as two or more XML files, an XML file
and a database, etc. Allows users to combine data from multiple sources
and output it simultaneously in HTML, RTF, and PDF formats.
• JavaScript Support – Adds interactivity to HTML pages with a built-in
JavaScript editor for composing JavaScript code that StyleVision can
automatically insert into the corresponding XSLT 1.0 or 2.0 stylesheet.
New in Authentic 2006
Altova Authentic 2006 is a free XML and database content editor that
allows business users to directly access and edit XML documents and
databases through a WYSIWYG interface. Available in Desktop and Browser
editions, Authentic presents non-technical users with electronic forms
that enable them to enter and view valid XML and/or database data
without being exposed to the underlying technology. These Authentic
forms are created by designers using Altova StyleVision 2006, and all
of the usability enhancements to StyleVision, described above, will
result in easier electronic forms design and richer Authentic forms for
end users.
New in Altova XMLSpy 2006
Altova XMLSpy (http://www.altova.com/products_ide.html) is the world’s
best-selling XML editor and integrated development environment (IDE)
for modeling, editing, transforming, and debugging XMLrelated
technologies. In addition to its advanced XML, XML Schema, DTD, XSLT
1.0/2.0, XPath 1.0/2.0, XQuery, WSDL, SOAP, and code generation
capabilities, new features included within XMLSpy 2006 release 3
include:
• New XSLT 2.0 and XQuery Profilers – Monitor XSLT 2.0 or XQuery code
as it runs and records how long each process takes. Developers can
promptly see which parts of the code take the longest time to process
and optimize it more easily by focusing on problem areas. Helps create
more efficient and robust code quickly.
• Enhanced Error Handling – Presents detailed messages about each error
in a new validation window, including hyperlinks to errors and relevant
troubleshooting information. Makes project management and problem
resolution considerably faster and more effective.
• Tracepoints in XSLT debugger – Allows you to trace the output of any
instruction node to verify that your XSLT code is producing the desired
output. This feature helps developers perfect their XSLT code more
efficiently than ever before.
• Improved Restriction Handling for XML Schema Development – Simplifies
the process of deriving by restriction to create new complex types. The
XMLSpy graphical schema editor makes the process easier and prevents
users from creating illegal or invalid restrictions.
New in MapForce 2006
Altova MapForce 2006 (http://www.altova.com/products_mapforce.html) is
a powerful data integration and Web services implementation tool that
can convert between XML, database, flat file, and EDI formats and to
map data to WSDL operations. It converts data on-the-fly and also
auto-generates data integration code in XSLT 1.0/2.0, XQuery, Java,
C++, and C# for royalty-free use in custom data management and Web
services applications. With release 3, MapForce 2006 has been enhanced
even further with the following new features:
• Integration with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and Eclipse –
Integrates seamlessly with the popular multi-purpose IDEs, Microsoft
Visual Studio .NET and Eclipse, allowing developers to directly harness
all the data mapping, content conversion, Web services implementation,
and code generation capabilities of MapForce from within their favorite
platforms.
• Enhanced EDI Transaction Set Editing – Allows users to easily modify
and extend existing standard EDI transaction sets (i.e. EDIFACT and
ANSI X12 messages) to meet business requirements.
• More Versatile Visual Function Builder – Enables visual creation of
data processing functions that can operate on entire XML tree
fragments, allowing for better modularization and scalability of
mapping projects.
• Options for Handling Empty Flat File Values – Provides ability for
developers to choose whether empty fields in flat files are rendered as
empty elements or not rendered at all in the data results of the
mapping target.
New in AltovaXML
AltovaXML 2006 (http://www.altova.com/altovaxml.html) is an XML
standards processor that includes the same engines that drive Altova's
award-winning XMLSpy, MapForce, and StyleVision development tools.
Developers can use the very engines that have helped make Altova
software the industry’s leading XML development toolset in their own
applications royalty-free. AltovaXML 2006 includes the Altova XML
validating parser, XSLT 1.0 engine, schema-aware XSLT 2.0 engine, and
schema-aware XQuery 1.0 engine, as well as COM, Java, and .NET
interfaces so that it can be used within a variety of different
applications.
V2006r3 brings significant performance and memory optimizations to the
AltovaXML engines, including an average speed increase of 75% in XSLT
2.0 processing. This increase was determined in Altova’s internal tests
where a large number of XML files of various sizes and levels of
complexity were processed. User results may vary depending on these and
other factors.
For additional information on what’s new in the Altova product line, please visit: http://www.altova.com/whatsnew.html.
Availability
Altova XMLSpy 2006, MapForce 2006, and StyleVision 2006 are available
individually or together as part of the Altova XML Suite 2006, which
also includes SemanticWorks™ 2006, a visual RDF/OWL editor for the
Semantic Web, and SchemaAgent™, a unique XML Schema Management tool.
The products are all immediately available for purchase from the Altova
Online Shop at: https://shop.altova.com. The products may be downloaded
for 30-day free trials from http://www.altova.com/download.html.
Altova Authentic 2006 Desktop and Browser editions and the AltovaXML
standards processor are also immediately available. They are offered
under free software licenses and can be downloaded and used for no
charge from: http://www.altova.com/download.html.
Pricing
Existing Altova customers with a valid Support and Maintenance Package
(SMP) are eligible to update their Altova XML Suite or individual
covered products to v2006r3 free of charge. Current software license
key codes for SMP covered products will unlock the new software
versions.
Customers who purchased StyleVision 2005r4 or the Altova XML Suite on
or after October 3, 2005 are able to update to the new StyleVision 2006
at no additional cost. The StyleVision license key codes that customers
received when they purchased StyleVision 2005r4 or the XML Suite 2006
will unlock StyleVision 2006.
• Altova XMLSpy 2006 is available for purchase in two editions:
Professional and Enterprise, with (USD) prices for a single-user
license starting at $499 and $999 respectively.
• Altova MapForce 2006 is available in three editions: Standard,
Professional, and Enterprise, with (USD) prices for a single-user
license starting at $249, $499, and $999 respectively.
• Altova StyleVision 2006 is available in two editions: Professional
and Enterprise, with (USD) prices for a single-user license starting at
$499 and $999 respectively.
• Altova Authentic 2006 is available in two editions: Desktop and Browser, under a free software license.
• AltovaXML is offered under a free software license with no key code required for activation.
• Altova XML Suite 2006 is available in two Editions: Professional and
Enterprise, with (USD) prices for a single-user license starting at
$990 and $1,740 respectively. By purchasing an XML Suite, customers get
the corresponding editions of XMLSpy 2006, MapForce 2006, and
StyleVision 2006, plus SemanticWorks 2006 and SchemaAgent 2006 – all at
a 50% savings off the price of the five products purchased
individually.*
• The Altova Support and Maintenance Package (SMP) can be purchased for
25% of the product price for a one-year period or 20% of the product
price per year for a two-year period. Altova SMP provides free major
software upgrades, maintenance releases, and priority technical support
for the duration of the support period. SMP renewals are available
beginning 90 days prior to expiration.
About Altova
Altova accelerates application development and data management projects
with software and solutions that enhance productivity and maximize
results. As an innovative, customer-focused company and the creator of
XMLSpy and other leading XML, data management, UML, and Web services
tools, Altova is the choice of over 2 million clients worldwide,
including virtually every Fortune 500 company. Enabling customers
ranging from vast development teams in the world’s largest
organizations to progressive oneperson shops, Altova’s line of software
tools fulfills a broad spectrum of business needs. Altova is an active
member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Object Management
Group (OMG) and is committed to delivering standards-based
platform-independent solutions that are powerful, affordable, and easy
to use. Altova was founded in 1992 and has headquarters in Beverly,
Massachusetts and Vienna, Austria. Visit Altova on the Web at
www.altova.com.
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