/xtpxlib

Xatapult XML Library

Primary LanguageXSLTMIT LicenseMIT

This library is no longer maintained and must be considered deprecated! A new and fully documented version can be found here

xtpxlib: Xatapult XML Library

V2.4.6 - November 14, 2018

Xatapult Content Engineering - http://www.xatapult.nl

Erik Siegel - erik@xatapult.nl - +31 6 53260792


xtpxlib is a library containing software, both libraries and ready-to-run stuff, for processing XML with languages like XSLT, XProc etc.


Using xtpxlib

  • Dump the files on some appropriate location on disk. That's basicly it for installation.
  • If you want/need you can add the catalog xmlcatalog/xtpxlib-catalog.xml to your system or IDE. Then you can reference the files with urn:x-xtpxlib.nl://, e.g. urn:x-xtpxlib.nl://common/xslmod/common.mod.xsl.
  • Documentation is scattered around the library in Markdown readme.md files (like this one). I've also tried to document the code by adding enough comments.
  • Code documentation is done in such a way that you can extract some nice HTML page (a bit like Javadoc) from it. See the readme.md file in the xmldoc subdirectory.
  • There is a basic oXygen project file for working with the library in devenv/oxygen/xtpxlib.xpr

Library contents

Directories at root level

The root directories separate the library into subject areas. You will usually not need them all. The table below lists their dependencies.

Most subdirectories contain a readme.md file that details its contents.

Directory Description Dependencies
common Sub-library with common code for processing strings, filenames, etc. Always needed
container Sub-library for working with document containers. Depends on: common
devenv Development environment related files, like templates. xtpxlib can be used in any XML processing environment but specifically supports oXygen as its main IDE. Only necessary when you use xtpxlib in development situations
ms-office Sub-library for handling and working with some Microsoft Office formats (Office version > 2003) Depends on: common, container
xdocbook Sub-library with code for generating PDF from (a limited subset of) DocBook 5. Includes stuff for generating XML structure documentation. Depends on: common
xmlcatalog Contains the XML catalog file(s) for easy access to the library from code. Only necessary when you use the XML catalog system
xmldoc Sub-library with code for generating documentation. A bit like Javadoc. Depends on: common
xwebgen Sub-library with code for generating a simple static website from templates. Depends on: common and container

Main conventions used

Commonly used (sub)directory names

Directory Description
assets Binary static assets (images, etc.)
bin Executable binaries and/or batch/shell files
data Static datafiles
etc Anything that does not fit in one of the other categories.
doc Documentation
xpl XProc scripts
xplmod XProc modules/libraries
xqmod XQuery modules
xsl XSLT scripts
xslmod XSLT modules/libraries

File- and Directory-name Conventions

  • All file- and directory-names are in lower-case.
  • Words/parts in names are separated with hyphens (e.g. this-is-a-name).
  • Normal extensions are used (e.g. .xsl, .xml, etc.)
  • For a file that contains a module or library, the extension is prefixed with .mod. (e.g. xslt-library.mod.xsl)
  • Keep the filename simple, the location in the library will usually contain enough information

Common XML Conventions

  • All names (elements, attributes, prefixes, etc.) are in lower-case.
  • Words/parts in names are separated with hyphens (e.g. this-is-a-name).
  • Wherever possible (and appropriate), namespaces are used:
    • xtpxlib namespace prefixes start with xtl, short for xtpxlib. (e.g. xtlc for http:\\www.xtpxlib.nl\ns\common)
    • A sub-library of xtpxlib uses a single namespace for everything (unless technical reasons dictate otherwise).
  • Often a local namespace is needed for stuff like local functions, templates, etc. The prefix local is used and the namespace is called #local.some-unique-id, e.g. xmlns:local="#local.ab-cd-ef" or xmlns:local="#local.filename". Templates use the oXygen ${id} editor variable for this.