 DocFlex/XML - XSDDoc - XML Schema Documentation Generator
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Coming soon! New integrations:
The integrations will allow you to insert automatically the
XSD diagrams
generated by those systems into the XML schema docs generated by DocFlex/XML XSDDoc.
(Currently, it is supported only for XMLSpy,
whose diagrams are visible in all demos on this page.)
Have questions? Let us know at: contact@filigris.com
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The fully functional XML Schema Documentation Generator described here
is included in all editions
of DocFlex/XML.
It is ready for free downloads and immediate use (no registration required).
As a freeware (that is without any special license),
you can use the XSDDoc templates to generate a complete XML schema documentation
(however, with few possibilities to customize it; see also limited mode).
Please note that much of the functionality we offer now for free you won't get from any other software vendor
even for money!
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- What is DocFlex/XML XSDDoc?
- What you can generate with it
- What XML Schemas you can document
- XML Schema Documentation
- How Documentation Generator Works
- Running Documentation Generator
- Integrations
- How To Get Started
- What you need to license
- Does anybody use it?
- Future Development
1. What is DocFlex/XML XSDDoc?
“DocFlex/XML XSDDoc” is a
commercial template application (template set)
of DocFlex/XML that implements a very powerful
XML Schema Documentation Generator in HTML and RTF output formats.
The XSDDoc template set is bundled with both editions of
DocFlex/XML:
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DocFlex/XML (Full Edition) -
includes all features available in DocFlex/XML software
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DocFlex/XML RE - the free Runtime Environment to run template applications
It is found in
'templates/XSDDoc/' subdirectory of each edition and ready to use.
Just read How To Get Started!
2. What you can generate with it
Using XSDDoc templates set,
you can generate the following types of output/documentation:
HTML Output
Framed HTML Documentation
Multi-framed HTML (Javadoc-like) XML schema documentation can be generated with
FramedDoc.tpl main template by any number of
W3C XML Schema definition (XSD) files.
This kind of documentation may be useful both to the XML schema authors
(e.g. to publish the XML schema project on the web)
and to those who simply need to understand particular big XML schemas.
The framed HTML documentation can provide most detailed and easy accessible information about
all the XML schema components and interconnections between them.
The following screenshots show such a documentation generated for “XML Schema for XML Schemas”
(directly from the file: http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema.xsd).
Click on the screenshots to see the real HTML:
Look also at XSDDoc | Examples page to view/download
other demo HTML documentations
generated from various big XML schemas found on Internet.
Single File HTML Documentation
The same entire documentation (above) can be equally generated as
a single HTML file using PlainDoc.tpl
main template. Click on the screenshot to see it:
RTF Output
RTF Documentation
Using PlainDoc.tpl main template,
it is possible not only to generate a single file HTML.
Simply, by switch the generator output format
to “RTF”, the same template will produce a highest quality RTF file!
Similar to HTML, the RTF documentation may be
also interconnected with hyperlinks. In addition, many hyperlinks
are duplicated with page number references, which may greatly help to use/navigate
such documentation in a printed form.
On the following screenshots, you can see pages of an RTF documentation generated by the same
“XML Schema for XML Schemas” (click to enlarge):
See also Examples | RTF Documentation
for more details about that demo RTF and other screenshots.
PDF Documentation
Using some RTF to PDF converter software (e.g. Adobe Acrobat PDFMaker),
you can also produce a top quality PDF documentation from the RTF output
generated with the PlainDoc.tpl main template.
Here is an example of the XML schema documentation in PDF format generated in that way
(click on the screenshot to see/download the PDF file, 2.4 MB):
Such documentation can be used both for printing and publishing on the web.
3. What XML Schemas you can document
Any XML schema projects
This XML schema documentation generator was designed to document any XML schema projects imaginable
(see also below).
The following features are most important for this:
Any XML schema size and number of components
Processing and documenting (correctly and reliably!)
huge XML schemas containing thousands of components.
Just look at some XML schema docs generated by our customers:
This is the real world stuff!
Support of any XML schema design patterns
Like a single XML schema describes the structure of infinite number of XML files,
the structure of the same XML file could be described by a great (potentially infinite) number of XML schemas.
All of those XML schemas would differ from each other by ways of how they are designed.
Those ways are called XML schema design patterns.
Some of them were given even special names: chameleon, russian doll, salami slice, venetian blind, etc.
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When you design a schema, you definitely use some of those design patterns, even when you haven't heard of them.
Simply, in that case you reinvent the pattern by yourself.
When a schema is generated by some tool, it always follows a certain pattern.
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So, how do all those design patterns differ from one another in respect of documenting them?
Or asking it otherwise, what might be common?
If you look closely into this, you could notice that all XML schema design patterns come down
to a few specifics, all of which can be addressed by a single documentation approach:
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The entire XML schema is broken into a number of XSD files, some of which import/include others.
You don't need to do anything special about this.
Both <xs:import> and <xs:include> XSD elements
are supported. All referenced schemas will be automatically loaded and documented.
Moreover, using template parameters:
you can even specificaly disable documenting of imported/included schemas (even though they will be processed still).
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There are several XSD files and some of them redefine certain components declared within others.
That is done using <xs:redefine> XSD elements, which are supported
by XSDDoc very well!
See: Features | XML Schemas | Processing/documenting of redefinitions
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Some elements are declared locally. Such elements may share the same name, yet have different content models.
Others may be absolutely identical (with equal names and based on the same global type),
yet declared separately in numerous locations.
If you document all of this straight (which is actually what all other known to us XML schema doc-generators do!),
in certain cases you may get in your XML schema documentation a mess made of numerous repeating local element names,
in which it could be difficult to find some useful information.
This XML schema doc-generator provides two ways to deal with that problem:
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Extension of Local Element Names
When several locally declared elements have the same name but different content models,
to distinguish them from one another across the documentation, the element names can be extended
so us to make them unique. This is controlled by
“Show | Local Element Extension”
parameter.
For more details, see
Features | Local Elements | Global Naming of Local Elements.
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Unifying Local Elements By Type
All those locally declared elements that share the same name and are based on the same global type
(which means they have the same content model) can be represented and documented as a single entity called
unified local element. That may substantially reduce and clarify the documentation!
This is illustrated by two documentations generated from the same XML schema:
http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema.xsd
On the left you can see the documentation generated with unifying local elements by type enabled.
On the right, all local elements were documented straight, without any unification.
Click on the screenshots to view the docs:
The difference is quickly visible when you look at the
component navigation list
(bottom-right frame) of both documentations.
For further details, see
Features | Local Elements | Global Documenting | Unifying Local Elements By Type.
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Locally declared elements are used everywhere instead of attributes to hold simple data.
Again, if you document it straight, various navigation lists and element summaries will get crowded
with insignificant local elements, in which you may have trouble to find what you need.
XSDDoc also provides a way to deal with this.
The “Generate Details | Elements | Local Elements”
parameter allows you to specify that all local elements with simple content
should be documented only locally within the details of their parent elements.
As an example, here are two documentations generated for the same little XML schema (from
“Sales Report” sample).
On the left is the documentation, in which only global elements and local elements with complex type
are documented separately
(globally).
On the right, all elements are documented separately.
Click on the screenshots to view the docs:
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There are groups of globally declared elements that are referenced in the XML schema via single
(abstract)
elements representing any element in a group.
Such groups of elements, called substitution groups, are specifically recognized and documented
by XSDDoc.
For example, the following “XML Schema for XSLT 2.0”
(http://www.w3.org/2007/schema-for-xslt20.xsd)
extensively uses substitution groups (click on the screenshot):
See also: Features | Global Elements | Substitution Groups
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The order in which elements/attributes are declared is important.
Using the following template parameters you can preserve
the original ordering of your elements/attributes at various locations of the documentation:
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The XML schema declares a possible root XML element that needs to be highlighted in the documentation.
In general, the W3C XML schema specification
itself provides no functionality to assign which of the XML elements declared in an XML schema must be
the root of any XML document that complies with that schema.
However, you can solve this problem by placing the declaration of the root element the first in the XML schema.
Further, when you generate documentation for that XML schema, unselect the
“Generate Details | Sorting | Components”
parameter so that the original order of element declarations will be preserved in the documentation.
If your XML schema is broken into several XSD files, specify the one of them that contains
the root element declaration to be processed the first by the generator
(see also FAQ | How to generate a single documentation by multiple XML schemas?)
and unselect the
“Generate Details | Sorting | Schemas”
parameter.
That will ensure that the root element gets on the top of various navigation lists and summaries,
which will highlight its special role.
4. XML Schema Documentation
Unlike various other XML schema doc-generators currently visible in Internet,
which tend to produce a rather simple and obvious content not much more informative than the XML schema source itself,
this XML schema doc-generator from the start was designed with a different focus.
We believe that a true XML schema documentation should allow the user to quickly find any necessary meaningful
information about the XML schema, if only that information could be automatically obtained or deduced from it.
(At that, everyhting must be accurate -- not just claimed to be there -- which in fact is not so simple to achieve!)
The following documentation features that we have worked out and supported could help to achieve that objective.
Features (How everything is documented)
This section is published on a separate page:
DocFlex/XML | XSDDoc | Features.
Here is its table of contents:
Organization (Documentation Structure)
This section is published on a separate page:
DocFlex/XML | XSDDoc | Organization.
Here is its table of contents:
Examples
This section is published on a separate page:
DocFlex/XML | XSDDoc | Examples.
Here is its table of contents:
5. How Documentation Generator Works
Template-Driven Architecture
This XML Schema Documentation Generator is implemented entirely as a set of
“XSDDoc” templates
using only generic capabilities of raw XML file processing supported by
DocFlex/XML.
No Java code has been written anywhere specifically for the purpose of XML schema doc-generation!
Neither any other XML processing technologies
(e.g. XSL Transformations)
are used anywhere in background!
What are Templates?
Please, see here:
Template Parameters
Since all the content and formatting of the generated documentation is programmed
entirely within templates, the numerous options and switches, which normally control such things in
traditional documentation generators, now simply become template parameters.
The XSDDoc templates provide great a lot of
parameters (> 400),
which make possible adjusting the content (and some formatting) of the generated XML Schema documentation
within a huge range of details, starting from a few summaries and overviews up to the most comprehensive
documentation containing every feature possible.
Template Designer
Using a visual graphic
Template Designer
(provided with the DocFlex/XML SDK),
you can customize all “XSDDoc” templates as you need.
In particular, you can easily translate any messages specified in the templates from English
into your native language, insert your company logotype, change documentation design and content,
extend with your own functionality and so on.
The following screenshot shows the
contentElements.tpl
template open in the Template Designer (click to see in full-size):
See Also:
DocFlex/XML | Documentation | Designing Templates | Running Template Designer
"XSDDoc" Template Set
This section is published on a separate page:
DocFlex/XML | XSDDoc | Templates.
Here is its table of contents:
6. Running Documentation Generator
Java Command Line
Please, see
DocFlex/XML | Documentation | Running Generator |
Launching Generator from Command Line
Generator GUI
Besides the possibility of running the generator from the
command line
and setting everything using command line options,
DocFlex/XML also provides a little GUI
that allows you to specify all the generator setting in a more user-friendly way.
Generator Dialog
When no -nodialog option is specified
on the command line, the generator launches automatically the following Generator Dialog:
In the Generator Dialog, you can:
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Select the template (which determines what documentation you will generate).
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Specify the template parameters
(see Parameter Inspector below).
- Choose the source XML files (in the case of XSDDoc, this will be XSD files).
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Assign one or more XML Catalogs
(as an example of the XML schema that uses an XML catalog, see
“XML Schemas for DITA 1.1”).
- Select the documentation output format.
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Specify the output format options
(i.e. the generator settings special for that particular output format).
- Choose the destination folder and the main output file name for the generated documentation.
- Run the generator.
- View the generation progress.
Once you click the “Run” button, the dialog will transform itself to show
the progress of the generation:
Parameter Inspector
To handle great a lot template parameters, which control
XSDDoc templates,
the generator provides a special GUI called Parameter Inspector.
The parameter inspector is invoked from the generator dialog
by clicking “Params” button.
Its content is created dynamically from the parameter definitions found in the template.
The following screenshot shows the Parameter Inspector dialog of
FramedDoc.tpl
template (click on the picture to see a more expanded view):
In the Parameter Inspector you can:
- Edit each parameter according to its type.
- View the parameter HTML description (it is also obtained from the template).
Once you have changed some parameters and closed the inspector dialog (with “OK” button),
the new values will be stored (along with the parameter names) in the
generator.config file.
Further, the generator will use the parameter values found in that file.
The same will happen when you open the Parameter Inspector
dialog next time. The template parameters, whose names match those found in the
generator.config file,
will be initialized with the corresponding values from that file.
The parameters are organized in groups (which may contain subgroups and so on).
A group heading may also be a parameter itself.
Each parameter group may appear in expanded or collapsed state like a tree node.
The group states are also saved in the generator.config file
to be restored again when the inspector is invoked next time for the same templates.
Using inspector popup menu, you can quickly reset all parameters in a group to their default values.
Besides the Parameter Inspector dialog, you can always set any template parameters directly on the
command line using
-p option.
Using generator.config
The generator.config file
allows you to combine interactive and command-line features together.
Using
-config option,
you can provide on the command line a separate
generator.config file,
which will be used instead of the default one.
With the Parameter Inspector you may interactively prepare all parameters needed for a specific
kind of documentation. The parameters will be saved in this file.
Further, you can use such a
generator.config
for generation (instead of specifying each time all needed parameter separately on the command line).
7. Integrations
See: DocFlex/XML | About | Products (Licensed Entities) | Integations
Apache Ant
See: DocFlex/XML | Integations | Apache Ant
Apache Maven
See: DocFlex/XML | Integations | Apache Maven
XMLSpy
See: DocFlex/XML | Integations | XMLSpy
8. How To Get Started
You can start generating your XML Schema documentation almost immediately.
Just follow these steps:
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Download any of the editions
of DocFlex/XML
from the downloads page.
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Edit
generator.bat to specify the 'JRE' variable according
to the location of Java 7, Java 6, Java 5 or Java 1.4.x installed on your system.
(Java 7 may be preferable as it is the fastest!)
If you don't have one of those Java versions installed on your system, you can freely
download and install the most recent Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version
from Java Technology web-site: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/
(formerly http://java.sun.com)
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Run
generator.bat. You will see the Generator Dialog
like the one shown on this screenshot:
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In the “Template” field, select
FramedDoc.tpl
template to generate framed HTML documentation or
PlainDoc.tpl
template to generate single file RTF documentation.
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In the “XML File(s)” field, specify one or many XSD files from
which you want to generate your XML schema documentation.
When multiple files are specified, make sure that each pathname or URL is enclosed in double quotes.
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In the “Output format” field, select HTML or RTF format
(RTF will work only with
PlainDoc.tpl
template!).
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Click “Run” button to start generator.
For a very large XML schema (or, perhaps, on a slow computer), wait some time while the generator
processes your schema.
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That's all.
Enjoy the incredible quality XML Schema documentation you won't produce with anything else!
9. What you need to license
Limited mode - Use it for free!
You can use the best quality XML schema documentation generator right now and absolutely free.
Just download DocFlex/XML RE
from the downloads page. No registration required!
Then, follow the step described in How To Get Started.
By default, XSDDoc will work in limited mode
under the Limited Free License.
This mode allows you to generate a complete framed HTML
documentation (without diagrams) by any your XML schemas and use it for any purposes.
There is no limitation on the number or content of the processed XML schemas!
In limited mode, however, you cannot (or may not) do the following things:
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Almost all template parameters
will be disabled, so there will be very few possibilities to customize the generated output.
Hence don't be surprised that you may get too big (complete) documentation, which is not exactly what you want.
That what you want may be possible too, most likely when all customization parameters are enabled.
But you have to pay for this (see below).
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The processing of XHTML tags
in annotations (and, therefore,
inserting of images)
will not work. This is actually controlled by a template parameter, which is disabled in limited mode.
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Each generated HTML file at the end will include some advertisement text, which you may not remove!
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The PlainDoc.tpl template won't work.
Therefore, you won't be able to generate single file HTML
or RTF documentation.
Anyway, we believe, the framed HTML XML schema documentation
generated in limited mode will be OK for those who just need to understand what a particular
big XML schema describes (in fact, that's exactly how we ourselves frequently use this tool).
Also, some XML schema authors may still be content with the produced result.
Full functionality - Pay only for what you need!
For professional users with complex requirements and serious demands, we offer three commercial
products to enhance your XML schema toolkit.
Please, see: DocFlex/XML | About | Commercial Licenses
10. Does anybody use it?
Yes, they do! Here are a few links known to us:
If you publish on the web an XML schema documentation generated with our tool and
don't mind to be listed here, please let us know by sending an email to:
contact@filigris.com or
support@docflex.com
11. Future Development
The following features are planned to be implemented sometime:
- Navigation menu in framed HTML
The framed HTML
XML schema documentation will include the full-blown navigation menu
similar to that
in classic JavaDoc.
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Project Annotation
A new template component will be added:
Include Text Control,
which will allow dynamic inclusion in the generated documentation of the content of an external
plain-text or HTML file specified by a local pathname or URL.
This will be used in XSDDoc
to support specifying an external description/annotation file for the whole XML schema project
(the same as
-overview
option in Javadoc).
The content of that file will be included in the
Overview Summary
documentation.
- Dynamic hyperlinks in XML Schema annotations
A possibility will be supported to insert within XML schema annotations the in-line links
that point to the documentation generated for the specified XML schema components.
This will work essentially the same as the inline
{@link}
tags in Javadoc.
Within the schema annotations, such links will be defined using the
XHTML markup like this:
<a href="{@link ...}"> ... </a>
where the content of the href attribute will specify how
the actual hyperlink's destination must be generated.
The same will be supported for the hypertext imagemaps (those defined with the
<map> tags). This will allow you to enrich your XML Schema documentation with various
images and diagrams
depicting things that are directly hyperlinked to the details of the XML schema components
related to them.
- Element Content Tree
It will show for all XML elements defined in the schema which of them may contain which.
Essentially, such a tree will represent a complete skeleton of a possible XML document
described by the given XML schema.
- Global Type Hierarchy Tree
The “Type Derivation Tree”
is currently generated for each complex or simple type component being documented.
The complete tree will include all those local trees as branches. It will provide a global view
of how the global types defined in the XML schema are derived from each other.
- XML Schema Project Tree
That tree will show which schemas import, include and redefine other sub-schemas
(using the <xs:import>, <xs:include> and <xs:redefine> elements).
This will give a single view of the entire XML schema project when it is broken into a number of modules.
- Documenting of Notations
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