Chapter 6: Evolution of xmlDraft

We have thus far discussed the powers behind XML Schemas, and also their weaknesses, that being that the more powerful and flexible the schema is, the less readable it becomes. xmlDraft addresses the need for displaying what the instance XML Document should look like while editing, as well as adding the ability to adjust this display and have the Schema automatically update itself. So what's left? Let's take a look at the evolution of xmlDraft, the history of its name, and what to expect in the future.

Naming xmlDraft

xmlDraft? What about xmlArchitect? The original code name for this smart XML Schema editor was xmlArchitect, and the application retained this name for quite some time, literally years. The initial idea was that an XML Schema was like a blueprint of an XML Document, the image of the document, but not the actual document. It made for a great code name for the beta.

As we grew however, a simpler, more forceful name became more and more apparent. While an architect creates a blueprint, what he is really doing is drafting up the diagram for a building. The word "draft" kept shouting out as a stronger name, easier to remember, and ultimately a better brand. So, as the new version of xmlArchitect was nearing completion and a second beta released in the summer of 2004, it was rebranded to xmlDraft. The public first saw xmlDraft November of 2004, when it was released for sale.

Future work

With the release of xmlDraft 1.0, what can we expect from future releases? A lot. Not only will there be better support for W3C XML Schemas (such as showing all import and included documents), but the ultimate goal is to make xmlDraft an Open application. We intend to publish an API that will allow other schema authors, such as RELAX NG or Water, to implement their own Schema-to-Instance parsers, and plug the code into the xmlDraft application. This feature will expand the number of schema languages supported by xmlDraft, and will also create the ability to translate an instance document into other schema languages. Imagine, taking a DTD and converting it into RELAX NG, etc.