Microstar's Near & Far Designer

Emedia Professional, Dec, 1998 by Leonor Ciarlone

Since early 1997, momentum for the Extensible Markup Language (XML) has I snowballed from slight to a virtual vendor feeding frenzy. In response, many mainstream software vendors have struggled to educate marketing and sales forces quickly while simultaneously re-engineering products to interpret this structured document technology. However, Microstar--developer of Near & Far Designer (NFD)--is not one of them.

Microstar's graphical document modeling tool first commanded attention from the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) community when it was released in 1991. Back then, NFD was the first and only graphical development environment for Document Type Definitions (DTDs), which define the structure of an SGML or XML document, including definitions of elements and their relationships. Documents governed by DTDs provide a more rigorous and consistent document lifecycle because they can be checked against the document's intended structure.

While part of XML's momentum is the enticement of "DTD-less," Web-delivered, intelligent documents, man>, structured document specialists know that a document without a formal DTD may not be as reliable. Thus, today's mainstream Web developers and structured database designers face a three-fold challenge: learn the document modeling lingo, develop DTDs, and do it quickly.

DTD DEVELOPMENT FOR THE MASSES

With version 3.0, Microstar still enjoys the cachet of having the only graphical DTD environment which is now XML-enabled. And because document analysis and modeling are still very much a part of an XML implementation project, DTD development remains a virtual necessity.

XML's transformation from "Web-based SGML solution" to "Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) replacement" and "electronic commerce architecture" is truly spectacular. In fact, a "Powered by XML" icon may replace "Optimized for Internet Explorer or Netscape" sooner rather than later. But a critical eye seeking industrial strength document solutions and electronic transaction strategies will find, unfortunately, that it's still the same old DTD.

Microstar expects that NFD will appeal both to established SGML DTD developers and the growing market of users spurred by XML momentum, but new to DTD development. Certainly, both audiences would like to abandon a complex syntax when developing a DTD. Indeed, both audiences will appreciate NFD's graphical user interface, composed of a hierarchical tree diagram that relates elements by type, order, and quantity.

For users unfamiliar with the nuances of document modeling, NFD offers an intuitive, drag-and-drop environment. By setting interface options, one can avoid seeing strict or foreign SGML terms and symbols. All five toolbars (Standard, Edit, View, Objects, and Tools) can be moved and "docked" on demand. Right mouse click menus provide quick, context-sensitive access to features associated with the current process. And clipboard support enables cut-and-paste operations from one DTD to another.

Although one expects these capabilities in a fully compliant Windows application, they have not been historically available in many SGML development applications. To appeal to the ever-increasing market for potential DTD developers--a more mainstream and corporate audience--Microstar had to incorporate standard GUI features into its product, and has done so successfully with v.3.0.

DTD CONSTRUCTION: HARDHAT OPTIONAL

NFD's installation process is simple, eats less than 6MB, and includes an uninstall feature. Each new DTD file resembles a blank canvas, with the exception of a default root element. Its interface provides a set of basic objects to build a DTD. And its elements, shaped as rectangles, are synonymous with SGML or XML tags. To add an element, simply drag a rectangle onto the canvas.

By dragging and dropping NFD connectors (Ordered, Unordered, and Selection), you'll build the element associations that create the DTD hierarchy. Once a multidimensional tree exists, the mouse cursor graphically prompts for appropriate locations as you add new elements.

For efficiency, NFD allows you to group elements and their connectors into Named Groups (parameter entities in SGML-speak). A Named Group can be re-used throughout the DTD without re-creating the structure. In addition, you can create and maintain element attributes through "attribute lists," which are defined once, but associated with many elements through grouping. With this feature, any change to an attribute list permeates to the associated elements.

Once the model is complete, it can be validated against either the SGML or XML standard and saved as a DTD. For works-in-progress, NFD provides a binary format that does not require validation.

KISSING COUSINS: CONVERTING AN SGML DTD TO XML

For experienced users with established DTD libraries, NFD offers quick conversion to XML-compliant versions. Through bi-directional conversion features, NFD can create, import, and validate SGML or XML DTDs in seconds.

Still, NFD automates only those SGML to XML conversion tasks that are considered "one-for-one," such as creating individual element declarations or isolating comments. In testing, I used the SGML-based NFTEST.DTD created by Microstar's technical support staff to demonstrate features and troubleshoot problems as a candidate for conversion to an XML DTD. This DTD, like most SGML versions, contains a number of features and attributes XML does not support. In fact, choosing "Convert to XML" generated 191 errors during NFD's initial DTD analysis process.