Which software supports Schematron schema embedded in XSD schemas?
This was the question in an email this week. (answer: Oxygen for IDE, for open source it is DIY using the XSLT on the Gitlab: I don’t know if there are libraries that support it), I remembered an old desktop utility my old company Topologi released about 17 years ago. We put it out to explore designs and possibilities, and it seemed to stike a chord with education people.
Topologi Schematron Validator let you select files (left list) and schemas (right list) and then validate with XSD, RELAX NG, Schematron, Schematorn + DTD. The Schematron rules could be documents or embedded in XSD or RELAX NG. You could make your own validation scenarios using a Schematron-like pipeline with different XSLTs too. You could generate text or HTML, and have a dual pane view with the bugs with a clickable XPath to the source location. Neat.
While we were a Java company, we did it using VB for prototyping. It was coded by our Swedish gun programmer Eddie Robertsson, who had just come up with the mechanism for embedding Schematron schemas inside XSD 1.0 or RELAX NG schemas and so we included that functionality as well. It was well before ISO Schematron, so no SVRL.
So I wondered whether the software was still available and working. The Topologi company became dormant when I fell critically ill around 2006 (obviously I recovered eventually!) and some of its technologies were re-used by sister companies, but its web site is actually still up. The page for the Topologi Schematron Validator is still up as well, for the moment, though there are no links from the front page.
But the software actually still can be accessed, and surprisingly still works (on MS Windows 10).
1) Go to http://www.topologi.com/products/validator/ and download the software
2) Unzip and install as normal
3) Left-click on the desktop icon properties and run the Compatability Troubleshooter. It will change the settings to an XP application.
(I also did another step, which was to update the C:\Windows\SysWOW64\RICHTX32.OSX file, but I don’t think this is actually necessary.)
While on the topic of desktop software that runs customizable pipelines of XML processes, readers may be interesting in the MorganaXProc open source project.