xml-dev - JUMBO9801 alpha release

[Peter Murray-Rust <peter@ursus.demon.co.uk>]

An alpha release of JUMBO9801-core is available; details are in the copy of
index.html reproduced below. JUMBO is SAX-compliant and I would be
particularly interested in your experiences in installing it in that
manner. I have deliberately not included any SAX material or other
parser-writer's material [1]. Documentation is sparse, but being produced
(in XML, of course) to be fully integrated with the menu system.

One major change is the componentisation of JUMBO - this should aid in
downloading (which used to be a problem) - the tgz is now 350 Kbytes which
I hope is manageable. I would - as always - be very grateful for anyone who
wishes to mirror JUMBO resources.

Please note that JUMBO is NOT a specialist browser for Chemical Markup
Language [I'd be grateful for changes in current pointers which imply this
:-)]. It is a generic element-based XML tool, and will make a readable, if
not beautiful, job of rendering Lark.xml, Julius Caesar, etc.  It can be
extended via JUMBO-FOOML to support FOOML. As one example of FOOML,
JUMBO-CML will be released in a few days (see parallel message) which DOES
provide specialist support for Chemical Markup Language :-)

I'd be extremely grateful for feedback - this is "alpha". There is a list
of known deficiencies in the distribution. The important thing at this
stage is not that it runs well, but that it runs at all... For example I
know that refreshing graphics on a Sirius Cybernetics machine is
*extremely* slow

	P.

-------------------------------JUMBO9801a index.html-----------------------


Jumbo9801a

This document describes the alpha "snapshot" (i.e. release) of JUMBO in Jan
1998. 

Description

JUMBO is an element-oriented system for processing XML documents. It can
read and parse (with/without additional parsers, with/without the SAX
interface). It creates a tree or elements and attributes with various types
of content. It also supports processing instructions (PIs) in a generic
manner. There is support for namespaces and XSL stylesheets, though JUMBO
does not have sophisticated rendering. It has a browsing model based on a
tree/TOC model, event streams or customised element display. It supports
(SIMPLE) XLL navigation including NEW and REPLACE and most Xpointer syntax.
It extends the latter to provide sophisticated search and navigation tools
for the document. JUMBO also provides authoring and editing facilities,
driven by DTD information where possible. These can be customised to
provide novel types of data input other than text. 

JUMBO is designed to be extended, especially through subclassing or
elements, and I hope that a collaborative community (cf. tcl/tk, LaTeX,
Linux) will develop for its future support. Offers are very welcome here. 

Main Features

     JUMBO is 100% pure Java (1.02) and runs as an applet or application. 
     JUMBO does not knowingly deviate from the X*L specs, apart from known
limitations. 
     JUMBO has an elementary XML parser, sufficient for its own
configuration files. JUMBO has
     been developed to be used with the SAX API so that any SAX-J-compliant
parser (1998-01-28:
     AElfred, Lark, MSXML, NXP, (XP not yet done)) can be used at runtime.
Parsers can be selected in the commandline or through menus. 
     The parse result is treated as a tree and displayed on a
tableOfContents (TOC). This allows access to all main components (elements,
attributes, content, PIs) 
     Components are rendered as: subtrees/TOCs; event streams (text, tagged
text and others); and individual objects. Fonts can be selected. 
     JUMBO menus are driven by (internal) XML documents which include
HTML-based help on a per-item basis 
     The JUMBO GUI has several components allowing assessment of the
document and its processing including error announcement (Draconian). 
     Xpointers (XLL) are implemented for: linking into subcomponents of XML
documents; searching XML documents; internal management of XML documents
(e.g. menus, stylesheets, namespaces) 
     User-based searching is through an interface which allows boolean
combination of strict
     XPointer addressing. Hits are highlighted in the TOC. X*L-specific
tools (Find IDs, NAMEs) are included. 
     XLL is implemented for SIMPLE. NEW and REPLACE are implemented; EMBED
is on a per-application basis. AUTO and USER are implemented. (JUMBO
extensions can link into non-XML documents). 
     New XML (and non-XML files) can be read into JUMBO under menu control. 
     The current tree (possibly modified) can be saved as XML. Window
components can be saved as GIFs 
     There are a variety of options for browsing elements, attributes,
PCDATA and whitespace. 
     Two display options (TOC and TOC+object) can be chosen - more will
follow. Objects can be displayed in individual Frames. 
     JUMBO allows import of non-XML documents by setting MIME types and
requiring per-MIME conversion code. The conversion is done on-the-fly. 
     JUMBO supports some non-SAX information on a per-parser basis. This
includes DTD components such as ATTLISTs and ELEMENT contentDeclarations 
     JUMBO can be used for editing existing documents, sometimes with
primitive DTD or schema-based control. It can also be used for creating new
documents. 
     JUMBO has an experimental approach towards namespaces 
     Stylesheets: JUMBO is tracking the public XSL spec and can read XSL
documents 
     JUMBO is easily extended to provide support for Java-based
applications on a  package/namespace basis. The following are currently
available: 
       
          jumbo.sgml.html (HTML V2.0). This supports well-formed HTML at
about V2.0 level (but no tables or forms). Rendering is readable but not
optimised for performance or beauty. JUMBO-HTML is included in the alpha
distribution. 
          jumbo.tecml (Technical Markup Language). This is aimed at
technical and scientific applications provides strong data typing (FLOAT,
DATE, etc.) with UNITS and structuring (ARRAY and LIST). Some commonly used
data types are also included: BIB, PERSON, FIGURE, etc. NOT included in
alpha distribution 
          jumbo.cml (Chemical Markup Language). This provides support for
molecular applications. NOT included in alpha distribution 
          jumbo.chemime (Chemical MIME). Classes to convert non-XML files
(chemical/x-*) into XML trees on the fly. NOT included in alpha distribution 
          jumbo.vhg (Virtual HyperGlossary). Support for XML-based
terminology including ISO12620 terms. NOT included in alpha distribution 

Installation

JUMBO9801a is available at
http://www.vsms.nottingham.ac.uk/vsms/java/jumbo/jan9801. Details of
installation are available; it will be useful to install one or more
SAX-compliant (http://www.microstar.com/xml/sax) parsers. 

Copyright, Collaboration, Source, Warranty

JUMBO is copyright Peter Murray-Rust. It is available without fee, but may
not be redistributed or used for commercial purposes or teaching without
permission. It is my intention that JUMBO is freely available for personal
use by individuals and for personal use within organisations at present.
Class libraries will be available on the WWW. I hope to develop a
LaTeX/tcl-like club of collaborators and the precise nature of future
copyright will depend on that; I would like to relax the restrictions
above. I am reluctant at present to make source freely available except to
collaborators since (through experience) I fear the distribution of mutants
and the misappropriation of authorship. Constructive suggestions would be
welcomed here. If a stable core can be communally developed (like tcl) I
would feel more relaxed. So, if you are seriously interested in helping
give me a mail with details. 

No guarantee is made of JUMBO's fitness for any purpose and the author is
not responsible for any damage caused by whatever means. 

Copyright Peter Murray-Rust, 1996, 1997, 1998 

[1] I have included Lark.xml and saxpec.html in the distribution - I hope
the authors don't mind :-)
Peter Murray-Rust, Director Virtual School of Molecular Sciences, domestic
net connection
VSMS http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/vsms, Virtual Hyperglossary
http://www.venus.co.uk/vhg

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