ANNOUNCE: XML Spy 4.0 Public Beta 2 available,includes new Document Editor and XSLT Designer

[XML Spy <xml-dev@xmlspy.com>]

We are pleased to announce the second stage of the beta testing phase for
the upcoming XML Spy 4.0 product line and would like to invite everybody to
participate in this event. XML Spy 4.0b2 is a Public Beta and accessible to
anyone interested in XML development and document editing on the Windows
platform.

The XML Spy 4.0 Integrated Development Environment (IDE) builds on the
success of the award-winning XML Spy 3.5 product in the developer market and
adds expanded ODBC database access functionality, enhanced user interface
customization, a new plug-in architecture for 3rd party developers, as well
as support for the final XML Schema Recommendation for both graphical XML
Schema editing and validation of XML instance documents based upon XML
Schema.

In addition, the new 4.0 product line now includes the XML Spy 4.0 Document
Framework - a revolutionary solution for all document or content editing
applications that is based on a combination of XML Schema and XSLT
Stylesheets. This provides the customer with a highly user-friendly
interface - very much like a typical word processor - that allows for true
XML content editing and creation. The framework consists of two
applications:

The XML Spy 4.0 Document Editor supports free-flow WYSIWYG text editing,
form-based data input, graphical elements, presentation and editing of
arbitrary repeating XML elements as tables, real-time validation, and
consistency checking using XML Schema and is typically deployed on the
end-users desk. The XML Spy Document Editor is available in three
variations:

   + as a stand-alone application, to be deployed on the PC of any
non-technical user
   + integrated as a separate view within the XML Spy IDE user-interface (if
you purchase the XML Spy Suite product)
   + NEW: as a Browser Plug-In for Internet Explorer, which dramatically
eases deployment in the enterprise

The XML Spy 4.0 XSLT Designer is a graphical Stylesheet creation tool that
enables the customization of the document editor by defining an XSLT
Stylesheet and additional editing-specific options based upon the underlying
DTD or XML Schema for use during the content creation or editing process.

For the current 4.0 Beta 2 release, all components of the 4.0 product line
are available for public testing! Specifically, the 4.0b2 version of the IDE
includes the following new features:

   + support for the final XML Schema Recommendation released by the W3C on
May 2nd, 2001
   + the ability to automatically convert schemas from the April 7 WD or Oct
24 CR to the final Rec version
   + the ability to convert existing DTDs, XML-Data, or BizTalk schemas to
the W3C XML Schema Definition Language
   + automatic generation of an XML Schema from any ADO or ODBC accessible
SQL database (including datatypes & relations)
   + expanded database connectivity (ADO or ODBC) for import/export
functions
   + hierarchical database to XML import based on ADO SHAPE
   + new user-interface look & feel (Office XP compatible)
   + advanced user-interface customization (menus, keyboard-shortcuts, etc.)
   + new Plug-In architecture that lets 3rd party developers extend the XML
Spy IDE

The XML Spy 4.0 Document Editor is currently available both integrated into
the XML Spy IDE as an additional view (i.e. what you get, when you purchase
the XML Spy Suite product) and as a Browser Plug-In for Internet Explorer.
To get a live demonstration of the new Browser Plug-In, please visit:

    http://plugin.xmlspy.com         (this requires Internet Explorer 5.5 or
6.0)

This Document Editor Browser Plug-In is a unique solution that allows live
XML content editing from any desktop in your enterprise, which dramatically
eases deployment and reduces total cost of ownership (TCO). This is indeed
the first browser-based XML editing solution in the entire industry, and it
is based upon open standards, such as XML Schema and XSLT!

The XSLT Designer is also available as part of the XML Spy Suite 4.0b2
installation and allows you to create XSLT Stylsheets for use with the
Document Editor as well as any other XSLT processor. The unique graphical
design environment of the XSLT Designer provides you with a view of the
content model of your document, XML Schema, or DTD, and allows you to drag
elements and attributes to the design pane, where you can create tables,
paragraphs, and assign any other common style information, such as font and
color settings. This highly intuitive process greatly reduces the time
required to create XSLT Stylesheets - a truly daunting task without the help
of this software. The integrated Preview pane allows you to see your XML
document styled with the Stylesheet you are creating, which lets you preview
your results at any time during the design process.

To participate in the public beta program, please use this URL to access our
4.0 product line preview page on the XML Spy web site, which contains a more
detailed introduction to the new 4.0 product line as well as the download
link for the actual XML Spy Suite 4.0b2 software release:

    http://www.xmlspy.com/beta/

Please note, that due to the huge interest in our product we are providing
this download hosted on multiple sites with automatic loadbalancing. If you
are still experiencing any download difficulties, please retry the download
at a later point in time, as we typically anticipate a large number of
simultaneous requests during the first 8-12 hours of the availability of the
new release.

This is also the perfect opportunity to save money: if you purchase XML Spy
3.5 now (i.e. before version 4.0 is released), you'll be able to take
advantage of our special limited-time 4.0 upgrade offers next month, which
will enable you to get the full XML Spy 4.0 Suite for $20 less:

    Upgrade from XML Spy 3.5 to XML Spy 4.0 IDE   = FREE
    Upgrade from XML Spy 3.5 to XML Spy 4.0 Suite = $179

For a more detailed 4.0 pricing information and other available product
versions and upgrade options, please visit our online pricelist for XML Spy
4.0 at http://www.xmlspy.com/order_pricelist4.html

Once again, thank you for your interest in our product and for participating
in our beta program!


Sincerely,

Altova
The XML Spy Company