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Charteris announce XMuLator, a tool for automated, meaning-driven XML transformation. The meaning of an XML language is defined by mapping its schema (= DTD, XDR) onto a UML-like semantic model. Then the tool can generate the XSLT transformation between any two XML languages whose meanings overlap - to translate messages, preserving meaning. This may involve doing complex structural transformations, not just tag substitution. e.g. XMuLator can generate transformations from fairly flat XMLs out of relational databases to deeply nested e-commerce XML languages, and back again. The tool has automated support for validating transformations, including a stringent round-trip test. You can transform a message through 2, 3 or more languages back to the start language, then check it has the same structure and values as you started with. XMuLator-generated transformations pass this test. Typically UML entities (class instances) and attributes are represented simply and locally in XML. The tricky part is in UML associations (aka relations), which XML can represent in many different ways (e.g. nested elements, idrefs, shared element or attribute values) depending on their cardinality. XMuLator recognises these, and transforms between them. It does not do XLinks! The big win is in the cost of building transformations. It is quicker to define semantic mappings than to write and debug XSLT. Also you beat the N-squared problem; the cost of creating all N(N-1) possible transforms between N different languages grows only as N, not as N squared. As XML languages proliferate and N-squared goes through the roof, we think this is going to be very important for B2B and EAI. For information about XMuLator, see http://www.charteris.com or email me. For background on the problem it addresses, see http://www.xml.com/pub/2000/01/ebusiness/index.html. Robert Worden
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