XWeb features

Website structuring:

• website is defined using an XML file which describes the structure, the input and output formats and the layout
• structure and layout parts are consequently separated to allow easy reuse and/or change of layouts
• the structure is defined as pages and files in sections which can be nested. The maximum depth for nesting sections is limited only by the stylesheets used
• the navigation is created using exactly the same information, thus avoiding redundancy and conflicts between the input files and the navigation on the site
• new pages can be added by just adding a single line to this file, XWeb creates the buttons and banners needed automatically
• the input files are grouped into types. The transformations applied and images generated for the files are defined for these types so the definitions can be reused and redundancy can be avoided
• adding accessibility information is easy (see the alternative text for the navigation of this site -- keep your mouse on the different buttons)

File processing:

• XML input files can be processed using XSLT stylesheets, multiple stylesheets per file are allowed for increasing reuse
• SVG files can be processed into JPG or PNG images
• external programs can be called via command line interface
• files can be copied
• the information on the website structure can be added into the input XML files including all URLs for the files and images

Image generation:

• any number of images can be rendered for an input file
• which images are rendered depends on the file type
• images can be rendered for pages and sections
• two ways exist for rendering images: a simple internal renderer or SVG can be used
• the page or section name (defined in the structure) can be rendered on both types of images
• if information on the website structure is added in to XML file, the images will be described there having a number of attributes predefined like the alternative text (page name) and the size information

Interfaces:

• the main process is a simple command line call
• the generic stylesheet offers easy access to a variety of different site layouts
• the image rendering tool has its own command line interface
• a dialog with a preview can be used to create values for the internal image renderer

Some other pros:

• the input is distributed into text files, thus allowing development with multiple persons and the efficient use of version management systems
• in combination with schemas and validating editors control on the content is gained
• using your own XML formats is easy if you can write XSLT stylesheets
• creating the first website with an existing template and XHTML input is easy but you can gain more and more control by adding additional formats or changing the stylesheets
• it runs on every Java 2 platform with command line interface (when the frontend is finished it will be every Java 2 platform)
• and last not least: it is Open Source ;-)