[NCLUG] XML Editor

Tim Swanson swanson at CS.ColoState.EDU
Sun Aug 19 00:27:53 MDT 2007


I'm looking for a software recommendation. The web is full of information, but 
the extent to which it can be trusted is tough. It's one of those cases where 
there's just too much, and sifting through it becomes the difficult part.

I want a good Linux (preferably GNOME, but I really don't care that much) XML 
editor. I want something that will allow me to write XML quickly and easily, 
so I want it to be almost entirely keyboard driven, with shortcut keys for 
creating the XML formatting elements.

Ideally, I'd like one with the following features:
  * Text-based, not GUI-based (i.e. no right-clicking or hitting buttons)
  * Syntax highlighting
  * Intelligent use of tabs (the ability to customize tabs vs. spaces, for 
example)
  * Fast shortcuts for common tasks (closing elements, etc.)
  * Pretty-printing for existing XML (actually changing the file, not just 
displaying it as a tree)
  * Real-time syntax checking
  * The ability to create auto-completion profiles, so that when you're 
working with a particular XML syntax, you can input the vocabulary (element 
and attribute names) for that syntax and get auto-completion
  * Templates for inserting often-used pieces of XML (with blanks that can be 
entered when they're inserted)

The last two are kind of speculative, but I think the first six are pretty 
core.

Does anybody have any experience with XML editing tools that they can share? 
I'd like something that I could get through the Ubuntu repositories, but I'm 
not shy about compiling myself if I have to.


Thanks,
Tim Swanson





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