Altia XML capability offers many benefits for your product life cycle management and documentation. The human readable output of XML is an excellent repository for the GUI/HMI data structure. You are not bound by proprietary file formats that may not be readable during the entire product life cycle.

Altia has implemented an XML import and export capability that goes beyond the typical layout description offered by most products. You will always have complete access to your design without relying on binary code that is attached to a GUI/HMI object. The Altia XML is capable of fully describing the user interface down to the base elements. No longer is an object simply a reference to underlying binary data with position and properties. In the Altia XML, all of the information to construct an object is present in the XML output.

In addition to the look of an object, all of the behavior including animation and stimulus is included in the XML output. Altia can import its XML output, without relying on additional files, and reconstruct the entire user interface. Using Altia DeepScreen you can go directly from an XML description to deployable GUI code.

Included with the XML output is a XSML style sheet written in the Sytlesheet Language (XSL). The documentation provided through the style sheet can save you many months of documentation effort. Since the entire GUI is specified in the XML output, every aspect of the GUI is represented in the documentation. The style sheet formats the XML output into a HTML document that includes screen images of named objects and any properties, stimulus or animation associated with the object. Using the provided XSML as a guide, you are free to create a style sheet that meets your own needs for documentation format. Since the document is a platform independent HTML file, it is easy to share with others and requires no proprietary software to view.

The XML capabilities of Altia offer us tremendous flexibility for future product enhancements and integration with third party software. Using the XML capabilities, you now have complete access to your design data. The use of XML will lower your development and life cycle costs while taking advantage of an industry standard technology.