Excel importing and exporting XML UWP data
- Thread starter robject
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jfetters
SOC-14 1K
Well, I can think of a couple things - the worldgen programs that accept data (e.g., H&E to Universe), and any other "chargen" programs that may come out in the future (although I could see a BIG problem there when talking TNE and everything else...)
Still, an XML format is nice when you need to store a chunk of heirarchical data without having a database program.
Gruffty, you might have to install that converter - the default installation doesn't load all of the converters - but give it a shot that way. From Access, you can always export a table or query to a spreadsheet very easily. I prefer Access anyway, probably because I am a programmer. I relate mroe to tables, queries, and VB than I do Excel.
Jim, I agree, XML is one way to bypass the database. Also, XML shines when it comes to sharing data between applications -- two very different computer programs on different platforms can talk XML as well or better than anything else; you can be as clear and nitty gritty as you like, and there are scads of programs that will generate it from internal data structures or read it directly into them.
However, I also agree with Aramis, that as a general format for Traveller data, text files are fine. They are much more human-readable.
But, I would like to see XML being used with Traveller applications where useful. Storing internal state and transferring chunks of data (like between client and server, or between different apps completely) are prime candidates.
(Caveat: XML parsers seem relatively slow, perhaps because it's a document protocol rather than simply a data structure format. Typically, though, that doesn't matter.)
However, I also agree with Aramis, that as a general format for Traveller data, text files are fine. They are much more human-readable.
But, I would like to see XML being used with Traveller applications where useful. Storing internal state and transferring chunks of data (like between client and server, or between different apps completely) are prime candidates.
(Caveat: XML parsers seem relatively slow, perhaps because it's a document protocol rather than simply a data structure format. Typically, though, that doesn't matter.)
jfetters
SOC-14 1K
Absolutely - the only issue is that you have to create some kind of a custom parser to input the data, as Universe has to do (and it does it well!). What would be worthwhile (possibly, if there was a general schema) would be to create a stylesheet that displays the XML into the human-readible format.
Agreed on both counts. XML can get slow, especially when the amount of data grows. But other good applications would be data table manipulation - load the data up and perform queries against it (or sort it in a spreadsheet, whatever) to determine how many class A starports within a sector, population, tech level, what have you.
Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled thread...
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
That's what stylesheets are for! (BTW, I am currently trying my hand at putting together a character schema (CT) and stylesheet. I will post links somewhere here when I get something resembling a working product.)
Be glad they're not using it for a range!Originally posted by Gruffty:
Bloody RAF. Always using the Nene Valley for low-level flight training.....
Edit: I have posted a link to my XML over here. end edit
Yeah... generic XML support was new in Microsoft Office Excel 2003. At Microsoft we get complaints when we add new features and complaints when we don't add new features. *sigh*
Schema: a formal description of the structure of something with... er... structure. For a database this is a description of the tables and the relationships between the tables. For XML this is the set of rules that you make up and say "a <Sector> must contain exact 16 <Subsectors>; each <World> must have a Hydrographic="N" attribute" and so on.
Parser: a piece of computer code which reads in a file (e.g. text file) on behalf of some other code; in the XML world, this is the bit which lets you avoid writing your own code that says "if I see a < it's the start of a tag, so keep reading until I see an >..." - writing that sort of code stops being fun after a while.
Schema: a formal description of the structure of something with... er... structure. For a database this is a description of the tables and the relationships between the tables. For XML this is the set of rules that you make up and say "a <Sector> must contain exact 16 <Subsectors>; each <World> must have a Hydrographic="N" attribute" and so on.
Parser: a piece of computer code which reads in a file (e.g. text file) on behalf of some other code; in the XML world, this is the bit which lets you avoid writing your own code that says "if I see a < it's the start of a tag, so keep reading until I see an >..." - writing that sort of code stops being fun after a while.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
See edited post above for a link to the xml file/schema/stylesheet I came up with (WIP).
Joshua, you work over there?!
But, I technically think a parser also checks the xml doc against the schema. (Well-formed XML doesn't have to meet any schema, but a validated doc does.)
Joshua, you work over there?!
But, I technically think a parser also checks the xml doc against the schema. (Well-formed XML doesn't have to meet any schema, but a validated doc does.)
Yeah, I was a lead program manager on InfoPath 2003 (the really XML-focused app) and later versions. I'm doing different stuff now.
In the XML stack, the process of checking for conformance to a schema is called validation. You can have a parser that does validation as well, or a stand-along parser and/or a stand-alone validator. Parsers (and validators) exist for many formats other than XML, of course.
In the XML stack, the process of checking for conformance to a schema is called validation. You can have a parser that does validation as well, or a stand-along parser and/or a stand-alone validator. Parsers (and validators) exist for many formats other than XML, of course.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Right you are, Joshua. It came to me after I posted. However, I don't think they were called "validators".... I just can't remember the "proper" terminology that the instructor used. If you have a validating parser, though, I would appreciate your looking at the file.
