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The Stylus Scoop May 2006 - New for Spring: XQuery and Free T-shirts

Dear Stylus Studio Friend,

This month, watch An Introduction to XQuery in Stylus Studio, our latest online video tutorial now playing at the Stylus Studio website. And once you've gotten up-to-speed with the XQuery basics, read User Defined Functions in XQuery, written by W3C XML expert, Dr. Michael Kay. It's another XQuery bonanza this month for both new and experienced users alike.

Also this month, we present a shocking new exposé on how some XML IDEs fall short when it comes to standards compliance – get the details before you spend another dollar on XML tools.

Finally, it wouldn't be a Scoop without free stuff, would it? Cool new Stylus Studio T-shirts and XQuery bumper stickers - find out how you can get yours today. All this and more in this month's Stylus Scoop, the world's best XML development newsletter!

Sincerely,
Ivan Pedruzzi
Sr. Product Architect
The Stylus Studio Team

Table of Contents:

• An Introduction to XQuery Development
• User Defined Functions in XQuery by Dr. Michael Kay
• Competitive Product Information: How Some XML IDEs Fail to Support XML Standards
• Blog for Stylus - Get a Free Stylus Studio T-Shirt!
• True Stylus Studio Stories: Why I switched to Stylus Studio

An Introduction to XQuery Development

We've been touting Stylus Studio's XQuery tools for many months. We should have saved our breath - our newest video, An Introduction to XQuery, shows you (like television, only better!) just how easy it is to use Stylus Studio XQuery tools to develop XQuery applications. Chock-full of information, this video provides a detailed overview of the following topics in just 6 minutes

An Introduction to XQuery is now playing at the Stylus Studio Box Office along with many other helpful video demonstrations.

• Using the XQuery Editor to write XQuery code
• Using relational tables or databases views in XQuery
• Working with different engines, including DataDirect XQuery
• Running an XQuery and viewing the results
• Using backmapping to troubleshoot XQuery
• Performance testing using the XQuery Profiler
• Writing an FLWOR expression in the XQuery Mapper
• Joining two XML files based on various conditions
• Stepping through your code using the XQuery debugger
• Monitoring the value of a variable while executing an XQuery
• Generating the Java code to run an XQuery expression
• Documenting your application using xqDoc
• Using XQuery code completion and tool-tips

An Introduction to XQuery is now playing at the Stylus Studio Box Office along with many other helpful video demonstrations.

User Defined Functions in XQuery by Dr. Michael Kay

XQuery functions have an important role in XQuery. A new tutorial by Dr. Michael Kay explains everything you ever needed to know about how to write your very own user defined functions, including:

• An example of how to write an XQuery function
• The function name, body, and arguments
• The result type
• Modules and Schemas
• Documenting XQuery functions
• Using functions to mask schema complexity
• Writing recursive queries

You can read this latest XQuery tutorial, along with many other XQuery tutorials for free today at the Stylus Studio XQuery developer zone.

Competitive Product Information: How some XML Tools Fail in W3C Standards Compliance

When it comes to standards compliance, not all XML IDEs play fair. Stylus Studio is designed from the ground up to provide a seamless integration with all major XML Schema, XSLT, and XQuery processing components, including Apache Xerces, XSV, Microsoft System.XML, MSXML, DataDirect XQuery, Saxon 8.7, Apache Xalan, and many others. Additionally, while Stylus Studio uses standard W3C XQuery and XSLT in its XML mapping tools, other tools rely on proprietary "power stylesheet" file formats. (We searched the W3C for it but came up empty.) CRN Technical Editor Mario Morejon recognized this key differentiating factor in his report in last month's issue of CRN Magazine, noting that "[Stylus Studio 2006 Release 2] is powerful and unlike its competitors, follows most XML development standards".

Ask yourself - is standards compliance important to you and your organization? If it is, and you want to avoid the problems associated with using proprietary "power stylesheets", then we think your choice in XML IDE is obvious - Download a free trial of Stylus Studio, or purchase Stylus Studio from our online shop today!

Blog for Stylus - Get a Free Stylus Studio T-Shirt!

We're overstocked! An unfortunate factory blunder has left us with a whopping 500 surplus Stylus Studio T-shirts in various sizes. We need to clear out the warehouse in a hurry to make way for our new line of summer fashions. The boss says everything must go, so we're forced to give away these t-shirts for free - well, practically free (hey, this is marketing; there's always a catch) - and only to Stylus Scoop subscribers.

To get your very own Stylus Studio t-shirt, just write a brief 3-5 sentence blurb on why you use Stylus Studio, slap it on your blog or any other public website, include a link back to the Stylus Studio Website and then send us an email with the link. (Along with the link, please be sure your email includes your complete mailing address and your T-shirt size (Medium, Large, or X-Large; all size information will remain strictly confidential).

But wait, there's more! Act now and you'll also get an XQuery bumper sticker - these vinyl, water-resistant bumper stickers are essential to promoting the virtues of XQuery technologies in your neighborhood.

Q: What do these t-shirts look like? And the bumper stickers - are they any good?
A: The t-shirts are much better than last year's design and should be considered as collectors items - they're made of machine washable 100% pure cotton.

Q: Do you ship to addresses outside of the United States?
A: Yes. T-shirts are available only in English, however.

Q: And the fine print?
A: Some restrictions apply - for example, while supplies last, offer void where prohibited by law, yadda yadda yadda. See the Stylus Studio website for complete offer details.

True Stylus Studio Stories

Honestly, we couldn't make up this stuff. And we certainly don't have to - our customers speak for themselves!

"I was looking for ways to improve our integration with other applications and businesses. We already had a significant development of ours called Datahub which acts as a communications hub for the supply chain which can use flat text files. It seemed the next logical step to look for something using XML as the medium for data exchange. I needed a tool that was powerful, reasonable in price and quick to implement. Stylus studio has given us that for the EDIFACT integration project by using the EDIFACT adapter and the Java deployment we have created a mapping to the standard Rosettanet which we use to get data in and out of the Datahub. The EDIFACT adapter took a major piece of the development, the initial processing of the EDI message, and allowed the application of the style sheet to provide a flexible and so far stable platform for conversion. This will now lead to expansion of the initial EDIFACT development and greater use of XML thought out our warehouse management application." - G. Gittins, Operations Director, ATMS.

Thousands of XML developers are switching to Stylus Studio each week!
Visit the new and improved Stylus Studio Education Center where users like you debunk the myths, hype, and other common misunderstandings about XML development tools and components. Got a story of your own? Tell us why you use Stylus Studio and we'll respond!

Stylus Studio
14 Oak Park Drive
Bedford, MA 01730

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