Oolite Bulletins

Hi,

I would need an automatic translation from OpenStep to XML format (again) and as you guys have the OS that has the tools for that ...

Anyone out there helping me? Just send me a PM.

Thanks

L

Thargoid wrote:

Is there any particular reason you're going back to XML? Wouldn't it produce a more streamlined OXP code to have it all in OpenStep?

There is a simple reason: There are automated error search engines for XML, but none that I know of for OpenStep.

If I merge oxps, I need to convert them to one of the two formats, and I chose XML for the above reason.

Perhaps, when OSE is completely ready and done, I might translate it all back to OpenStep, but not before that - the final OSE shipdata plist might well have a few hundred thousand lines and if a semicolon is at the wrong place somewhere, without automated error search that would have been it, then.

Cheers

L

Lestradae wrote:

There is a simple reason: There are automated error search engines for XML, but none that I know of for OpenStep.

There’s one built in to Oolite (or rather, GNUstep). If your plist is broken, the log will tell you where and why.

Ahruman wrote:

There’s one built in to Oolite (or rather, GNUstep). If your plist is broken, the log will tell you where and why.

Problem is, a lot of errors are not being found by that one. The result is that for example the shipdata.plist just stops working downwards from a typo or unfit entry onwards.

I have observed this on many occasions. For example, someone writes "<key>missiles</key> blabla but then no <string>SOME-NUMBER</string> follows and the next entry comes. The log doesn't show an error message then, but the plist is only used down to this line and everything below is ignored.

The Markup Service finds such errors. There were other occasions of that sort I don't remember clearly enough to give a good example.

I'd reckomend "Another General Purpose Text Editor". Its free and with it you can convert between formats. It also hightlights errors. Eg a missing } will make all the text in that argument turn red and then go green when you add the }. It also can save in JS format. A google with give you the download page.

Thanks for the tip, LittleBear, downloaded it and will try it out.

Haven't found out how to do XML-OpenStep translations with it yet, but only had a quick look - I guess that translation is self-explaining?

Cheers

L

I think you just select language and click the one you want it to format in.