What XML Tools Do You Use?

Omega1045 asks: "What XML tools do you use? XML Spy? EditPad? A pen, notepad, scanner, and a good OCR program? XML is now becoming more than just hype. XML, SOAP Web Services, and Enterprise Integration (EI) are really taking off from the number and type of contract opportunities I am seeing and receiving. Until recently, I was doing most of my XML by hand. Other than the nostalgia for those early HTML days, it is really eating into my time. I have started trying XML Spy, but to buy it will be a big hit in the wallet (which I am willing to do if it is the best thing out there). What does Slashdot recommend?"

Comments

Right, do you mean European XML or African XML?

[Creosote]

Bridgekeeper: What ... is the best tool for editing XML?

Arthur: Do you mean datacentric XML or docucentric XML?

Bridgekeeper: Why, I don't know th...augghhh!

I'd agree with fm6 that one tool doesn't fit all. XML is evolving away from its SGML roots in heavy-duty document production into two "forks", one that continues to emphasize documents and uses a lot of mixed-content elements, the other that is trying hard to be a database and relying therefore on schemas that provide data typing. The earlier generation of XML editors that emerged from SGML editors, like XMetal and FrameMaker, are much more comfortable to use for functions where you essentially need an XML word processor.

Someone has already mentioned jEdit as a Java editor with useful XML/XSL plugins. I'd add, especially for Mac OS X users, the oXygen XML editor, also Java-based, which provides a very comfortable editing environment with tag autocompletion and built in well-formedness checking and validation (including for XHTML documents, making it a nice Web editor as well). It supports XPath queries, has a built-in DTD generator [from well-formed XML], has a tree structure editor, and more. It's proprietary but not expensive.