Category: xmlroff

xmlroff 0.6.2 and libfo-examples-0.6.0 are now available from
http://xmlroff.org/download/xmlroff-0.6.2.tar.gz and
http://xmlroff.org/download/libfo-examples-0.6.0.tar.gz

libfo-examples 0.6.0 adds xmlroff-gtktree as a work-in-progress
demonstration of using a GTK+ tree widget to view the FO tree with what
will eventually be a side panel showing the current FO’s properties.

xmlroff 0.6.2 really only has some changes in the header files necessary
to support libfo-examples 0.6.0.

The next xmlroff version will be 0.7.0, which will have some support for
static fo:static-content.

xmlroff 0.6.1 is at http://xmlroff.org/download/xmlroff-0.6.1.tar.gz.

xmlroff 0.6.1 features SVG external graphics rendered as vectors in the Cairo backend and table column order respecting writing mode.

Thanks go to lode leroy for the Cairo fix.

xmlroff is discussed on the xmlroff-list@xmlroff.org mailing list (subscription required) and on the #xmlroff channel at oftc.net.

xmlroff is listed on Ohloh at http://www.ohloh.net/projects/xmlroff. IMO, the project cost is overstated and the user count is understated. If you are registered with Ohloh (or if you’re willing to register), consider clicking on the image below and adding xmlroff to your Ohloh stack. Continue reading “xmlroff on Ohloh”

xmlroff 0.6.0 is at http://xmlroff.org/download/xmlroff-0.6.0.tar.gz.

xmlroff 0.6.0 features a BSD license without a restriction against use in a nuclear facility, an xmlroff.1 man page, and graphics rendering in the Cairo backend.

Thanks go to Jon Bosak and Mike Anastasio of Sun Microsystems for Sun’s re-release of its xmlroff source code under the no-restrictions BSD license and to lode leroy for graphics in the Cairo backend.

xmlroff is discussed on the xmlroff-list@xmlroff.org mailing list (subscription required) and on the #xmlroff channel at oftc.net.

xmlroff is available prepackaged for Ubuntu 8.04! Instead of my reciting the list of packages that you need to build xmlroff, I just need to tell you to install it from the ‘universe’ repository using the Synaptics package manager.

Thanks must go to W. Martin Borgert and others of the Debian XML/SGML Group for doing the packaging work so that Ubuntu could pick it up as well as to the Ubuntu folks for including it.

xmlroff 0.5.4 is at http://xmlroff.org/download/xmlroff-0.5.4.tar.gz.

This release fixes some table bugs and adds linefeed-treatment and white-space-collapse properties (actually added in 0.5.3, but that release was only announced on the xmlroff-list).

Building xmlroff on Ubuntu 7.10 is straightforward once you install some build tools and the required ‘-dev’ packages.

Starting with a clean installed system, install the following packages (and their dependencies):

• libtool
• autoconf
• automake1.9
• libglib2.0-dev
• libxslt1-dev
• libcairo2-dev and/or libgnomeprint2.2-dev
• libpango1.0-dev
• libgtk2.0-dev (not libgdk-pixbuf-dev)

A good bug reporting system, by being good, can make a project look bad.

In five-or-so years on SourceForge, xmlroff garnered 24 bug reports. In the couple of months since moving everything to xmlroff.org, xmlroff has already amassed over 60 Trac tickets.

It may look as if xmlroff is suddenly much buggier, but it’s due to finally having a bug reporting system that’s easy to use.

Because it’s easier to use, we use it more. There’s been tickets for moving to xmlroff.org and for pie-in-the-sky ideas like a Texinfo-XML-to-FO stylesheet as well as for common or garden bugs. Since it’s also easy to link to bug reports, there’s now more ticket numbers in the notes on test results and in commit messages.

The proliferating tickets and ticket references point to quality improving, not worsening. After all, we’ve also closed more tickets than xmlroff had bug reports while on SourceForge.