How to write the layout

XML Editor

By using standard XML (UTF-8), the layout rules can be edited with any text editor.

The supplied XML schemas (RELAX NG and XML Schema (XSD)) make it easy to enter the layout ruleset. Such a schema can be thought of as a computer-readable instruction as to which commands may appear at which position in the layout. The instructions also contain information about the parameters that are permitted in each case. In addition, the scheme also provides help by briefly explaining each command and parameter. In short: if the editor can integrate this schema and also "understands" it, it is an input help that should not be underestimated. You reduce the number of errors and the input time significantly, editing the layout rules starts to be really fun (believe me).

To include this schema, you need to use a suitable XML editor that can process RELAX NG or XML Schemas, e.g:

The first two editors provide excellent cross-platform support for the schema.

The schema files for the layout rules are located in the ZIP file in the share/schema/ directory under the file names

layoutschema-de.rng
layoutschema-en.rng

for RELAX NG and

layoutschema-de.xsd
layoutschema-en.xsd

for XSD, depending on the desired language of the documentation. Further information on the schema can be found in the chapter Schema validation and in the appendix Associate XML editor with schema.

Namespace of the layout ruleset

The XML namespace of the layout ruleset is urn:speedata.de:2009/publisher/en. The additional XPath functions are in the namespace urn:speedata:2009/publisher/functions/en. A layout set should therefore always have this frame:

<Layout xmlns="urn:speedata.de:2009/publisher/en"
        xmlns:sd="urn:speedata:2009/publisher/functions/en">
 ...
</Layout>

Then you can call speedata’s own functions with the prefix sd:, for example: sd:current-page() to determine the current page number.