Soldier-proof data retrieval.

Somewhere in the mysterious land of technical publications, schematics, editorial archives and databases, Ixiasoft has developed a document database server component for system integrators that takes the AARGH! out of archiving. Publishing documents on a database retrieval system has been a Godsend from the outset, the only problem being those documents do not retain their format, and a true search capability has been sadly lacking. Enter Ixiasoft and TextML.

XML and SGML are 'meta' languages for defining markup languages (remember the Internet? HTML). Conceived in the 1960s, SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) conceived a subset called Extensible Markup Language (XML). So what does this do for us? Ixiasoft's TextML uses XML to 'serve' XML documents through web-based applications (browser, PDA, etc). XML allows all documents created in XML-capable programs (a small sample being Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Framemaker) to be viewed with all their structure and formatting retained and searchable through comprehensive query capabilities that are a stunning breath of fresh air to say the least.

Ixiasoft has been supplying its TextML software since December 1999 and has sold to the systems integrators building the US Air Force technical publications library, originally for the Awacs, then for all F-16 documentation (in production since the 1970s one can only imagine all the documentation required to track all the modifications and upgrades), the A-10 Warthog, B-1 bomber and the Apache helicopter. Other customers, some who have pilot programmes in progress, include SAIC, Eurocopter for the NH90 helicopter and Eads with the A380 technical publication library.

Today's technology calls for reasonable solutions, and XML servers are hands-down winners over SQL servers for technical publications, magazine and newspaper archives (text, graphics and layouts), e-learning and e-business atmospheres and a host of other applications. Canadian-based Ixiasoft provides the e-publishing solution that allows millions of documents to be stored and retrieved, edited with real-time index updating and either purged of outdated material or rolled-back to previous versions if need be. All in a secure environment.