DeltaXML Make HTML Table Comparison Effortless with XML Compare V14

DeltaXML announce the release of Version 14 of their flagship product XML Compare, which now includes table comparison improvements to HTML tables, following on from the improvements to CALS table handling in an earlier release. This new version features a major update to the way HTML tables are handled when comparing tables and reporting differences as well as a few new capabiities to ensure you get the best results when processing tables.

New HTML table capabilities include both ordered and 'orderless' columns. By default, column order is significant so if column order changes, that is flagged up in the results. But if column order doesn't matter, you can now configure the comparison to ignore column order and it will align them differently in the result. Another new feature is Column Keying allowing you to control the way in which columns are aligned.

Improvements to existing features include the way changes to spans are handled with the results being far easier to display and understand when reviewed. The new approach delivers finer-grained results for cells and rows, understanding change that matters. One of the most basic and most difficult aspects to understand and represent in tables is when a column moves, is added or deleted. Improvements to Column Alignment provides a new result which makes more sense and is immediately apparent to the viewer and easier to understand.

"Anyone who has worked with XML tables knows comparing is tricky with a trade-off between capturing structural changes and showing the content changes in a way that is useful for the reader. This latest release of XML Compare 14 applies a new approach to HTML table comparison focusing on showing content changes in as much detail as possible." commented Tristan Mitchell, Product Director. "Those used to seeing row duplications in their table results will be pleased to know that these have been dramatically reduced. In the vast majority of cases, changes are now shown at the cell level, leading to a more intuitive table results."

These xHTML table enhancements are now in the process of being rolled out to DeltaXML's DITA Compare and DocBook Compare products.