XSLT Rendering and Validation

A PIOP 3 project

Contact details
University of Glasgow

Niall Barr- Project Manager [mailto:n.barr@admin.gla.ac.uk] 0141 330 8179

Introduction
Current tools that handle the Leap2A data format are production quality server applications designed to be hosted by an institution and contain portfolios owned by users linked to that institution. This leaves two distinct gaps in provision of Leap2A services that that are unlikely to be met by existing tools; viewing of portfolios that are not hosted at an institution, and validation of Leap2A files. This project aims to provide reusable tools that can fulfil these requirements, and can also be integrated into other systems.

When a portfolio owner has left their school or university, and no longer has an affiliation with an institution that provides an e-portfolio service with Leap2A import, they are currently left with no simple way of viewing their portfolio file. To allow viewing of Leap2A format XML, without access to a full e-portfolio system an XSL file will be developed that can convert the Leap2A format to XHTML. By adding a reference to this file at the top of a Leap2A file it will be possible to make it viewable in any Web browser with XSL support. In addition, Java servlet and desktop utilities will provide a way of using the XSL file to view Leap2A files without editing them.

An enhancement to this XSL file converter will also provide validation of the Leap2A file, displaying warnings and error messages in the XHTML output. When combined with existing XML and Atom validators this will provide a full validation facility for Leap2A data.

This project will work closely with other PIOP projects to ensure that the viewing tool is both compatible with and provides an appropriate display of their exported Leap2A data. The project will also work closely with Simon Grant to ensure that it provides a complete accurate cover of the specification.


 * Phase One – Basic XSLT for viewing Leap2A.
 * Phase Two – Basic Leap2A validation
 * Phase Three – Java Server and Desktop wrapper applications + XML and Atom validation
 * Phase Four – Refinement of display and validation XSL
 * Phase Five – Updates to support any refinements to Leap2A developed during the PIOP3 projects.

Work in progress
The current XSLT file can be viewed and run against some example Leap2a XML files at http://www.niallbarr.me.uk/leap2a/xslt/index.php