HUMBOLDT Alignment Editor

Quickly following up to M4, we are proud to offer our first release candidate of HALE 2.0 to you. As with M4, the focus of this version was on bug resolution, including bugs reported during last week's Valencia project meeting, and usability improvements.

These features have been added:

1. Feature #110: Several common UI features, such as validating URI/URL editors, implemented
2. Feature #175: Export Mapping as HTML documentation
3. Feature #198: Ask user whether project should be saved on close of application
4. Feature #204: Improve detection of Coordinate Reference System for map, allow specification of additional CRSes through preferences

These bugs have been resolved, among others:

1. Bug #174: Loading GML Instance Data not working
2. Bug #201: Nested properties support for ClassificationMappingFunction
3. Bug #202: AttributeDefaultFunction crashes on CodeListValue_Type
4. Bug #203: Executing a transformation fails if a namespace ends with a /
5. Bug #205: The ReferencedEnvelope of the map area has no CRS associated even if a CRS was detected or set manually
6. Bug #206: PositionStatus shows no CRS information for detected CRS
7. Bug #207: GML2 files cannot be loaded as source data if they contain Polygons
8. Bug #208: Loading source data fails if an unknown CRS is referenced

There are also still known bugs that have to be fixed for the upcoming final 2.0 release. If you find any in addition to those already listed on the community page, please tell us so via the forum.

For a full overview of new features the bugs that were fixed, please refer to this page:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/versions/show/20

Builds are available for Win32, Win64, Linux and MacOS 10.5+ from the download page:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/projects/list_files/hale

Please tell us what you think of this new release; don't hesitate to tell us about problems you're encountering and features you're missing. Please note that the preferred channel for communication is the HALE forum:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/projects/hale/boards

We got quite some valuable feedback from our users in the past weeks after our M3 release, and consequently decided to add an interim Milestone release this week. It mostly provides bug fixes and some smaller new features that should ease the use of HALE.

These features have been added:

1. Feature #157: ConstantValueFunction and wizard should also support assigning values to nested attributes
2. Feature #183: Add a button to the schema explorer to show/hide abstract types instead of the show/hide property types function
3. Feature #185: Auto-expand attributes and metadata in table views
4. Feature #193: Better support for Rename/Default value functions for attributes with URI binding
5. Feature #194: Improved support for MD Types, such as CharacterString_PropertyType
6. Feature #195: Copy text to clipboard in properties dialog

These bugs have been resolved, among others:

1. Bug #186: Map View hangs up after transforming data
2. Bug #187: Correct Cell definition for Concatenation Function
3. Bug #188: Ensure consistent sorting of table view columns
4. Bug #189: Fix feature type recognition
5. Bug #190: IdentifierFunction uses FeatureId instead of source entity
6. Bug #191: IdentifierFunction execution fails
7. Bug #192: Data view crashes with INSPIRE/ProtectedSite (cycles in aggregation)

For a full overview of new features the bugs that were fixed, please refer to this page:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/versions/show/23

Builds are available for Win32, Win64, Linux and MacOS 10.5+ from the download page:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/projects/list_files/hale

Please tell us what you think of this new release; don't hesitate to tell us about problems you're encountering and features you're missing. Please note that the preferred channel for communication is the HALE forum:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/projects/hale/boards

While the last release of HALE came as a easter gift, this release comes right after pentecost. Originally, this was planned as a minor release with some minor feature additions, but following a lot of feedback from our user community, we have identified and resolved quite a stack of issues with this release and hope you wil also find it's stability to have improved.

1. Feature #48: Load instance data from a WFS
2. Feature #117: Graphical Mapping Representation
3. Feature #139: Clicking on the Map View to select Feature shown in table views
4. Feature #158: Wizard for Concatenation of Attributes
5. Feature #177: Display feature lineage metadata in transfomed data view
6. Feature #179: Add an extension point for exporting mappings

1. Bug #78: Transforming data when transferred entity is assignable from Property
2. Bug #136: General Wizard should not appear when mapping FeatureTypes
3. Bug #176: Value assignments to complex properties fail
4. Bug #178: Handle features in Map View that don't have default geometry

For a full overview of new features (around 10) and also some of the
bugs that were fixed, please refer to this page:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/versions/show/22

Builds are available for Win32, Win64, Linux and MacOS 10.5+ from the download page:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/projects/list_files/hale

Please tell us what you think of this new release; don't hesitate to tell us about problems you're encountering and features you're missing.

As a late Easter gift, the next HALE release is now available for download and use. This one contains a host of new features and some bug fixes:

- We have improved schema import further;
- There is now the capability to declare "User-defined functions";
- Codelists can be imported and used;
- We added a manual to the software;
- We improved error messages that are given to users;
- and you can now read a schema from a shapefile (but no instance data yet).

For a full overview of new features (almost 20) and also some of the
bugs that were fixed, please refer to this page:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/versions/show/6

Builds are available for Win32, Win64, Linux and MacOS 10.5+ from the download page:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/projects/list_files/hale

The draft handbook has also been updated:
http://www.esdi-community.eu/documents/show/14

Please tell us what you think of this new release; don't hesitate to tell us about problems you're encountering and features you're missing.

This release features the following additions:

• Addition of a tabular data representation for source data and transformed data
• Completion of the task management for schema mapping for better process management
• Improvements to schema import and schema display, including a new Properties dialogue and an option to expand complex properties
• Support for enumerations e.g. in the Classification Mapping Function
• Possibility to store custom view configurations as perspectives
• Addition of new functions:
  • Support for creating INSPIRE GeographicalNames (#19)
  • Provision of a Constant Value Function (#57)
  • Function for date conversion (#59)
• Addition of a "generic function wizard" that you can use when adding your own functions to the CST (#52)
• New plug-in architecture
  • Usage of a custom target platform
  • CST functions plug-ins can be added by configuration

Furthermore, several bugs were fixed.

Builds are available for Win32, Win64, Linux and MacOS 10.5+ from the download page:
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/projects/list_files/hale

There is also a draft handbook available in addition to the documentation in the wiki:
http://www.esdi-community.eu/documents/show/14

Please tell us what you think of this new release; don't hesitate to tell us about problems you're encountering and features you're missing.

Please go to http://www.esdi-community.eu/wiki/hale/User_documentation_for_the_Alignment_Editor for a quick how-to on using HALE.

This release features the following core additions and bug fixes:

• Saving and Loading of Alignment Projects
• Importing of Mappings (#30)
• Support for Augmentation Functions (#42)
• Addition of several new transformation functions, including a Classification Mapping Function, a Generic Math Function, a Spatial Type conversion function, a Bounding Box function, and others.
• Addition of functions for INSPIRE transformation support:
  • Support for Voidable Properties definitions (#18)
  • Support for transforming a identifier into a INSPIRE identifier (#20)
• Support for Instance split and merge rules (#41)
• Addition of a new mapping view that allows editing and deleting of parts of a created mapping
• Improved import of schemas (#45), now also supports GML 3.2.1 Application Schemas
• Removal of lots of bugs (#21, #22, #23, #26, #43 and many others)

A packaged Windows (32 bit) version of HALE 1.0.0-RC1 is available here:
http://builds.esdi-humboldt.eu/hale-win32-32bit-1.0-rc1.zip

Please be aware that this software is now in beta stage and that you are likely to encounter errors, especially with the embedded Conceptual Schema Translation Service. If you find any issues or have features that you would like to see, please use this website to let us know of them!

This new milestone release features the following additions and bug fixes:

• Improvement of the gOML integration, writing of gOML files now possible
• Integration of the CST library including testing
• Improving the general user interface
  • Adding a "New project" menu entry (#9)
  • Asking before overwriting of a loaded schema
• removal of several bugs (please refer to http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/versions/show/1)

You can download a packaged Windows version of HALE here:
http://builds.esdi-humboldt.eu/hale-win32-m4.zip

However, please be aware that this software is still in early stages of development - the software will be usable for end-users end of October2009 with Version 1.0. Until then, you can test the schema and instance data import and the definition of simple mappings and tell us what works and doesn't work. Furthermore, please tell us what features you expect and enter them on this website.

This new milestone release features the following additions and bug fixes:

• gOML XMLbeans-based Generation/Parsing integration, activate loading/saving of alignment projects
• Documentation of the application itself
• Using correct projections in the Renderer
• Making Renderer an interactive Map Component with zooming & panning
• Extending the Style Service implementation
• Added SLD editor
• Some refactorings and code cleanups, removal of known minor issues:
  • Filtering by name in the Schema Explorer View works correctly
    
  • INSPIRE Geometry types are correctly recognized
    
  • INSPIRE Number types are recognized correctly
  • Filenames are treated correctly when containing spaces or when HALE runs on MacOS (Bugs #5 and #6).

You can download a packaged Windows version of HALE here:
http://builds.esdi-humboldt.eu/hale-win32-M3.zip

A Linux version (should run on most flavours) is now also available:
http://builds.esdi-humboldt.eu/hale-linux-m3.zip

However, please be aware that this software is still in early stages of development - the software will be usable for end-users end of September 2009 with RC1. Until then, you can test the schema and instance data import and the definition of simply mappings and tell us what works and doesn't work. Furthermore, please tell us what features you expect and enter them on this website.

Compared to the first Milestone, several core functionalities have been
added, like a new Schema Parser for the INSPIRE GML Application Schemas,
the split rendering of reference and transformed data and the
integration of the Conceptual Schema Transformer library.

You can download the software, which is released under LGPL 3.0, here (~45MB):
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/attachments/download/8/hale-M2.zip

However, please be aware that this can only be seen as a developer
preview - the software will be usable for end-users around September
with RC1. Until then, you can especially with the schema import and tell
us what works and doesn't work.