FAQ

1. Why does the Spring Console software change the formatting of my Spring config file?



2. Is there anyway to have the Pretty Output feature preserve comments in my Spring config file?



3. How do I make the Pretty Output feature work when using Spring Console as a plugin?



4. How do I get the Spring Console to work with config files that don't validate against the XML DTD?



5. What operating systems does the Spring Console software run on?



6. Is the Spring Console software free to use?



7. Is the Spring Console open source software?

1.  Why does the Spring Console software change the formatting of my Spring config file?

The Spring Console software uses an XML parser (JDOM + Xerces) to read in Spring config files. XML parsers seem to "lose" some of an XML file's orginal formatting when parsing XML documents. This results in poor formatting of generated/saved XML files once they have been manipulated. To get around this limitation the Spring Console has options for how output is generated. Please see the help page for more information on this.


2.  Is there anyway to have the Pretty Output feature preserve comments in my Spring config file?

Unfortunately, due to the way XML is structured and how XML parsers work there is no way (at least that I know of) to preserve comments in config files when using the Pretty Output feature. The problem lies in the fact that XML comments can be placed before or after XML tags. So for instance, some people may put comments before a tag starts and some people may put comments after a tag starts or perhaps both. When the Spring Console adds or removes XML tags from files there's no way to know which tag a comment belongs to. Does it belong to the tag above it or below it?


3.  How do I make the Pretty Output feature work when using Spring Console as a plugin?

Currently the Pretty Output feature can only be configured from inside the standalone version of Spring Console. However, once you have configured the Pretty Output options in the standalone version, the options apply to all of the Spring Console plugins. Future versions of Spring Console will support modifying the Pretty Output options directly from the IDE being plugged into.


4.  How do I get the Spring Console to work with config files that don't validate against the XML DTD?

The Spring Console, by default, validates config files against their respecitve XML DTDs. If your config file breaks any of the rules defined by the DTD, the Spring Console will complain and not be able to open the file. In order to work with non-validating config files you will need to disable the Spring Console validation. THIS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AGAINST. The Spring Console has been programmed to work with config files that validate against their respective DTDs, thus turning off validation may result in the Spring Console not working.

For information on how to turn off config file validation see the help section.


5.  What operating systems does the Spring Console software run on?

The Spring Console software is Java-based software so it should run on any platform that has a modern (1.2+) Sun compatible Java Runtime Environment (JRE).


6.  Is the Spring Console software free to use?

Yes, the Spring Console software is free to use and abuse however you like. Please see the license files in the "license" directory of the distribution for more details.


7.  Is the Spring Console open source software?

The Spring Console is free software, but it is not open source software.