XAMLC

XAMLC, short for XML and Markup Language Compiler, is an open-source toolchain designed to translate XML-based markup dialects into target artifacts such as source code, UI definitions, or runtime configurations. It provides a pluggable pipeline intended to accommodate diverse markup styles while remaining compatible with common build environments. XAMLC aims to simplify cross-platform development by allowing developers to describe interfaces and configurations in a declarative XML form and generate platform-specific output.

Features:

- Input dialects: supports XML-based markup languages and domain-specific dialects via dialect plugins.

- Back-ends: code generation for languages such as Java, C++, JavaScript, or platform-native UI definitions.

- Validation: integrated XML Schema or RelaxNG validation and helpful error reporting.

- Extensibility: plugin API for custom dialects, templates, and macros.

- Build integration: supports incremental builds, caching, and compatibility with common build systems.

- Tooling: includes transformers, previews, and basic editor integrations.

- Cross-platform: runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Architecture and workflow:

Under the hood, XAMLC consists of a front-end parser, a dialect registry, a semantic analyzer, and a back-end code generator. The typical workflow involves parsing input XML documents, validating them, performing semantic checks, selecting an appropriate back-end, and emitting generated code or artifacts. A dialect can provide its own validation rules and code templates; back-ends can be extended via a plugin API.

Use cases:

Common applications include generating platform-native UI code from XML-based UI definitions, creating configuration-driven applications, and producing data-binding layers for applications.

Development and community:

XAMLC is maintained by a distributed, community-driven project that welcomes contributions and provides documentation on dialect creation, back-end development, and migration guidance.

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