XTaGe: a flexible generation system for complex XML collections

Abstract

We introduce XTaGe (XML Tester and Generator), a system for the synthesis of XML collections meant for testing and micro benchmarking applications. In contrast with existing approaches, XTaGe focuses on complex collections, by providing a highly extensible framework to introduce controlled variability in XML structures. In this paper we present the theoretical foundation, internal architecture and main features of our generator; we describe its implementation, which includes a GUI to facilitate the specication of collections; we discuss how XTaGe's features compare with those in other XML generation systems; finally, we illustrate its usage by presenting a use case in the bioinformatics domain