Recently Embarcadero launched a new experiment of opening up some internal projects for MVPs to work on. As opposed to some of their open-source initiatives like Bold, these are still owned by Embarcadero and a primary part of the product. This is something MVPs have requested the option to be in involved in for a while, so it is very exciting to finally say it is in full swing and a success.
The first experimental project was the XML Mapper, and as of a few days ago the first release of the updated XML Mapper is available via GetIt. The main goals of this first release included updating the user interface, fix existing bugs, and improving XML schema standards compliance, but the team has some big plans for the future of XML Mapper, so you will see many more updates.
If you take a look at the old XML Mapper before installing the new one you will see how far it’s come.
Just like RAD Studio, the XML Mapper supports both the light and dark theme, and it synchronizes the theme changes with RAD Studio (and ultimately even the OS) automatically.
If after you install the new XML Mapper you want to access the old XML Mapper for nostalgic reasons, or you need to uninstall, the old XML Mapper is backed up to it is available for restore. You can find it in the C:\Users\Jim\Documents\Embarcadero\Studio\21.0\CatalogRepository\XMLMapper-27 folder renamed as XmlMapper_old.exe.
Lastly I want to offer a shout out to all the MVPs who were involved in the testing and updating of the XML Mapper project, especially the core team who’ve stuck with this project and seen it through to the successful release, and who are working hard on future features and updates.
I asked each of the core team members to share some thoughts on their involvement.
I was wary about joining the XML MVP project: being a C++ guy and working on this Delphi based system made me cautious. It has turned out that I do feel my code review role has made a small but useful contribution and it is very interesting working with a group of skillful knowledgeable programmers from different backgrounds (both professional and geographical), all of whom are “team players”.
Roger Swann, Embarcadero C++ MVP
XML Mapper is an incredibly valuable and useful tool for developers, it needed several updates to fix bugs and support newer XML schema features. When Embarcadero announced MVPs could contribute to specific projects that are part of the IDE installation, I instantly joined to help out with XML Mapper and make it even better. The collaboration experience has also fostered a great team of talented developers where we can draw on each other experiences on a global scale and has resulted in XML Mapper advancing tremendously, all thanks to the team. I will definitely join more projects in the future once they become available.
Glenn Dufke, Embarcadero MVP
When Embarcadero announced that they would open certain projects for MVP collaboration, I immediately knew it would be a great opportunity to actively fix and develop code, and becoming part of a broad team. The XML Mapper is also somehow underestimated in terms of what it can do, so it was tempting to help improve its reputation. While working with the project, where I got rewarded as a team lead, I had the chance to meet some other very talented MVPs, which I had little to no contact with previously. We all, as a team, learned several valuable techniques, which was (and still is) a great experience!
Olaf Monien, MVP Regional Coordinator and XML Mapper Team Lead
I just wanted to help and be a part of the first project Embarcadero working closely with a group of MVP’s on a closed source part of the IDE. I can see that it is an amazing direction of travel, i.e. to get the bright and enthusiastic community to be able to contribute to the actual product, which is a great step on from testing and reporting issues. I attended most of the weekly stand-ups meetings and looked at some code and found an obscure bug in switching monitors with varying DPI’s. The ambition of the team in respect of the XML Mapper is great and I hope we can continue to work on it and other add-ons / parts of the product. I think we have started to build a template for future collaborations, whilst having a full board of tasks to continue working on.
Jason Chapman, Embarcadero MVP Regional Coordinator
Some years ago I used XML Mapper as the key tool in some XML-based projects. The technology looked impressive, but I felt that I did not take advantage of all the power this tools could offer … Now that the XML Mapper code has been made available to MVPs, I am really excited to discover its full capabilities and features, and to help Delphi and C++Builder developers understand and explore the power that this tool can offer, and in this modern days where electronic invoicing and accounting is slowly but steadily taking over the world, there hasn’t been a better time to leverage the features that XML Mapper has built-in …
Miguel Angel Moreno, Embarcadero MVP
Having the opportunity to work on the XML Mapper project is a great honor, I think it is a great incentive as an MVP to be part of a project like this. We share ideas, learn from each other, and who wins is the developer community with a product with improvements and new features. Thanks to everyone on the team for the partnership, today I can say that I have new friends. Thank you Embarcadero for providing us with this experience.
Ricardo Boaro, Embarcadero MVP
So update your XML Mapper and be on the look out for more XML Mapper updates and other MVP Project releases!
