XML Guide

Kassiopeia uses configuration files written in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) format.

General XML tutorials are covered elsewhere. This page will cover the extensions to generic XML that are specific to Kassiopeia.

Elements and Attributes

Each XML tag, also referred to as an element, creates an object of a particular type. An element's attributes are used to set the properties of the object, and often elements can be nested according to the relationship between the corresponding objects:

<car name="vroom" make="mazda">
    <engine cylinders="6"/>
</car>

In the above example, we create a car, which we lovingly name "vroom," which is a Mazda. We give it an engine with 6 cylinders.

Kassiopeia configuration files are processed sequentially; later elements in a configuration file can refer to elements defined previously. In the following, we create a parking space and assign the car "vroom" to it:

<parking space="582" car="vroom"/>

File Inclusion

Entire configuration files can be included within other configuration files. When an include tag is reached during the processing of a configuration file, the XML parsing will switch to the included file. The attributes for the include tag are path to specify the location of the included file, and base to specify the filename:

<include path="/path/to/files/" base="BasicDefinitions.xml"/>

Note that the included file will be parsed as if it were part of the original file at the location of the include tag. If the include tag is located inside of an element, everything in the included file will be treated as if they're inside of that element.

Variables

Formula Evaluation