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The UC Berkeley EAD BPG Validator is a perl program which analyzes the markup of EAD-encoded XML finding aids and identifies real and potential problems, common markup blunders, and encoding it deems "suspicious." It also checks the encoding for conformance to the Online Archive of California Best Practice Guidelines for Encoded Archival Description, Version 2.0 and to UC Berkeley local encoding guidelines. It generates a web report to your browser listing all of the potential problems it has detected with links to the specific line in the EAD file where the problem occurred and a link to a handy help document which describes the problem, offers helpful alternative markup strategies and porovides links to relevant sections of the OAC BPG, EAD 2002 Tag Library, or EAD 2002 Application Guidelines.
The Validator is an entirely self-contained Windows program. Just double click the install program and you're ready to go. No need to install perl, or some bizarre Java environment, the latest version Saxon or MSXML or whatever. Just install it and it works.
Note: This version of the Validator is "tuned" specifically for UC Berkeley encoded finding aids. Other OAC affiliates should use the OAC BPG Validator available for download from the OAC EAD Toolkit site.
Upon completion of the markup analysis and XML validation, a report will open in the user's browser containing a list of all of the problems or suspected problems encountered. Each problem also has a hyperlink to the line in the EAD document where the first problem of that type was detected, a count of the total number of times the problem occurred in the document, and a link to a handy help document explaining what the problem means, how to fix it, and references to relevant rules in the OAC Best Practices Guidelines.
The Validator can be configured to check for the absence of required elements and attributes, the order in which elements are encoded, required patterns within element content (e.g., a normalized name should contain a comma, normalized dates should follow a specific syntax, etc.), elements or attributes which may be required or recommended in certain contexts (e.g., only in series-level components, etc.), and so much more.
The EAD BPG Validator contains Over 100 help documents explaining each problem with examples of correct and incorrect markup, alternative markup strategies, and links to The OAC BPG, and, when appropriate, the EAD 2002 Tag Library and the online EAD 1.0 Application Guidelines.
The EAD BPG Validator also examines each EAD document for validity against
the EAD 2002 DTD. Validation errors are displayed in a browser window with
a hyperlink to the line in the EAD file in which the error was detected. Many
errors also have their own help documentation, since as we all know, XML validators
can be tempermental souls whose error messages are often less than clear.
Like all Berkeley EAD desktop tools, the EAD BPG Validator is self-updating. With each use the validator connects to the web and downloads updated program files and BPG rules. I have not known any BPG that did not evolve over time as new rules are added, new markup problems are identified, and old rules deemed superfluous or unnecessary are removed. Now you can propogate changes to your users instantly. There is no longer any fear about your users having older copies, nor do you need to worry about notifying each user to download and install yet another updated version. The Desktop validator always keeps itself up to date for you!
 
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Easy to configure for your institution
Plain text configuration file makes customizing the Validator for your particular institution's needs a snap. Specify required elements and attributes. Mandate that certain elements appear in a specific order. Additionally you can specify multiple sets of rules for multiple repositories or different types of collections. Your pictorial collections may have different encoding requirements than your manuscript collections, for example. A detailed tutorial on customizing the Validator for your institution's BPG is available. Making your own setup program
After customizing the Validator for your own BPG, you can download the setup files and create your own install script for distribution to your encoders and markup units. See Creating your own install package in the customization documentation. |
Tired of opening a command prompt and tediously typing in long filenames and a dizzying array of hard-to-remember command line options? The EAD Validator is too! That's why all you have to do is drag your file onto the Validator desktop icon and let it go to work. A few seconds later your report will appear in your browser. In fact, with the EAD Validator's easy Batch Mode, you can validate an entire folder of EAD-encoded documents.
And the Validator is so easy to install too. Does worrying about having the latest Java virtual machine, or library, or whatever have you pulling your hair out? Are you sick to death of downloading, configuring and installing yet another DOM or SAX XML parser doohickey? Then download and use the Berkeley EAD Validator today. It's entirely self-contained and does not care what version of Java or Saxon you have installed on your PC. Double click it to install then go to town validating your EAD documents until the cows come home!
Standard version: Right-click and select "Save As": bpgilyzer_setup.exe (4/30/2005)
Alternative "no refresh" version: The above version connects to the internet with each use and downloads any updated files and bug fixes. If you do not want your version of the Valdiator to connect to the internet, you have a slow dialup connection, or if it conflicts with your firewall, or other internet security systems, please download this alternative version: bpgilyzer_setup_norefresh.exe (4/30/2005)
Detailed Guide to Customizing the Validator: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/ead/tools/bpgilyzer/customization.html. Includes a section on how to create your own install files for distribution within your institution.