DocBook Compare Technical Specification

DocBook Compare Technical Specifications

DeltaNova’s DocBook Comparison performs a detailed XML-level comparison between two DocBook files, producing a new DocBook file marked up with revisionflag attributes or tracked-change markup for specific XML editors.

Supported DocBook Versions

DocBook Compare supports DocBook versions 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, and 5.0. The distribution includes OASIS DTDs, XML Schemas, and RELAX NG Schemas for all supported versions.

System Requirements

Requirement

Details

Java

Java SE (JRE) version 17 or later

Saxon

Saxon 9 is distributed with the product. Saxon 10.9, 11.5, and 12.4 are also supported.

Comparison Algorithm

DeltaNova’s DocBook Comparison uses the core XML comparison engine, which:

  • Identifies corresponding elements by name, namespace, and tree position.

  • Determines best fit using a longest common subsequence algorithm.

  • Treats element order as significant.

  • Ignores attribute order.