[CQ-Contest] XML File conversion for Contest Software

[VE5ZX]

I am in complete agreement with David. In addition to the excellent points
he makes there is another advantage to having logs in XML. Anyone can add
new data to an XML log at any time without diluting the original purpose or
content of the log (provide the XML file remains well-formed). This would
allow individuals or developers who want to include or exchange special
interest information in logs (e.g. equipment setup, geographical
information, etc) for themselves or others that could be used for a variety
of other purposes.

As for software to do the conversion from ADIF or Cabrillo to XML there are
many Perl modules such as XML::Writer module that can be used to write XML
files. Unfortunately, since there does not appear to be a standardize
definition for an XML format for contest logs you will have to define your
own XML tags, etc before doing the conversion. If a standard XML log format
is established you easily create an XSLT, a standard component of XML, to
convert your personal XML format into the standardized format.

The following web site http://www.w3schools.com  has some excellent
tutorials on XML.

 ... Syl

Sylvan Katz - VE5ZX
Saskatoon, SK