Andy Clark has recently updated ManekiNeko, his Xerces Native Interface (XNI)-based 'parser configuration' for validating XML documents against RELAX NG grammars and accessing information in those documents using standard APIs such as DOM and SAX.

Clark notes that:

ManekiNeko does not implement a Relax NG validator. Instead, it wraps James Clark's Jing validator by converting between XNI and SAX events. (Even if you don't use RelaxNG, this code can be used by any application that wants to embed a SAX2 filter in an XNI pipeline.)

ManekiNeko is part of Clark's CyberNeko Tools for XNI, which, among other things, also includes NekoDTD, a configuration that converts DTDs into XML representations that can then be processed using standard XML tools (to perform grammar analysis, etc.) and transformed (using provided XSLT stylesheets) into other grammar formats, including Relax NG.

Clark writes:

It is my hope that the new tools will enable existing Relax NG fans to more easily use Relax NG in their applications as well as introduce this wonderful XML schema language to a wider audience.

(Note: Maneki neko are the 'lucky cats', like the one shown at the beginning of this story, often seen at the entrances of Japanese shops -- meant to beckon visitors inside.)