XBRL Validation and Processing Tools

Erin Cavanaugh
/in /by

When we were designing RaptorXML Server, we knew from the get-go that the engine should support XML and XBRL standards. The former standard is ubiquitous and the latter will be, as well, given increasing mandates from governments worldwide as well as adoption by enterprises for analyzing financial data in a standards-based, cost-effective manner. However, we knew that at this time a sub-set of customers would be interested in the XBRL capabilities of the engine, so we created two versions: RaptorXML Server and RaptorXML+XBRL Server.

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Let’s take a look at some of the powerful XBRL-oriented features in RaptorXML+XBRL Server.

RaptorXML+XBRL Server
RaptorXML+XBRL Server of course includes all the XML-focused functionality of RaptorXML Server, and it adds robust support for processing and validating the XBRL family of standards. This includes validating XBRL Taxonomy documents (.xsd), validating XBRL instance documents against XBRL Taxonomies, and transforming XBRL data via XSLT to render HTML and other output formats.

RaptorXML+XBRL helps customers ensure full regulatory compliance, with rigid support for the latest versions of XBRL standards. These include:

  • XBRL 2.1
  • Dimensions 1.0
  • Formula Specification 1.0
  • Function Definitions
  • Generic Links

While support for XBRL 2.1 makes the processor sufficient for many common scenarios, advanced functionality for processing XBRL Dimensions and XBRL Formula makes RaptorXML+XBRL Server adaptable to all situations. Organizations are increasing turning to XBRL Dimensions and XBRL Formula to extend the functionality provided by XBRL 2.1. This allows them to view and analyze the data in new and productive ways, without compromising interoperability and backwards compatibility.

XBRL Dimensions allows implementers to specify new dimensions in addition to those defined in the XBRL 2.1 specification. A dimension is analogous to a category – it provides context for a measured value. By defining categories of facts, dimensions give analysts the ability to look at the same data in different ways. XBRL Dimensions also provides a mechanism for combining dimensions into hypercubes, which are similar to the pivot tables used in Excel.

XBRL Formula is often used to provide validation capabilities in addition to those in XBRL 2.1 to enforce an organization’s particular business rules. Defined using if-then-else XPath expressions, XBRL formulas can be processed to validate the data in an XBRL instance or to generate a new instance based on calculated data.
Used together or separately, XBRL Dimensions and XBRL Formula provide powerful mechanisms for extending the benefits afforded by XBRL conformance. Rigid support for both is an important check mark for any XBRL processor.

Flexible Interface Options
Depending on your implementation requirements, there are numerous ways to invoke RaptorXML+XBRL. These include COM, .NET, and Java interfaces, command line operations, and a built-in HTTP client with a RESTful web API for Web services / SOA implementations.

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RaptorXML+XBRL Server may also be used as a component of Altova FlowForce Server for easy-to-manage workflow automation. This allows you to trigger validation jobs based on timer or event triggers, such as the arrival of a new file in a folder, using the intuitive FlowForce web interface.

Enterprise-Grade Server Software – Flexible Pricing
RaptorXML+XBRL Server is architected to take advantage of the scalability and processing power provided by parallel computing environments. This high performance, enterprise-grade server is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X platforms based on an affordable licensing model that scales according on the amount of data your client or organization needs to process, with flexible options for low and high volume XBRL processing scenarios. Regardless of the scale of your implementation, RaptorXML+XBRL delivers lightning-fast processing thanks to numerous hyper-performance optimizations.

MissionKit Developer Tools
Developers can deploy RaptorXML+XBRL Server to power their XBRL applications developed using the Altova MissionKit developer tool suite, which provides end-to-end XBRL development capabilities including XBRL Taxonomy development, mapping database data to XBRL to generate valid filing documents, mapping incoming XBRL data to backend databases for analysis, and rendering XBRL reports in Web and print formats.

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Rendering XBRL Reports Using MissionKit

Click over to the Altova web site to learn more about RaptorXML+XBRL Server and download a free, 30-day trial for Windows, Linux, or Mac.

 

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