SmartResume Transformation and Presentation

SmartResume separates data from presentation. XSLT is used to transform XML data into other forms. Keeping the resume data and presentation separated, allows the use of XML for the raw resume data, while XSLT transforms the XML into other formats such as PDF, RTF and XHTML. This document describes how to write a smart resume in XML and utilize XSLT processors to transform it into other formats. All of the middleware and libraries listed in this document are bundled and available for download.

Overview

  1. Installation and setup: download and install the SmartResume distribution.

  2. Content preparation: prepare your resume data in XML.

  3. Format transformation: transform your resume to other formats such as PDF, XHTML and RTF.

Installation and Setup

Prior to installing SmartResume, you must first install Java 2 Standard Platform and Apache Ant. Next, download SmartResume distribution file and unpack it in your desired directory. The following directory structure shows an overview of SmartResume directories and the files they contain.

$SMART_RESUME_HOME
    |
    +-- build.xml
    +-- build.properties
    +-- src/
      +-- xml/
        - resume.xml
    +-- tools/

Tools

This section lists software application tools, libraries and middleware that are used by SmartResume. These libraries are included in the $SMART_RESUME_HOME/tools directory.

XML Resume Library

The XML Resume Library is an XML and XSL based system for marking up, adding metadata to, and formatting resumes and curricula vitae.

Xalan

Xalan-Java is an XSLT processor for transforming XML documents into XML, text, or other XML document types.

FOP

FOP is the world's first print formatter driven by XSL formatting objects (XSL-FO) and the world's first output independent formatter.

XMLmind FO Converter

XMLmind FO Converter is an XSL-FO to RTF converter.

Xerces2

Xerces2 is the next generation of high performance, fully compliant XML parsers in the Apache Xerces family.

Content Preparation

First thing first. To prepare your resume, you need to edit (using the XML Resume Library elements) src/xml/resume.xml so that it corresponds to your profile. While at it, it's worth following the guidelines provided at CV Services website to polish the content of your resume.

Format Transformation

Once your resume data is in XML format, it can be transformed to various formats. Table below lists the main Ant targets available in the build.xml, these targets are prepared to ease the transformation process. There are also some examples showing the command line usage.

Table 1. Main Targets

Main Targets
Target Name Description Related Property Technology
xml2html Translates the XML source to HTML output xml2htm.(enabled|disabled) Xerces2
xml2fo Translates the XML source to FO output N/A FOP
xml2pdf Translates the XSL-FO source to PDF output xml2pdf.(enabled|disabled) FOP
xml2rtf Translates the XSL-FO to RTF output xml2rtf.(enabled|disabled) XMLmind

Table below list some of the configuration parameters available in the build.properties file.

Table 2. Main Configuration Properties

Main Configuration Properties
Property Name Description Default Value Possible Value
default.uid Default User ID ${user.name} OS defined
default.lang Default language of the resume en ISO code
default.roles Default roles used to filter appropriate XML elements JavaArchitect String
default.mode Default resume mode; brief or verbose brief N/A

Usage Examples

Assuming that SmartResume distribution file is unpacked in $SMART_RESUME_HOME, the following examples show some transformations.

Example 1. Complete run to produce the HTML output

$ cd $SMART_RESUME_HOME

$ emacs src/xml/resume.xml

$ ant xml2html

$ ant pack

Example 2. Translating XML source to PDF output

$ ant xml2pdf

Example 3. Translating XML source to RTF output and changing default role

$ ant -Ddefault.roles="JavaDeveloper" xml2rtf