SilkPage is an XML-based web publishing framework evolved from DocBook Website. It provides a structured, standards-compliant approach to publishing websites using XML content with XSL and CSS presentation layers.
Version 0.6.0 — © 2004–2009 MarkupWare
| Period | Host | VCS |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–2008 | java.net (cvs.dev.java.net → svn.java.net) |
CVS, then SVN |
| 2008–2024 | Launchpad.net | Bazaar |
| 2024–present | GitHub — sindoc/silkpage | Git |
SilkPage was created in December 2004 and originally developed on java.net (first under CVS, later migrated to SVN). After java.net was decommissioned in 2017, the project was hosted on Launchpad. It is now preserved and maintained on GitHub.
SilkPage turns XML-authored content into standard-compliant XHTML websites. Its mission is to provide an outstanding web publishing framework built around XML markup languages and web standards.
Key differentiators from its ancestor DocBook Website:
- WaSP-compliant XHTML output — valid XHTML 1.0 Strict/Transitional
- Richer XSL/CSS customization — separate XSL and CSS customization layers per site
- XML feed support — integrated RSS 1.0 / RDF / Atom feed generation
- Ant-driven automation — Apache Ant build system for preview, publish, and scaffolding
- Accessibility-first — developed with accessibility and usability in mind
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| XML Content Management | Website content authored entirely in XML |
| WaSP Compliant | Standards-compliant XHTML output |
| Accessibility | Accessibility and usability built in |
| Separate Presentation Model | XSL and CSS customization layers |
| XML Feeds | RSS 1.0, RDF/XML, and Atom feed generation |
| CSS Themes | Multiple ready-to-use themes: butterfly, mozilla, phenix, silkpage, simplebits, xwtk, ala, gimp, markupware, tabular, website, common |
- XHTML 1.0 (Strict / Transitional)
- XML 1.0 / XSLT 1.0
- CSS Level 1 & 2
- RSS 1.0 / RDF/XML
- Atom Syndication Format
- FOAF (Friend of a Friend)
- DOAP (Description of a Project)
- XML Catalogs (OASIS)
Before installing SilkPage, install the following:
| Software | Minimum Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Java SE | 1.4 | Required |
| Apache Ant | 1.6.1 | Required |
| Saxon XSLT | — | Required (bundled in -plus distribution) |
| Apache XML Commons Resolver | — | Required (bundled) |
| JTidy | — | Required for XHTML validation (bundled) |
| DocBook XSL Stylesheets | — | Optional (bundled in -plus) |
| DocBook Website | — | Optional (bundled in -plus) |
System requirements: Pentium II or higher, 32 MB RAM, 20 MB disk space.
SilkPage is distributed in two bundles:
silkpage-VERSION.zip— SilkPage only (requires separate DocBook resources)silkpage-VERSION-plus.zip— SilkPage + all required DocBook resources (recommended)
unzip silkpage-VERSION-plus.zip
cd silkpage-VERSION
ant -f src/xml/build/tasks.xml configA successful install prints:
config:
[echo] SilkPage (VERSION)
[echo] user.name: jhe
[echo] os.name: Linux
[echo] temp.dir: /tmp
[echo] DocBook Website installed ? true
[echo] DocBook XSL installed ? true
silkpage-VERSION/ ← SILKPAGE_HOME
├── cfg/ ← Configuration files
│ ├── catalog.xml ← XML catalog for entity/URI resolution
│ └── tidy.properties ← JTidy XHTML validation settings
├── docs/ ← User Guide and documentation (DocBook XML)
├── share/
│ ├── lib/ ← Code libraries (JARs)
│ └── tools/ ← DocBook Website + DocBook XSL stylesheets
└── src/
├── css/ ← CSS stylesheets and themes
├── xml/ ← Ant build instructions
└── xsl/ ← XSL stylesheets for XHTML output
Run all commands from SILKPAGE_HOME with:
ant -f src/xml/build/tasks.xml TARGET| Target | Description |
|---|---|
config |
Print configuration and verify installation |
scratch |
Generate a new website skeleton (scaffolding) |
preview |
Generate the website locally for preview |
publish |
Publish the generated website (e.g., via FTP) |
SilkPage supports two levels of presentation customization:
- XSL layer — Override or extend the XSL stylesheets in
src/xsl/to change the XHTML structure and rendering. - CSS layer — Override or create CSS stylesheets in
src/css/to control visual presentation. Multiple themes are provided out of the box.
A complete DocBook XML User Guide is included in docs/. It covers:
- Introduction and key concepts
- System requirements and installation
- Usage and workflow
- Global and per-instance configuration files
- Ant command reference
- FAQ and troubleshooting
- Glossary and resources
To build the HTML version of the user guide:
cd docs
make html-chunk # chunked HTML (one file per section)
make html # single-page HTML
make pdf # PDF via FOP- Javad K. Heshmati —
javad@khakbaz.com(MarkupWare) - Sina K. Heshmati —
sina@khakbaz.com(MarkupWare)
- Software: GNU General Public License (GPL)
- Documentation: GNU Free Documentation License 1.1+
- GitHub: https://github.com/sindoc/silkpage
- Original java.net project: https://silkpage.dev.java.net/ (archived/offline)
- Launchpad: https://launchpad.net/silkpage (archived)