VitaPad uses an XML format as a means of storing pathway diagram information. This format can be used both as a means of transporting data to and from a relational database and as a means of storing pathways for reuse in VitaPad or other applications. XML has several important advantages as a data format:
The XML format that we use re-enforces our emphasis on the separation of biological information from rendering information. The XML file specifies only the abstract appearance of a graph entity (things like shapes, colors, fonts and so forth); concepts like genes, compounds and relationships are not hard-coded into the XML format. For details please consult the DTD schema here.