xml-pyx

Convert an XML document to PYX format

$ xml pyx [path/to/input.xml|URI] > [path/to/output.pyx]

$ cat [path/to/input.xml] | xml pyx > [path/to/output.pyx]

$ xml pyx --help

xml-pyx <xml_file>

<xml_file>
    The input XML file to be converted to plain text.

xml-pyx is a specialized backend script primarily used by the xmlto utility to convert XML documents (especially those following DocBook DTDs) into plain text format. It leverages xsltproc internally, applying specific XSL stylesheets to transform the XML source.

This tool is not typically invoked directly by users but serves as an internal component for generating text-based output, often for man pages or simple console readability. Its main purpose is to strip formatting and present the content in a human-readable text format, making it suitable for environments where graphical rendering or rich text is not available.

xml-pyx is an internal helper script for xmlto and is generally not intended for direct user interaction. It relies heavily on xsltproc and a set of predefined XSL stylesheets, meaning its behavior is largely dictated by these dependencies rather than direct command-line options. It provides a simple text representation and is not suitable for complex formatting or rich document generation.

xml-pyx relies on xsltproc and a set of specialized XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) stylesheets to perform its transformations. These stylesheets define how the XML structure should be converted into a plain text layout, handling elements like headings, paragraphs, and lists.

Within the xmlto framework, xml-pyx specifically handles the "text" or "plain" output backend. When you use xmlto -f text <input.xml>, it typically invokes xml-pyx (or a similar mechanism) behind the scenes to generate the final plain text output.

xml-pyx is an integral part of the xmlto project, which was developed to simplify the process of converting DocBook XML documents into various output formats. The xmlto suite, including scripts like xml-pyx, has been a staple in Linux distributions for rendering documentation, particularly man pages, from XML sources since the early 2000s. Its development closely follows the evolution of XML and XSLT standards for documentation processing.

xmlto(1), xsltproc(1), xmllint(1), docbook(7)