Tony was asked to provide a bespoke “Introduction to XML” training course for a group of OECD IT staff on-site in the Paris offices. The course had to be pitched at a mixed group of project managers, support staff and .net developers. He managed to do this admirably, making it accessible to the mixed group. The balance of theory and practice using OECD examples and contexts was particularly appreciated, allowing the trainees to grasp the concepts and their application in daily work very quickly. Highly recommended.

Nigel Wilkie, Authoring Solutions Architect, OECD, Paris, France

Mentea delivered customised training in XML and XSLT

Tony did a amazing job for us with the challenging assignment. We needed to create an XSL-FO workflow which would replicate our pre-existing two column layout down to the smallest detail, including extremely specific rules for the placement of figures and tables. I was impressed with Tony's ability to solve difficult layout issues with tables and figures in a way that not only conformed with our pre-existing styles, but which could also be almost completely automated. Further, because of the project's compressed time frame, we needed to launch with just the basic framework, and continue to iterate once we were already in production. Tony was consistently able to provide very quick turn-around on urgent matters during this process. I would be delighted to work with Tony again in the future.

James Harney, Public Library of Science, San Francisco, CA, USA

Mentea developed XSLT stylesheets for formatting journal articles conforming to NLM/JATS into PDF using XSL-FO

Tony was a key member of a small team working on a project to convert an XML dataset to new structures in order to add semantic value. Tony’s XML, XSLT and XQuery expertise was invaluable. We were a new and small team, Tony fitted in very well and was proactive with ideas. He suggested and implemented various solutions, including a Continuous Integration server (Jenkins) and a ticketing system (Trac). Tony also provided mentoring to less experienced team members. He was a great asset to the team, and a pleasure to work with.

Chris Cole, Autodata, Maidenhead, UK

Mentea worked on-site and then remotely on a major XML conversion project

Tony’s experience and flexibility was key in bringing our ebook project to a successful conclusion, and provided reassurance for our stake-holders. He produced clear, easily-maintainable code, both in the detail and overall structure, and his deep background knowledge of the technologies and standards involved was invaluable for advising strategic decisions during the project’s lifecycle.

Alexander Foote, Theospace SAS/ digitalbibles.info, Paris, France

Mentea used XSLT and Ant to turn non-XML text into XML and then XHTML and EPUBs

Tony provided a very comprehensive training solution in XML, oXygen XML editor, the Docbook schema and their underlying technologies. The training was completely customised to my needs and work requirements and the ongoing support has been excellent. Having such an expert resource near at hand in Dublin has been a real find.

Carol Conran, Technical Writer, Online Services Firm, Dublin, Ireland

Mentea delivered customised training on XML, DocBook, and oXygen Author

Mentea has helped us on several occasions to implement customisations to Apache FOP to meet our looseleaf printing requirements. If we have to send out development work it’s usually because it’s tricky or specialised; Mentea looked at the requirements, came up with a plan, worked through the issues and came in on budget. We will work with Mentea again and we would not hesitate to recommend Tony’s expertise.

Lewis Marshall, Inmedius Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Mentea programmed in Java and produced tests for extensions to the Apache FOP XSL formatter

Tony’s training was professional and patient. The course enabled me to apply my own XSLT knowledge to using oXygen productively, giving me a real understanding and insight into the oXygen development environment.

Feargal Hogan, Shipping Guides, Surrey, UK

Mentea produced a customised course on XSLT and the oXygen XML editor to match Shipping Guides’ specific requirements

When our company began working with XML, we soon realised that we had to make strategic choices among a bewildering range of technologies. Mentea helped us to make those choices, and then to develop a standards-compliant system tailored to our own needs.

Mark Howe, Cyberporte, Cavaillon, France

Mentea provided XML consulting and programming services

Tony performed a key role in the successful launch of legislation.gov.uk. Wrangling with a complex data set, Tony used his extensive XML and XSLT skills and knowledge to manipulate and develop transformation routines to create structure content. Tony was also able to resolve ‘difficult’ problems with ease. Whilst a great team player who slotted into an established team quickly, he was able to just get on and complete the task at hand, framing the right questions when required in order to remain Agile and deliver quickly.

Carey Farrell, TSO, London, UK

Mentea provided programming support using XSLT, XQuery, Ant, and other technologies

When faced with a challenging XML project, we had to quickly decide would we do it ourselves or go to market. Facing a tight deadline for delivery and continued cost pressures, I had discussions with my customer and we chose to go to market and eventually decided on Mentea based on a best-fit basis. It was the right decision, as Tony’s [Mentea’s] experience with XML was invaluable to ensure the project was delivered on-time and on budget. My customers were happy and so was I. I am sure we will use Mentea in future and would definitely recommend them as a preferred partner for XML projects to my peers.

IT Manager, Global Financial Services Firm, Dublin, Ireland

The Central Bank of Ireland is requiring a series of new monthly reports in XML. Mentea developed (and documented) an XSLT-based utility for converting spreadsheets into the XML report format, and the firm can configure the utility for themselves to support new report types as they are required.