[XML-SIG] Simplest free DOM-like toolkit with validation?

[Greg Wilson]

Hi everyone.  I'm about to start work on the XML data crunching lectures 
for the PSF-funded software development course [1], and would like 
advice on which of Python's many XML toolkits to use.  The default 
choice is minidom, but having taught with it for a couple of semesters, 
I find it clunky compared to (for example) ElementTree.  However, 
ElementTree doesn't support validation against external DTDs, or RelaxNG
schemas.

So, what would you suggest?  Ease of use is more important than an
all-encompassing feature set (since this is for teaching purposes);
it has to be available on all major platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux,
Solaris), trivial to install, and have at least some documentation.

Thanks,
Greg

[1] http://www.python.org/psf/grants/