XForms: XML Powered Web Forms

Summary

XForms--XML-powered Web forms--are set to replace HTML forms as the backbone of electronic commerce. XForms enables the creation and editing of structured XML content within a familiar Web browser environment, which is likely to play a key role in enabling simple browser-based access to Web services. XForms leverage the power of XML in modeling, collecting, and serializing user input. In this book, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) XForms specification editor T. V. Raman explains how programmers can create durable and dependable feature-rich forms accessible from multiple platforms and devices and available in multiple languages and modes.

XForms plays a key role in connecting humans to information technologies, deployed as Web services. This book begins by providing an overview of the XForms technology and the set of XML standards on which it is built, including XML Path Language (XPath), Dom2 events, XML events, XML namespaces, and XML Schema. Part II profiles the XForms architecture and its components. An introduction to the available user interface controls leads into a guide to creating complex user interfaces. The following chapters describe XForms model properties, functions, actions, and events. Each chapter's increasingly complex examples illustrate the concepts discussed. The final part of the book details how XForms will be used to create a new generation of human-centric, multimodal, accessible Web transactions.

A companion CD-ROM provides examples of XForms applications as well as a fully accessible and speech-friendly HTML version of the book that includes hyperlinks to cross-references and the index.

Readers will learn:

Why XForms can deliver better user interaction at less cost

How the XForms technology works

What comprises the XForms architecture

How to use XForms to connect users to Web services

How XForms can accommodate spoken and visual interaction

How to ensure universal accessibility to Web content with XForms

XForms will transform the way companies and consumers handle Web transactions. XForms: XML Powered Web Forms provides Web developers, IT professionals, and Web server administrators with a firm grasp of this standard, how it will shape emerging solutions, and how it will change the nature of their day-to-day work.

Table of Contents

1. XML Powered Web Forms.

Background.

A Simple Web Application.

XForms Components.

Summary Of XForms Benefits.

XForms At A Glance.

2. Standard Building Blocks.

Introduction.

XPath--XML Path Language.

DOM2 Events.

XML--Extensible Markup Language.

XML Schema.

XForms Implementations.

XML Standards At A Glance.

3. XForms User Interface Controls.

XForms User Interface Design.

Common Aspects Of XForms Controls.

Collecting Text Input.

Selecting From A Set Of Values.

Selecting From A Range Of Values.

Uploading Data.

Triggering Actions.

Submitting Data.

XForms Controls At A Glance.

4. Creating Complex User Interfaces.

Aggregation Using group.

Dynamic User Interaction With switch.

Repeating Structures With repeat.

Complete Example Of An XForms User Interface.

XForms User Interface At A Glance.

5. XForms Model Properties.

Introduction.

Attaching Constraints Via Element bind.

Property relevant For Model-based Switching.

Property required For Mandatory Fields.

Property readonly For Controlling Changes.

Property constraint For Dynamic Validation.

Constraining The Number Of Permitted Entries.

Property calculate For Dynamic Computation.

Augmenting Schemas With Type Constraints.

Declaring Privacy Level Via P3P.

XForms Model Properties At A Glance.

6. XForms Functions.

Introduction.

Boolean Functions.

Number Functions.

String Functions.

Date-time Functions.

Node-set Functions.

Binding Expressions--The Full Story.

XForms Functions At A Glance.

7. XForms Actions.

Introduction.

Declarative Event Handlers.

XForms Actions At A Glance.

8. XForms Events.

Introduction.

Initialization Events.

Interaction Events.

Notification Events.

XForms Events At A Glance.

9. Connecting The User To Web Services.

A Human-Centric View Of Web Services.

Connecting Users To Their Data.

Creating Personalized Information Views.

XForms Web Services At A Glance.

10. Multimodal Access.

Multimodal Interaction For Ubiquitous Access.

Multimodal Access.

Multimodal User Interface Principles.

Creating Multimodal Interfaces Using Xforms.

Multimodal Interaction At A Glance.

11. XForms And Accessibility.

XForms Enables Universal Access.

Design Principles For Accessible Interfaces.

Leveraging XForms Accessibility Features.

Index.