An Introduction to XForms Philadelphia XML Users' Group by Peter Meggitt

Agenda What is XForms? Why should I care? How do I get started?

What is XForms? A W3C standard. A replacement for HTML forms (Forms enable users to modify, and send data. Data modified using HTML controls) Built for integration with XML. o Data can be sent and received using XML. o Controls defined using XML. Meant to be integrated with a host language like XHTML.

Connection to XML? XForms starts with "X". Built in support for reading, updating, and writing XML. Much easier to fill in a form then enter XML by hand.

History Original XForms draft specification was published on April 6, W3C Recommendation on 14 October 2003.W3C Recommendation14 October2003 XForms 1.0 (Third Edition) was published on 29 October October 2007 XForms 1.1, which introduces a number of improvements, reached the status of W3C Candidate Recommendation on 29 November November2007

Supporters IBM: Aquired PureEdge and is marketing an XForms solution called Lotus Forms.Lotus Forms Yahoo: BlueprintBlueprint Novell Oracle Sun: OpenOffice has support for Xforms as described in tutorial. tutorial Many open source projects.

Competition Microsoft InfoPath Adobe Ruby on Rails (A comparison of developer productivity)Ruby on Rails Various Ajax frameworks

Implementations Browsers don't natively support XForms. In order to use XForms you must have an environment that supports XForms. Browser Plugins: Mozilla XForms add-on Stand alone client applications: Lotus Forms OpenOffice writer Server side environments: Orbeon Chiba

Benefits Cost savings Enhanced developer productivity Declarative specification of business logic XML is simpler than object relational mapping MVC architecture (Model, View, Controller) Other Embraces open standards - XML Schema, XPath, CSS Efficient - fewer server round trips. Disconnected persistence.

Risks Lack of browser support Moving target - immature technology Long release cycle New (replaces HTML MVC frameworks) o Learning curve o Resistance to change

Complimentary Technology XHTML XPath CSS SVG XML Signatures

XForms Sweet Spot Replacement for traditional paper forms CRUD environments for XML data. Meta-data editors Choose your implementation technology: Understand your audience. Client or server-side implementation.

Anatomy of an XForm borrowed from Winona Salesky The Model The User Interface

Declarative Language? Bind Attributes Data type (from schema) Relevant (whether data should be shown) Required Readonly Constraint (validation) Calculate Model Driven Architecture (Don't hand code XForms, generate them).

Advanced Architecture - XRX Widely discussed at XML 2007 Definition XForms on the client REST interfaces XQuery on the server References: Wiki Dr Dictionary (aka Dan McCreary)

Examples General: XForms Wikibook Mozilla XForms add-on Orbeon Chiba OpenOffice Lotus Forms MODS Editors UVM Editor by Winona SaleskyUVM Editor Brown Editor by Michael ParkBrown Editor

Resources Sites XForms Wiki Page XForms Wikibook People (many more) John Boyer (IBM) Erik Bruchez (Orbeon) Dan McCreary

Thank You Peter Meggitt