Date Posted: April 9, 2003
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- 1. Who is the intended audience for XML Forms Package?
- 2. Why is this technology significant?
- 3. What are the key unique features, and how will they allow me to do what I couldn't do before?
- 4. How will the XML Forms Package save time, money, or worry for its users?
- 5. Is this technology part of the release of a new specification?
1. Who is the intended audience for XML Forms Package?
The intended audience is developers interested in improving the performance of their Web applications by taking advantage of emerging XML standards related to next-generation Web forms. Web developers can improve user experience by taking advantage of client-side data validation, the ability to update data without redrawing the associated page, and by a rich set of end-user interaction techniques provided by this package. As for all alphaWorks releases, this package does not imply product commitments or dates but provides developers with an early prototype of this important emerging XML standard.
2. Why is this technology significant?
This release allows developers to deploy XForms applications using existing J2EE-based server technologies and simple Web Browser-based technologies. It does not require special viewers for XForms applications and it provides a quick and easy way for current Web programmers to begin using XForms.
3. What are the key unique features, and how will they allow me to do what I couldn't do before?
The XML Forms Package allows developers to deploy XForms applications without any client-side technologies, using the Java XForms compiler. It also includes an Internet Explorer process control with several useful extensions including local persistence, UI control extensions, and Web Services integration. The data model component allows JSP programmers to take advantage of XForms model constraints and validation without leaving their familiar programming environment and tools.
4. How will the XML Forms Package save time, money, or worry for its users?
This technology includes a prototype of the W3C XForms specification and, in addition, several extensions, including the following: binding of XForms to Web Services, off-line operations, and rich UI controls. The package separates presentation from content, enables reuse, offers strong typing, and provides field-level validation and client-side multi-page navigation. These features help to reduce round-trips to the server, reduce the need for scripting, and improve end-user experience. In addition, the data model component greatly reduces the amount of coding typically required in deploying Web applications with processing of complex forms.
5. Is this technology part of the release of a new specification?
This technology supports an emerging standard, XForms 1.0 (a W3C Candidate Recommendation). Further information about XForms is available at the W3C Web site.
