X6:%20neXt%20pleX%20Xml%20fleXibility%20eXperience:%20Xforms

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X6 neXt pleX Xml fleXibility eXperience Xforms
Session No. 10C

• Willem de Vries, Remia
• Simon Jasperse, Kiboko

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Agenda

• Introduction
• Background Flexibility and XML
• XForms positioning and concepts
• Application within Remias architecture
• XForms inside the models
• Demo
• QA

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Introduction

• Remia Manufacturer of Sauces and Margarine
• Kiboko Independent software consultancy
• Software development in 2E and Plex
• Strategic choice for model based development
• Development speed
• Reduced maintenance
• Pattern-advantage main reason for Plex

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Flexibility in applications

• Application Customer Relationship Management
• Requirement high level of configurability
• For fast adaptation to business-requirements
• To empower users
• Example User Definable Data pattern
• Example Document management module

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User definable data pattern and XML

• Two level (Feature / Feature aspect)
  representations of flexible data-structure
• XML as a tool to provide single screen layout
• XML-pattern for creation of data-document
• XSLT for user-definable HTML-generation
• Use of XML extended beyond HTML- presentation
• Short DEMO

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Document Management

• Business documents like contracts, letters,
  invitations, resumes, product-specification-s
  heet
• User defines functional types
• Creation of actual Docs from Plex-application
• Handling of external application (e.g. MS-Word)
• Interfacing application-data to document
• Support for external applications programmed
  individually

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Document-management
Technical Concept
MS-Word MS-Excel
Functional Concept
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Flexibility results

• Results of Flexible data structure
• Specific layouts for specific purposes
• Users like single-screen overview
• Results of Document system
• Fast configuration of forms
• General available competence office-templates
• Documents managed within applications

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Flexibility more to wish ?

• Drawbacks of Document system
• Information inside not retrievable
• Storage / transfer too costly
• Too little guidance / validation for users User
  
• Single-screen output
• Users ask for Single-screen input instead of
  wizards and tabs

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Some requirements for documents

• Form-like interface to offer guidance and
  validation
• Easily configurable (as Word / Excel templates)
• Integration with Plex-application based upon
  data-interface
• Structured (XML-) document to support
• searchability
• Integration-facilities in back-office

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Possible directions

• Altovas Authentic
• Microsofts Infopath
• Scripting a generalized HTML-solution
• XForms W3C next generation HTML-forms
• Promise of open standard
• Ambitious requirements
• Growing support by implementors

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Global features of XForms

• Events, Actions and Validation declarative
• Full support for XPath for calculations and
  validations
• Schema-support for data-types and validation
• Clean separation of data logic and presentation
• Highly regular XML structure
• Abstract controls for device-independence
• Processor decides the actual presentation
• E.g. Full browser, Mobile phone, Voice

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Flexibility more to wish ?

• ltfpmodel id"rm_model" gt
• ltfpinstance id"rm_doc"gt
• ltContract xmlns""gt
• ltRelatie NodeID"1"gt
• ltRelatienaamgtEurodisneylt/Relatienaamgt
• lt/Relatiegt
• ltCurrencygtEURlt/Currencygt
• ltContractDategtlt/ContractDategt
• ltContractDetailsgt
• ltDetailLinegt
• ltSubtotal /gt
• lt/DetailLinegt
• lt/ContractDetailsgt
• lt/Contractgt
• lt/fpinstancegt
• ltfpbind id"conDate" nodeset"/Contract/Contract
  Date" required"true()" type"xsddate" /gt
• ltfpbind id"relNaam" nodeset"/Contract/Relatie/
  Relatienaam" required"true()" /gt
• ltfpbind nodeset"/Contract/ContractDetails/Detai
  lLine/Subtotal" calculate"../Quantity
  ../Price" readonly"true()" /gt
• ltfpsubmission id"rm_submit1" replace"none"
  action"url" method"post" ref"instance('rm_doc')
  " /gt

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Main elements model
ltbodygt ltfpinput bind"conDate"gt ltfplabelgtCont
ract Datelt/fplabelgt ltfpalertgtPlease enter a
valuelt/fpalertgt lt/fpinputgt ltfpselect1
bind"conCurrency" style"displayinline"gt ltfpl
abelgtCurrencylt/fplabelgt ltfpitem style"width
200px"gt ltfplabelgtEurolt/fplabelgt ltfpvalue
gtEURlt/fpvaluegt lt/fpitem/gt lt/fpselect1gt ltfp
repeat id"r1" nodeset"/Contract/ContractDetails/
DetailLine"gt ltfpoutput ref"Subtotal"gt ltfpl
abelgtSubtotallt/fplabelgt lt/fpoutputgt lt/fprepe
atgt ltfpsubmit submission"rm_submit1"gt ltfplab
elgt Ready lt/fplabelgt lt/fpsubmitgt lt/bodygt
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Main elements result
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Implementations (examples)

• Client-side
• Mozquito DENG (Flash)
• Supported in every browser
• X-Smiles (Java)
• Strong device-independence
• X-port Formsplayer (IE 6 plug-in)
• Currently most complete implementation
• Server-side
• Chiba (open source)
• Novells exteNd (Silverstream) ? Mozilla
• IBMs Xforms Package (Alphaworks) ? Mozilla

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The pilot XForms-Documents

• Development of a new DocProgramma
• Resulting document is .XML
• Interfacing from application-data
• Form based on XForms
• Enables
• Smaller documents (storage / transfer)
• Validation
• Processing by back-office applications

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Xforms Demo Document Flow

• Document travels through organisation workflow
• Approval / Edit / Distribution / Function

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Xforms Demo Documentflow

• Configuration determines document flow / status
• Steps allocated by user function
• Todo list

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Xforms Demo Documentflow

• User can start document types based on user
  function
• Select a style refers to programme (word /
  xForms)

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Xforms Demo The Application

• DEMO

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Xforms Demo Create xForm Document

• Xform Pattern
• Write Relation data to C/temp/naw.xml
• uses Remia XML pattern
• Get contract.xhtml location on file system (on
  database/registry info)
• Load contract.xhtml into XMLDOM
• Load naw.xml into XMLDOM(2)
• Parse naw.xml data into contract.xhtml.Model.insta
  nce
• Save as C/temp/myForm.xhtml
• Display myForm.xhtml in Shdocvw
• Save instance XML as 7315.999

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Xforms Demo Create xForm Document
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Xforms Demo Saved XML

• Contract XML saved on file system as 7568.45

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Xforms Demo Edit xForm Document

• DEMO

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Xforms Demo xForm Functionality
Data Typing
No Scripting!

• DEMO

Repeat
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Xforms Demo Documents

• Show XMLs

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Xforms Demo Plex Integration
Plex

• DEMO

Translate to Logical Event
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Xforms Demo Register Event
WebBrowser1.Navigate FileName
Function RegisterForEvent(evtSource,evtName,Handl
erName) ' get a pointer to the function with the
given name dim fpHandler set fpHandler
getRef(HandlerName) 'bind it to the requested
event name evtSource.attachEvent
evtName,fpHandler End Function
Sub WebBrowser1_DocumentComplete(pDisp, URL)
Set g_document WebBrowser1.Document RegisterFor
Event g_document.getElementById(submitID),
"xforms-submit-done","getAddr_Submit_Done" End
Sub
Function getAddr_Submit_Done(e) Ad.LogicalEvent(
"xfSubmit") End Function
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Xforms Demo Save Instance
At LogicalEvent("xfSubmit") set g_document
WebBrowser1.Document set model
g_document.getElementById(ModelID) set formDoc
model.getInstanceDocument(InstanceID) formDoc.sav
e (FileName) go sub terminate
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Xforms Demo Experiences

• xForms is promising, maturing
• Integration with Plex simple
• Better document handling Size / Data retrieval
• Layout xForms in css needs practice!

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Ideas for extension

• Physical separation of Model and Layout
• Layout as pure user-responsibility
• Extending the pattern around documents
• Support for database-lookups
• Coupling of printing/export facilities
• ..
• Model-controlled structure for User-defined data
• Processing XML-results to database
• Meta-programming for panel-alternative

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References

• W3C
• www.w3.org/MarkUp/Forms/
• Micah Dubinko Xforms essentials
• http//xformsinstitute.com/essentials/
• x-port.net Ltd
• www.formsplayer.com
• DSTC University of Queensland
• xforms.dstc.edu.au/index.html
• Novell
• developer.novell.com/xforms/

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Xforms Demo Discussion

• devries_at_remia.nl
• simon_at_kiboko.nl
• ppt at www.kiboko.nl