Re: HTML forms, XForms, Web Forms - which and how much?

Hi Maciej,

> Obviously it shouldn't specify the implementation of what form
> controls are found. But does it guarantee to authors which specific
> *set* of form controls will be found? If not, how can you write
> XForms code that is interoperable between multiple implementations?

Given that the standard has been around for a number of years, and the
list of implementations keeps growing, I think you can assume that
this question has been answered.


>  From the XForms spec, first line in the Abstract: "XForms is an XML
> application that represents the next generation of forms for the Web. "

Oh...definitely. I don't dispute that there was general belief that
this would be the case. But the real world has impinged, and there is
really no reason for such a limitation.


> And I think this claim is correct, it is indeed an XML application in
> the sense of a vocabulary for use in XML documents.

Again, you are right in that this is what is stated. But
architecturally it makes no sense to impose such a limitation,
especially since real implementations prove that it is an unnecessary
constraint.


> > And as I've shown it is easily hosted in non-XML vocabularies.
>
> Such use may be interesting, but is not defined by the spec.

That's right. I thought we'd already agreed on that.


> > However, the reason I said 'it depends what you mean', is that some
> > people have described XForms as being XML-only because one of its
> > goals is to make processing of XML easier. I was simply saying that as
> > XMLHttpRequest shows, components that handle XML need not themselves
> > be running in XML applications.
>
> XMLHttpRequest is an API, not a language - the two are not at all
> parallel. You don't have to embed XML markup in HTML to use
> XMLHttpRequest.

No-one said that. The illustration was in the context of 'depends what
you mean by an XML application'.


> I hope we can agree that XForms does not define how to use XForms in
> non-XML HTML. Whether doing such a thing is desirable can be debated,
> but there is definitely no spec for it.

I thought we had agreed that. :) But I'm happy to re-agree.

All the best,

Mark

-- 
  Mark Birbeck, formsPlayer

  mark.birbeck@x-port.net | +44 (0) 20 7689 9232
  http://www.formsPlayer.com | http://internet-apps.blogspot.com

  standards. innovation.

Received on Friday, 27 April 2007 01:17:33 UTC