Multimedia Communication and

Information Logisticsfor

AFTER-SALES AND PRODUCT LIFE-

CYCLE SUPPORT

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www.remtec.fi

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BUILDING WWW APPLICATIONS WITH XML FORMS

Kaisa Kostiainen

XML Finland ‘99Helsinki Fair

Center23.9.1999

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CONTENTS

IntroductionReporting ToolRPX Forms architectureRPX Forms examplesConclusions

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XML AND WWW APPLICATIONS

system-to-system interchange format distributed, heterogenous data sources database interface lack of mechanism to update XML data

according to user’s input

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PROPOSALS POSTED TO W3C

XFA http://www.w3.org/1999/05/XFA/xfa-template.htm

XFDL http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-XFDL.html

both require a plug-in at the browser

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CASE: REPORTING TOOL

WWW application for Wärtsilä NSD Service enables the workflow of the service

reports forwards data as XML format to other

applications invoicing document management knowledge discovery etc.

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CASE: REPORTING TOOL

handles over hundred technical records the structure of the technical data hard

to generalize creating and adding new technical

records has to be easy high quality of printing

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DIFFERENT OPTIONS

HTML Forms too labourious to write software

XSL Transformation from XML data the lack of proper XSL development tools causes

the creation of technical records very painful for the developer

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RPX FORMS

form data is separated from user interface

form DTD is pre-defined form data can be any XML data uses RPX Form filter language for

binding form input elements to data

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EXAMPLE

<Form> <Field label="Company name:" hint="Name of company"> <rpxf:value-of select="/Customer/CompanyName"/> </Field> <Field label="Street address:"> <rpxf:value-of select="/Customer/StreetAddress"/> </Field></Form>

<Data> <Customer> <CompanyName>Remtec Systems<CompanyName> <StreetAddress>Tekniikantie 12<StreetAddress> </Customer></Data>

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RPX FORMS ARCHITECTURE

FormXSL

FormXSL

FormDTD

FormDTD

FormXML

FormXML

DataDataDataData

DataData

BindingFormXML

FormXML XML/XSL

Transform

XML/XSLTransform

BrowserHTML

BrowserHTML

Decoding

Data sources

Form design

RPX Service

Browser UI

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RPX FORMS ARCHITECTURE

the rpxf query patterns are resolved dynamically

a pattern identifies a value in a data source a single form may refer to several data

sources when the form is posted to the server the

server code automatically creates XML objects from the form data

business logic rules decide which data sources are available and which data sources are updated

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RPX FORM DTD

similar to HTML a form contains pages, which are

divided vertically to sections basic input elements: input field, radio

group, drop-down list, etc. title, paragraph, list, picture, … XSL style sheet for presenting the form

in the browser and for printing

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RPX FORM FILTER LANGUAGE

very similar to XSL RPX Form filter language elements:

rpxf:value-of, rpxf:attribute, rpxf:insert, rpxf:repeat

syntax:

<rpxf:value-of select=“pattern”><rpxf:attribute name=“attribute-name”[ select=“pattern”]>

<rpxf:insert select=“pattern”><rpxf:repeat select=“pattern”>

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RPX FORMS EXAMPLES

Input fields

<Field label="Company name:" hint="Name of company">

<rpxf:value-of select="/Customer/CompanyName"/></Field>

<DropDown label="Application Type:">

<rpxf:attribute name="selected”

select="/Installation/ApplicationType2"/>

</rpxf:attribute>

<rpxf:insert select="/Constants/ApplicationType2"/>

</DropDown>

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RPX FORMS EXAMPLES

Creating dynamic lists

<List>

<rpxf:repeat select="/Customers/Customer[$$]">

<ListItem type="read-only">

<rpxf:value-of select="ContactPerson"/>

<ListItem>

</rpxf:repeat>

</List>

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CONCLUSIONS

RPX Forms enables very easy way to develop WWW applications that update XML data

no plug-ins is needed at browser see Reporting Tool at Remtec’s stand