On 25 Feb 2004, at 22:53, Daniel Fagerstrom wrote:
CForms should use typed DOM as "form model" -------------------------------------------
I also believe that making CForms use typed XML as data storage is important. This obviously require some changes, among other things the widget objects need to be split into a control part and a storage part, XML data types need support. I will return with a detailed proposal in the near future (hopefully ;)). I also hope to get some feedback from the people involved in CForms development.
(some parts OT perhaps)
We have quite good experiences exploiting XMLBeans for O/XML mappings in the buildup of Daisy - our forthcoming CMS framework. XMLBeans requires you to opt for XML Schemas, which provide (some halfway decently form of) data typing, and adds a whole lot of flexibility when moving in between objects and XML. Maybe we should also try to explore XMLBeans as a part of this equation.
I took a look at XMLBeans and it seem to have some attractive properties, e.g. continuous validation - elments are validated as soon as they are inserted. In it current incarnation, it lacks IIUC a standardized interface however, which makes it hard to integrate in the framework. According to their todo list they plan to give the XMLBeans a DOM interface as well, and when that is added I think it can be really usefull for connecting the XML and the Java part of the application.
Based on gut feeling (as always) however, I'm pretty sure that the change in form model from a proper object hierarchy towards a generic DOM model will need some strong convincing of the Woody dev folks (not including myself into that group). While the idea sounds nice, it might be overly generic. IIRC, I also heard Bruno muttering about some possible upcoming refactorings w.r.t. caching and dynamic form models.
FWIW: Bruno is enjoying Italian snow ATM, and won't be back (and still be very busy after that) until next week.
</Steven>
Yes, It will be interesting to hear the CForms developers view on it.
/Daniel
