XForms: February 2005 Archives

Checked in

• Implementation of index() function (bug 282777)

• <input> as a checkbox now works like in other processors (bug 273428)

• Security fix to guard against http-redirect attacks for external instances (bug 283006)

• Fixed an old problem with the XPath scanner (bug 277929). The code will ultimately go away, but nice to get rid of the bug still.

• Fixed default type for schema handling (bug 283376)

• Centered <message> (bug 283240)

• Fixed problems with schema-support and calculated fields — the bug Anne mentions in his blog (bug 284101, also fixes bug 280820)

• Made some MDG code more Mozilla-like (bug 278369)

Almost there

• Add support for class attribute in XTF (bug 283366)

• Implement <trigger> with @appearance=minimal (bug 283219)

• Implement <select1> as a combobox (bug 281668)

Coming up

• Fix the problem with the MDG not finding all dependencies (bug 278368)

• <select> bugs (bug 279063, bug 278277)

• Finish the XForms XPath extentions (bug 281987)

• Fix misc. binding problems (bug 283737)

• Move XPath dependency calculation to Transformiix (bug 265212)

Checked in last week:
* <setindex> and repeat-index (#278209)
NB. <insert> and <delete> does not set the repeat-index properly (#282828), and repeat-index is an attribute not a pseudo-element (#271724).

* hasFeature(), so now it's possible to figure out that we are present :) (#279021)

* two issues regarding external instances, which now work much better (#279021, #282351)

* submission has improved. It now disables the submit button while submitting (#280312) and removes irrelevant data (#280264).

Coming up:
* one of the many <select> bugs (#278277, #281668, #279063, #282840)

* implementation of index() function (#282777)

* input checkbox behaviour (#273428)

* misc. internal fixes to the MDG (#278368, #278369)

* the XPath dependency calculation really needs to move to Transformiix (#265212)

* support for complex schemas, and other schema stuff

* figuring out why we still have problems with binding to external instance data in some cases

* and possibly we have a volunteer for looking into the UI rendering of some of the data types like date picker

I think the implementation is closing in on a "usable state". The biggest issue wrt. compatibility with other processors is styling. We need support for the pseudo-classes (#271720) and pseudo-elements (#271724). But it mostly needs to be solved outside our little "XForms extension pond" :)

Andrew Douglas has been looking at combining SVG and XForms. He has created a version of the calculator example using SVG. Here's a neat little screenshot:

The combination of SVG and XForms opens up for interesting projects I think: Doing live graphics inside forms, switching between editing (XForms) and viewing your data (SVG), using dynamic and graphical form aids, constructing or manipulating your instance data through SVG, etc. I'm looking forward to see what will be done in this area!

Checked in last week:
* <insert> and <delete> (#278211)
* fixed node binding context for controls (#280017)
Pretty essential issues.

This week will most likely include work on:
* support for pseudo-classes like :enabled, :disabled, :read-only, etc. (#271720)
* fix the last issue with :repeat-index/<setindex> (#278209)
* support for hasFeature() (#279057)
* issues with itemset (#278277)

One major issue is a problem with the asynchroneus loading of the external instances. Let's see if we'll get to that this week too.

I've updated XForms Buddy. The actions now work, there's a context menu, etc.

I've created a Firefox/Mozilla extension with the most cheesy name I could find: "XForms Buddy" :)

It's my first JavaScript/XUL work, so it's a hack, it's ugly, etc. etc. Nevertheless it works, and adds a nice little icon to the status bar. Clicking it opens a window that allows you to chose an XForms model and instance to show live data from. Download it here.

I've also create a nice little bookmarklet that does more or less the same, which can be found at the same place.

I'll create a right-click context item, and some more goodies later on.

The Mozilla XForms beta is out (Mozilla.org, MozillaZine). Beta is not my view of it, though, alpha would be more suited. Nevertheless it shows where we are right now and where we are heading.

If you want to test it, you'll need a CVS-version of Firefox or Mozilla, as we depend on XTF support which is not in the current release-versions. The official beta, instructions, release notes, etc. can be found on the project page. For the ones running a proper Linux distro :), the kind SUSE people have included XTF and XForms in their nightly builds of Mozilla. Firefox nightlies are on the way too.

The biggest issues in the "beta" are:
* external instances and schemas are not working correctly (#279021).
* our intialization is not exactly as it should be (#275213).
* we still need some of the XPath functions (#265460, #278209).
* tags like <insert> and <delete> are missing (#278211).
* CSS styling is a hack, we do not have the pseudo-attributes and -classes (#271720, #271724).

We've also still got a lot of bughunting to do -- 43 bugs at the time of writing, plus the bugs only marked in code ... or in each team member's head :)