Standards-compliant
formsPlayer supports the entire XForms 1.0 standard, allowing you to:
- validate form data against XML schemas;
- send and receive XML into your forms, and so use XML throughout your workflow;
- avoid page refreshes when communicating with a server;
- communicate with many servers from the same form, and so take full advantage of Web Services;
- take advantage of rich user interface controls that are built into the language, such as automatically repeating structures, switch and case, calendar widgets, and more.
In addition to supporting the full XForms 1.0 standard, formsPlayer supports these other W3C standards, making it the most compliant browser combination available today:
- DOM 2 Events
- XML Events
- DOM 3 Implementation Registry
- DOM 3 XPath
- the draft version of XForms 1.1
Browser Extensions
formsPlayer also provides a wide range of features that extend the browser, all driven by XHTML and the simple-to-use XForms language:
- system tray messages that slide in and out;
- browser side-bars, toolbars and footer bars defined with XHTML and XForms;
- activate and deactivate extension bars from your forms;
- speech-enabled messages, using Microsoft Agent.
ActiveX Embedding
Whilst formsPlayer provides much of its power by extending Microsoft Internet Explorer to support new standards, it has also been designed for incorporation into other applications. Whether you are building an accounts package, a contact database, a mapping application or a desktop organiser, you will find that formsPlayer and XForms can be used to provide a solid backbone to your application, in particular, making the management of your application's user interface much easier. formsPlayer also integrates easily with Sidewinder, the Web Application Viewer that provides a standalone framework that enhances your application with features such as docking to the side of the screen, automatically sliding in and out, displaying your application both transparently and opaquely, and more.
Since formsPlayer adds the functionality of the entire XForms specification to the browser, you do not need to change any existing server architecture you might have for your application. Whether using ASP.NET or JSP, Struts or WebSphere, Cocoon or Microsoft CMS, SQL Server or MySQL, you can continue to use the same techniques that you have come to rely on when delivering your applications. But instead of generating HTML pages, your applications will now generate standardised XHTML pages with XForms, allowing you to push more and more functionality onto the client, speeding development, and improving the user experience.