XML Don't
Here are some technologies you should try to avoid when
using XML.
Internet Explorer - XML Data Islands
What is it? An XML data island is XML data embedded into an HTML page.
Why avoid it? XML Data Islands only works with Internet Explorer browsers.
What to use instead? You should use JavaScript and XML DOM to parse
and display XML in HTML.
For more information about JavaScript and XML DOM, visit our XML
DOM tutorial.
XML Data Island Example
This example uses the XML document "cd_catalog.xml".
Bind the XML document to an <xml> tag in the HTML document. The id attribute defines an
id for the data island, and the src
attribute points to the XML file:
<html>
<body>
<xml id="cdcat" src="cd_catalog.xml"></xml>
<table border="1" datasrc="#cdcat">
<tr>
<td><span datafld="ARTIST"></span></td>
<td><span datafld="TITLE"></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>
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The datasrc attribute of the <table> tag binds the HTML table to
the XML data island.
The
<span> tags allow the datafld attribute to refer to the XML element to
be displayed. In this case, "ARTIST" and "TITLE". As the XML is read, additional rows are created for each <CD>
element.
If you are using Internet Explorer, you can
try
it yourself.
Internet Explorer - Behaviors
What is it? Internet Explorer 5 introduced behaviors. Behaviors are a
way to add behaviors to XML (or HTML) elements with the use of CSS styles.
Why avoid it? The behavior attribute is only supported by Internet Explorer.
What to use instead? Use JavaScript and XML DOM (or HTML DOM) instead.
Example 1 - Mouseover Highlight
The following HTML file has a <style> element that defines a behavior for the <h1>
element:
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
h1 { behavior: url(behave.htc) }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Mouse over me!!!</h1>
</body>
</html>
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The XML document "behave.htc" is shown below:
<attach for="element" event="onmouseover" handler="hig_lite" />
<attach for="element" event="onmouseout" handler="low_lite" />
<script type="text/javascript">
function hig_lite()
{
element.style.color='red';
}
function low_lite()
{
element.style.color='blue';
}
</script>
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The behavior file contains a JavaScript and event
handlers for the elements.
Try it yourself (mouse over the text
in the example).
Example 2 - Typewriter Simulation
The following HTML file has a <style> element that defines a behavior
for elements with an id of "typing":
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
#typing
{
behavior:url(typing.htc);
font-family:'courier new';
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<span id="typing" speed="100">IE5 introduced DHTML behaviors.
Behaviors are a way to add DHTML functionality to HTML elements
with the ease of CSS.<br /><br />How do behaviors work?<br />
By using XML we can link behaviors to any element in a web page
and manipulate that element.</p>
</span>
</body>
</html>
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The XML document "typing.htc" is shown below:
<attach for="window" event="onload" handler="beginTyping" />
<method name="type" />
<script type="text/javascript">
var i,text1,text2,textLength,t;
function beginTyping()
{
i=0;
text1=element.innerText;
textLength=text1.length;
element.innerText="";
text2="";
t=window.setInterval(element.id+".type()",speed);
}
function type()
{
text2=text2+text1.substring(i,i+1);
element.innerText=text2;
i=i+1;
if (i==textLength)
{
clearInterval(t);
}
}
</script>
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