Abstract:

Forms are a major part of web applications; they are a part of every transaction that takes place on the web. Currently most of the applications use HTML. However, there are some applications that put a limit on the HTML forms, making it difficult for the user to communicate. XForms is a new technology that is considered to be the future of web based forms. The main goal of this project is to use these XForms to develop a web based application framework that contains templates of sample Forms and which lets users customize, edit and create new Forms. We intend our set-up to be flexible enough so that if two departments of a company do mass mailings to request data of the same individual. Then the data requested will still be individualized to a given person. A database of forms and the details of the people associated with it will be maintained. This will be managed using Oracle database. We need to figure out how and when to merge forms. The framework that we will develop i! n this project will communicate with the database using an XML format with respect to an XML schema for that specifies what the data looks like. An extension to the XForms will be implemented for maintaining revision history and style information. A revision control system will be developed for this extension.

CS297 Results

• Researched XForms.
• Wrote a GUI program that has some sample template forms and allows you to create new forms.
• Wrote an XML Schema that describes the data associated with the forms.
• Wrote an XSLT stylesheet that transforms the XForms documents.

Proposed Schedule

Key Deliverables:

• Software
  • Web based application framework for distributing forms, and connecting to the Oracle database using JAVA.
  • XML extension to XForms for maintaining revision history and style information.
  • Revision control system for this XML extension written in JAVA. This system will support: (a) Ability to create new branches of existing forms as well as to create new forms. (b) Ability to merge existing branches and to unify form data from two branches. (c) Ability to examine change histories along a given form branch. (d) Consistency control mechanisms to maintain integrity of check out forms.
  • Sequences of test forms will be created to test if the version control system is functioning correctly. Further, simple usability tests of the Web based application will be carried out.
• Report
  • Documentation on how to use this application.
  • Description about the technologies used in this project: XForms, XML, and Oracle
  • Description of the Version Control System.

Innovations and Challenges

• Integration of XForms, Oracle and XML might be complicated as XForms is a new technology still in the process of development.
• Validation of these Forms.
• Difficult to implement a Version Control System.

References: