XML for forms

[Gavin McKenzie]

Don,

The popular media seems to already be trying to whip this issue into
something sensational.

The XFDL and XFA technologies are *very* different. For my part, I
continually try to spread the word that XFA is not intended to be
competitive to HTML.  Rather, we are looking to the successful evolution of
technologies like [X]HTML and SVG as one way that we can deliver a
browser-based experience via the presentation of XFA through HTML and SVG,
etc.  I think it would be foolish for anyone to attempt to invent a markup
language that competes with HTML.  XFA doesn't.

I steer clear from calling XFA a markup language.  Rather it is a higher
level abstraction of a form, its presentation, business logic, etc. ---
think of it as a modeling language.  The reality is that JetForm's customers
live in a transitional world spanning the realities of paper, thick-client
applications, and browser-based solutions such as HTML.  XFA models the form
independent of these particular realities.

A colleague of mine (Rob McDougall) has a further analogy.  He describes how
within specific disciplines there are 'special purpose vocabularies' that
facilitate communication in a more succinct and accurate manner.  For
instance, physicists communicate in such a vocabulary with words that convey
concepts specific to the realm of physics in a very concise manner.  The
words themselves are more successful at communicating when compared to (in
my case) plain English.  It may be possible to communicate in this realm
using plain English that is free of this special vocabulary, but it will
surely be more wordy, difficult, and more prone to missing the subtle
nuances that are embedded within the special vocabulary.

Note how this special vocabulary is not competitive to the larger language,
rather it is complementary.

XFA is one such special vocabulary.

Gavin.


========================================================
Gavin F. McKenzie          mailto:gmckenzi at jetform.com
Systems Architect          Vox:+1(613)230-3676
JetForm Corporation         or:+1(613)751-4800 ext 5277
http://www.jetform.com     Fax:+1(613)751-4864
========================================================


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Don Park [mailto:donpark at quake.net]
> Sent: Monday, July 05, 1999 1:22 AM
> To: xml-dev at ic.ac.uk
> Subject: RE: XML for forms
> 
> 
> > I haven't detected any real overwhelming momentum at W3C to launch
> > an ambitious e-forms standardization project, although I seem to
> > recall that some WG or other has the mandate to enrich & extend
> > HTML forms... -T.
> 
> Perhaps the three groups (XFA, XFDL, and HTML forms) should 
> get together
> outside W3C to create an XHTML module for rich form support.  It is my
> opinion that there is no clear winner in this area and there 
> are many other
> e-form companies preparing to jump in.  Either that or 
> another round of
> catfight is needed to clear up the air.
> 
> Don
> 
> 
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