XForms

XForms is the W3C recommendation for creating Web-based forms.

As opposed to the traditional HTML-based forms, XForms is XML-based and allows for the separation of presentation and content giving developers the ability to reuse forms for multiple platforms and devices (e.g. PDAs, cell phones, etc.). From a W3C XForms press release:

By splitting traditional HTML forms into three parts—XForms model, instance data, and the XForms user interface—XForms cleanly separates presentation from content. This separation brings new advantages:

• Reuse: XForms modules can be reused independently of the information they collect
• Device independence: user interface controls are abstract—that is, their generic features are the only thing indicated—so they can easily be delivered to different devices with different capabilities
• Accessibility: separation of presentation from content leaves information more readily available for users of assistive technologies; in addition, the user interface controls encapsulate all relevant metadata such as labels, thereby enhancing accessibility of the application when using different modalities.

Currently the XForms standard is not supported by any browser, though plugins exist for Windows Internet Explorer and Firefox 2.0 (a version of the plugin for Firefox 1.5 exists but is incompatible with any v1.5 updates). KBenetos 11:24, 30 January 2007 (MET) has not yet tested any of these plugins.

Links

• XForms in Firefox - a good intro to XForms and tutorial on installing and using XForms with Firefox.
• The Forms Working Group at W3C
• XForms for HTML Authors