The XML Files / WebDeveloper.com ®

XML Gets Into Action (Sheets)
Part 2

Essentially, both Microsoft's Behaviors proposal and Netscape's Cascading Action Sheets are ways to turn scripted functions into programmatic components. This maps very nicely into the same conceptual framework implied by HTML/XML and Cascading Style Sheets/eXtensible Style Language.

Both approaches are similar at a high level and build on work that each company did in the past. Microsoft's Behaviors are the natural outgrowth of the Scriptlet technology that it introduced in IE4. Netscape's Action Sheets are a bit more of a departure from its previous work, but the proposal grows organically out of the JavaScript component work that was part of LiveWire.

First let's deal with the similarities. Both technologies are ways of packaging script in a generic way so that it can be reused without change in different contexts. Both approaches use XML to define the interfaces that the component will expose to handle calls from a document based on an event. Of course, the details vary considerably.

Action Sheets hew much more closely to the style of CSS than do Behaviors, a fact that is reflected in the W3C's decision to offer the proposal to the Style Sheet Activity for further consideration. This is because they look and feel more like style sheets than they do components, though they are virtually identical.

Like global stylesheets, Action Sheets are contained in separate files from an HTML or XML document. They can also import other Action Sheet files to "borrow" events using a system similar to the CSS cascade. In fact, from the point of view of a document author, an action sheet looks and feels pretty much exactly like a style sheet.

The actual Action Sheet file is constructed from a few XML elements and scripted functions. The basic CAS elements are ACTION and SCRIPT. ACTION defines the interface that will be called from a document and hooks it up to a function. SCRIPT contains the function itself.

So, for instance, if you wanted to create a simple Action Sheet that would respond to an OnClick event to change the background color of any block level element to yellow, your basic script could look like this:

<!DOCTYPE actionsheet system "asheet.dtd" [] > <ACTIONSHEET> <ACTION type="text/cas" codetype="text/javascript"> .hilight { OnClick: "changeColor(event)"} </ACTION> <SCRIPT type="text/javascript"> function changeColor(event) { var thingColor = event.target.style.background; if (thingColor == "yellow") thingColor == "none"; else thingColor == "yellow"; } </SCRIPT> </ACTIONSHEET>

Whitepapers and eBooks

Adobe Article: Adobe Helps PHP Developers Create Rich Internet Applications
Adobe Article: Java Developers Finding a Home at Adobe Flex
IBM Articles: A Smarter Business Needs Smarter Technology
Intel Xeon Processor Increases Server Efficiency and Capabilities
Intel Tech Brief: Automated Energy Efficiency for the Intelligent Enterprise
Oracle Whitepaper: Using Oracle In-Memory Database Cache to Accelerate the Oracle Database
Oracle Whitepapers - Innovation for IT Leaders
Avaya Article: Communication-Enabled Mashups--Empowering Both Business Owners and IT

Internet.com eBook: IT Manager's Guide to Social Networking
Internet.com eBook: Get Ready for Windows 7
Microsoft Article: Expression Web 3--New Features for PHP Developers
Whitepapers: Manage Your Business Infrastracture with IBM
Whitepaper: Maximize Your Storage Investment with HP
Internet.com eBook: Becoming a Better Project Manager
Microsoft Article: Stress Free and Efficient Designer/Developer Collaboration
MORE WHITEPAPERS, EBOOKS, AND ARTICLES

Webcasts

Downloads and eKits

Tutorials and Demos

XML Gets Into Action (Sheets)Part 2

Whitepapers and eBooks

Webcasts

Downloads and eKits

Tutorials and Demos

XML Gets Into Action (Sheets)
Part 2