Wednesday, June 18, 2003, 2:05:02 PM, you wrote: IS> Ok, I've taken my first XML course, so I know how to create a simple XML IS> document validate it against a DTD or schema and then display it nicely with IS> either CSS or XSL.
Class? <insert rant about useless teachers> :) IS> I am now trying my first real world example, and I am finding it very IS> frustrating. Anybody out there try this stuff yet. What I want to do, is IS> create a company phone directory with multiple views. I can create the XML IS> document with everybody's name, extension and department. Now I want to IS> display this to users in a view of their choice. I want to allow a user to IS> view the data sorted by last name, first name or department (with display IS> and printer friendly versions of each for a total of 6 views). If this is to be viewed in a browser, I would use javascript to apply different transformations depending on the users choice. I would create 6 different xls files to do this, or perhaps go the DOM route and transform it by hand if I was in the mood for some heavy js. The other possibility is to simply, like you say, create 6 xml files referencing 6 different xls files. IS> HOW! HOW!! HOW!!! Do I do this in XML? This would be (and already is) a IS> fairly simple task in pure CFML. Pass a variable or two into a CFM file and IS> rearrange the data accordingly. But I can not figure out a way to allow a IS> user to choose a different view of the data and rearrange it, without IS> creating separate XML documents for each view and then is what the point of IS> the XML in the first place? Well with CF it would be easier...but isn't everything? ;) I think the assignment assumes you don't know CF though. XML is a data format, and nothing else. XSL is what you use to transform that data into HTML, XHTML, etc. Go grab the O'Reilly XSLT book (java bias), or the Wrox Beginning XML book (msxml bias). I love both of them. Any book will do, but those two are popular. Since MVC has been all the rage, maybe an analogy? XML = model XSL = controller CSS = view -- jon mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 Signup for the Fusion Authority news alert and keep up with the latest news in ColdFusion and related topics. http://www.fusionauthority.com/signup.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
