WDDX has been around since 4.0, actually.
To try to answer the original question, as far as XML and WDDX are concerned:
The best way to visualize XML is to see it as a framework, a framework which we can
use to "structurize" data. In doing so, we separate the content from the design. In
this respect
it is much like a database. However, XML goes beyond that. Through the use of DTD's,
you can define your own XML "languages". Examples of this are WAP (cellphones), RDF
(syndicated
news feeds), and WDDX. WDDX is Allaire's attempt at utilizing XML to bring some
"standardization" to data structures that you deal with on an everyday basis as a
programmer: query
sets, arrays, structures, etc. Since it is based on XML, WDDX applies to more than
just Cold Fusion: any language can utilize it that knows how to parse through WDDX's
XML structure:
ASP, Perl, PHP3, etc. (I finally got ASP to parse Moreover.com's WDDX newsfeeds.. woo
hoo!!!!) For more detailed info, go to www.wddx.org
So how does this fit into CF? Well, CF is merely a programming language. As such, it
has the ability to parse data. It doesn't quite have "XML" functionality built in,
though it
can natively understand one XML-defined language: WDDX. This doesn't do anything for
other XML-defined languages. You must implement an XML parser (such as CFX_XML) or
utilize a
custom parser (either write your own or utilize custom tags, such as CF_RSS2CF)
XML is one of those great buzz words, and as a result, there's been a lot of confusion
about what it means and what it can do. That's before you throw in terms such as
"WDDX" and
marketing terms like "XML support". So remember that XML is only a means to defined
structured data, and that WDDX is only one of many potential definitions.
Sorry for the long-winded response, but it was a "long-winded" question wasn't it ? :)
--
Billy Cravens
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Anthony Geoghegan wrote:
> WDDX is the facility provided by CF in version 4.5 onwards
> Regards,
> Anthony Geoghegan
> Lead Developer,
> IFTN
> www.wow.ie
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