XSLTForms Source Management

About

XForms to XHTML+Javascript (AJAX) conversion based on a unique XSL transformation. Suitable server-side (PHP) or client-side (Internet Explorer, Mozilla FireFox, Opera, Safari) browser treatment where an XSLT 1.0 engine is available.

Source files

XSLTForms is composed of the following files :

• xsltforms.xsl
• xsltforms.js
• xsltforms.css

Those files are relatively big and complex. They are generated from numerous components.

Components

Components are elementary source elements. Each is stored as an XML document with metadata, unit tests and the source itself.

Components can be composed of other components.

The main components for XSLTForms are :

• xsltforms.xsl.xml
• xsltforms.js.xml
• xsltforms.css.xml

tXs

tXs is an XML script engine written in PHP 5. It is composed of an unique file named txs.php while scripts usually have a .txs extension.

First, install Apache+PHP5 locally, and activate the Rewrite Module.

Get all the XSLTForms files from SVN server into a subfolder (named XSLTFormsRoot for example) of the DocumentRoot folder (a .htaccess file should be present in the XSLTFormsRoot folder).

To check that tXs is correctly installed, get http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/txs/txs.php with a browser : the default script, named echo.txs should run and the response should be an XHTML page with tXs Echo Script as title.

To check that URL rewriting is correctly installed, get http:/localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/txs/echo.txs with a browser : the response should be an XHTML page with tXs Echo Script as title.

Dynamic build of XSLTForms files

Because of URL rewriting, .js, .xsl and .css files are not directly delivered. Instead, the cm.txs script is run : it collects every source within the corresponding component and sub-components. For the browser, it's exactly as if it was a real file.

So, main files are obtains with URLs like those :

• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/xsltforms.xsl
• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/xsltforms.js
• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/xsltforms.css

Static build of XSLTForms files

To build a component, just add ?build at the end of the component URI. The resulting file is written in the build folder at the same level as the src folder.

So, main files are built with URLs like those :

• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/xsltforms.xsl?build
• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/xsltforms.js?build
• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/xsltforms.css?build

Unit tests

Unit tests are based on JsUnitTest.

To run associated unit tests for a component, just add ?ut at the end of the component URI.

Examples :

• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/xsltforms.js?ut
• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/xsltforms.xsl?ut
• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/js/types/TypeDefs.js?ut

Test Suites

Test Suites are stored separately from components in the testsuite folder.

To run tests with trunk or branches components, the testsuite path has to be added after the src path to main components (xsltforms.*.xml). tXs scripts are there to adapt each test to XSLTForms requirements (add the processing instruction for the XSLT transformation, change the submission links, ...).

Examples :

• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/testsuite/Xforms1.1/Edition1/driverPages/html/
• http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/testsuite/Xforms1.1/Edition1/Chapt02/2.4.a.xhtml

Feature switching

Feature switching is based on files named *options.xml to be placed in the same folder as main components (xsltforms.*.xml). Options are processing instructions to add in the XML document to permit the XSLT transformation to interpret them.

Example : http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/nocssoptions.xml.

Then, /*options has to be put just before /testsuite in the URL to activate the corresponding options.

Example : http://localhost/XSLTFormsRoot/trunk/src/nocssoptions/testsuite/Xforms1.1/Edition1/Chapt02/2.4.a.xhtml