Book Image

Backbase 4 RIA Development

Book Image

Backbase 4 RIA Development

Overview of this book

Backbase is a very powerful and complex JavaScript library, with many user interface components to help make web development easier. It allows the development of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) that run within all major browsers but its powers and complexity mean that the choice of component can be overwhelming. Understanding when and how to use the right component might not always be straightforward. This book makes that easier. This is a practical book that teaches you how to use the Backbase Client Framework effectively, with a complete overview and many examples. A core developer of the framework puts the technologies used into a wider perspective of existing web standards and a seasoned software architect explains why XML-based UI definition produces better web applications. The transparent use of AJAX technologies, for example to submit forms, or to retrieve updates for data grids, can be taken for granted with the Backbase framework. Packed with examples, the book shows you how to get the most from the library of UI components, and then extend the library with its own custom language. With this book in hand, it is easy to enable AJAX within your web application. You will be able to use the Backbase framework effectively, from basic applications to complex, custom-defined UI components. This book contains a complete overview of all the UI libraries available within the Backbase framework and shows examples for each element described. The Backbase framework offers an innovative Tag Definition Language (TDL), which allows developers to create new UI components that can be used as XML elements, in the same way as using the built-in GUI library. Using TDL brings considerable development advantages, and this book explains how. Significant attention is also given to architectural aspects of designing a web-application, showing sample applications using a model-view-controller approach.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
Backbase 4 RIA Development
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
Preface

XPath


XML Path Language (XPath) is a W3C language for targeting parts of an XML document. When working declaratively, XPath gives you a powerful mechanism to select and operate on the DOM nodes of your application. It also gives you the ability to perform logic and basic programming functions.

In the Backbase framework, you will generally use XPath when working with XEL or with declarative command attribute values.

Note

For example, the frequently used select attribute is set to accept an XPath expression to target an element.

Here is a code fragment that targets all div elements in the application: select="//div".

XEL and command attributes are set by default to be in "string mode", where the accepted value is a string, or in "XPath mode", where the accepted value is an XPath expression. In the API Reference, the attribute type will state the default mode.

The Backbase framework supports XPath version 1.0 (and some 2.0 functions). When you can use an XPath expression as an attribute value,...