Understanding XPages

For example, this XML code is for an XPages application that contains an edit box and two buttons:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xp:view xmlns:xp="http://www.ibm.com/xsp/core">
	<xp:this.data>
		<xp:dominoDocument var="document1" formName="create"></xp:dominoDocument>
	</xp:this.data>
	<xp:inputText id="inputText1" value="#{document1.subject}"></xp:inputText><xp:br></xp:br>
	<xp:button id="button1" value="Submit"><xp:eventHandler event="onclick" submit="true" 
		refreshMode="complete" immediate="false" save="true"></xp:eventHandler></xp:button>
	<xp:button id="button2" value="Cancel"><xp:eventHandler event="onclick" submit="true" 
		refreshMode="complete" immediate="true" save="false"></xp:eventHandler></xp:button>
	<xp:this.navigationRules>
		<xp:navigationRule outcome="xsp-success" viewId="/main.xsp"></xp:navigationRule>
	</xp:this.navigationRules>
</xp:view>

Here is a line-by-line explanation of what the example XML code means:

• xmlns:xp="http://www.ibm.com/xsp/core"

  Domino® defines controls and other artifacts in the namespace http://www.ibm.com/xsp/core using xp as the element abbreviation.

• xp:dominoDocument var="document1" formName="create"

  The XPages application is associated with the Domino® form named create.

• xp:inputText id="inputText1" value="#{document1.subject

  The input box is bound to the field named subject on the create form.

• xp:button id="button1" value="Submit", save="true", xp:navigationRule outcome="xsp-success" viewId="/main.xsp"

  When clicked, the first button causes a request to be sent to the server. The server saves the data from the input box as a new document based on the create form, and then sends another page named main to the client.

• id="button2" value="Cancel", save="false"

  When clicked, the second button also causes a request to be sent to the server. In this case, the server sends back the main page.

Domino® Designer provides a user interface (UI) that includes a navigator, an XPages editor, a Controls palette, a Properties tab, an Events tab, and other artifacts. The following shows how the page created by the previous XML code appears in the design mode of Domino® Designer:

Core controls include:

• Controls for obtaining input - Edit Box, Rich Text, Multiline Edit Box, List Box, Combo Box, Check Box, Radio Button, Check Box Group, Radio Button Group, Date Time Picker
• Controls for performing actions - Button, File Upload, File Download
• Controls for displaying - Link, Label, Computed Field, Image, Display Error, Display Errors, Pager
• Custom controls - Editable Area

Container controls include the following:

• Panel - creates a rectangle on the page for the inclusion of other controls
• Repeat - repeats controls a variable number of times
• Include Page - incorporates another XPage
• Table - creates a table with a fixed number of columns and rows
• View - incorporates a Domino® view
• Data Table - creates a table whose middle rows are variable in number and bound to a data collection
• Tabbed Panel - creates a set of overlapping panels each accessed by clicking a tab
• Section - creates collapsible panels

The programming interface is JavaScript™ that runs both on the server and the client:

• Client JavaScript™ attaches to events such as onclick, onblur, and onfocus. These scripts run on the web browser or Notes® client before it sends a request to the server and use the Web Document Object Model (DOM). You might create scripts, for example that verify that an input box has content or that confirms a server operation that removes data.
• Server JavaScript™ also attaches to events, but starts after the request passes to the server. In addition, server JavaScript™ can be used to compute control values, data binding, and properties. Server JavaScript™ has access to an extensive set of libraries, including one for the Domino® objects. These are the same Domino® objects accessible also through LotusScript® and Java™. They access the Domino® data store and manipulate the Domino® environment.

Also available in some contexts are simple actions and Expression Language (EL).