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).