wax(3) | AFNIX Service | wax(3) |
wax - web application extension service
The Web Application Extensionservice is an original implementation that provides the support for low level HTTP transaction as well as high level XHTML page generation. The service combines various modules and provides access to the modern generation of web contents.
Page service objects
The XhtmlRootclass is the primary interface to generate xhtml page. The class
is derived from the XmlRootclass and the Mimeobject. for this reason,
creating a xhtml page is equivalent to add xml nodes to the page. The xhtml
version is assumed to be 1.1.
Page creation
The XhtmlRootconstructor takes a string argument which is the title page. When
the root page is created, a headand bodynodes are automatically created.
Once created, it is possible to retrieve the head and body nodes from the
root node. The head and body nodes are part of the htmlnode which is
automatically instantiated as a XhtmlHtmlobject. The html node can always be
retrieved from the root node with the get-childxml method.
# create a new xhtml page const page (afnix:wax:XhtmlRoot "AFNIX wax service") # get the head node const head (page:get-head) # get the body node const body (page:get-body)
The head and body nodes are part of the htmlnode which is automatically instantiated as a XhtmlHtmlobject. The html node can always be retrieved from the root node with the get-childxml method. The root methods get-headand get-bodyare convenient methods that ease the page design by eliminating the references to the html node.
# create a new xhtml page const page (afnix:wax:XhtmlRoot "AFNIX wax service") # get the html node const html (page:get-child "html") # get the head node const head (html:get-head) # get the body node const body (html:get-body)
Page header
The XhtmlHeadclass is the xml node that handles the xhtml head. The object is
automatically created when calling the XhtmlRootconstructor. During the
construction process, the head is automatically set with a title. Once
created, the head can be filled with meta information and styles. The
add-metamethod is designed to add meta information, while the add-styleadd a
link node with a style reference to the head.
# add a meta tag head:add-meta "copyright" "© 2000" # add a style path head:add-style "/style.css"
The add-metamethod adds a XhtmlMetaobject which is a xml tag node. The first argument is the meta descriptor while the second argument is the meta content. Note that the add-metamethod can be simulated by calling the XhtmlMetaconstructor and then adding the node to the head node.
# create a meta node const node (afnix:wax:XhtmlMeta "copyright" "© 2013") # add the node to the head head:add node
The add-stylemethod adds a XhtmlStyleobject which is a xml tag node. The string argument is the url style sheet path which gets automatically transformed to the form @import(url). Note that the add-stylemethod can be simulated by calling the XhtmlStyleconstructor and then adding the node to the head node.
# create a style node const node (afnix:wax:XhtmlStyle "/style.css") # add the node to the head head:add node
Page body
The XhtmlBodyclass is the xml node that handles the xhtml body. The object is
automatically created when calling the XhtmlRootconstructor. Once created,
the body node can be filled with any valid xhtml node. Since the node are
initially xml tag node, it is always possible to create a tag by name and
set the attributes and child nodes manually.
# create a new xhtml page const page (afnix:wax:XhtmlRoot "AFNIX wax service") # get the body node const body (page:get-body) # add a node body:add-child node
Page emission
Since the XhtmlRootobject is a xml root node, the node can be used to write
the complete hierarchy. The xml node node provides the writemethod that
write a xml tree into a buffer of an output stream.
# create a new xhtml page const page (afnix:wax:XhtmlRoot "AFNIX wax service") # write to the output stream page:write
Another mechanism for writing the page is to use the fact that the XhtmlRootclass implements also the Mimeinterface. With this in mind, the XhtmlRootcan be used within the HttpReply. This method is particularly useful when writing automated page generation, such like CGI scripts.
# create a new xhtml page const page (afnix:wax:XhtmlRoot "AFNIX wax service") # create an http reply object const reply (afnix:wax:HttpReply) # write the page as a mime object reply:add-buffer page # write the result to the output reply:write
Page design objects
The wax service moduleis designed to provide several object that ease the task
of creating a xhtml page. Such objects range from comment to table. Most of
the time, the construction is simple the resulting node only need to be
added to the page tree. When it comes to add text, the problem is becoming
more subtle and is discussed later in this section.
Comment node
Adding a comment is done with the XmlCommentclass which take the comment
string in the constructor. Once created, the comment node can be added to
the tree.
# add a comment to the body node body:add-child (
afnix:xml:XmlComment "this is a comment")
Node style class
When the xhtml page is combined with the cascaded style sheet (CSS), the xhtml
node tag often uses a classname to refer to a particular style. The class
styleis just a node attribute which can be set with the add-attributemethod.
However, most of the time, the library provides object which have the style
as the first argument in the constructor. For example, the
XhtmlDivconstructor take 0 or one argument. With one argument, the string
argument is used as the style attribute.
# create a xhtml div with a class attribute const div (afnix:wax:XhtmlDiv "nice") # create a xhtml div and set the class manually const div (afnix:wax:XhtmlDiv) div:set-attribute "class" "nice"
Adding text paragraph
Adding text to a page is not a trivial task when it comes to deal with text
style. By default, a piece of text is stored in the XmlTextnode. Using this
node is easy. However, in a programming context, its use can become heavy.
For this reason, all xml nodes provide the parsemethod which can be used to
add a xml tree to the calling node. When it comes to add text that includes
rendering tag, this method is quite handy.
# add a text with some piece in italic node:parse "this is a <i>simple</i> method"
The XhtmlParanode is the preferred node for adding text to a xhtml page. The node takes optionally the style name in the constructor. A boolean flag can also be used to create an empty paragraph node.
# create a paragraph node with a style const p (afnix:wax:XhtmlPara "title") # add some text p:parse "the paragraph text"
Adding reference
Adding reference or hyperlink to a page is achieved with the XhtmlRefclass.
Most of the time, the object is built with a uri and a text. when the node
has been created, the node can be added to the page tree.
# create a hyperlink const node (
afnix:wax:XhtmlRef "http://www.afnix.org" "afnix") # add the node in a paragraph p:add-child node
Formatting elements
The XhtmlDivand XhtmlHrclasses are the basic formatting xhtml elements. The
XhtmlDivis a grouping element and the XhtmlHris a simple horizontal ruler
element. Both classes take 0 or one argument which is the style name.
# create a div element const div (afnix:wax:XhtmlDiv "menu") # create a ruler element const hr (afnix:wax:XhtmlHr)
Managing table
The wax service moduleprovides an extensive support of he xhtml table element.
There are basically two strategies for creating a table. One is to use the
html elements or the other is to use a print table object and automatically
feed the xhtml table. The first method provides a better control while the
second one is easier to use.
The table element
The XhtmlTableclass is the class that manages xhtml table. As usual, a default
style name can be specified in the constructor. Eventually, a default table
row and table data default style can also be specified. Such default value
are used when creating a new row with the new-rowmethod.
# create an element with a default tr and th/td style const tbl (afnix:wax:XhtmlTable "text" "text" "text") # get a new row with a default style const tr (tbl:new-row)
In the previous example, a table is created with a default style for the table row. When a new row is created, the default style is used for that row. If there is no default style, the row is created without a style. Note that the new-rowmethod takes also a style argument that overwrites the default one.
Building the table
A table is built by adding row and data element into the rows. A row is
created with the new-rowmethod or the object can be constructed directly and
added to the node with the add-childmethod. The XhtmlTrclass is the table
row class.
# get a new row with a default style trans tr (tbl:new-row) # create a row directly trans tr (afnix:wax:XhtmlTr "text")
When a row has been created, the data can be added to the row. Normally, the new-datamethod is used to create a new table data element. If a default style is defined in the table row, the table data element is built with that style. The new-headmethod can also be used to create table header element. Again, if a default table header style exists in the table row, the element is built with that style. The XhtmlTdclass is the table data class and the XhtmlThclass is the table header class.
# get a new data element trans td (tr:new-data) # create new head element trans th (tr:new-head)
When the table data node has been created, the parsemethod or the add-childmethod can be called to add other nodes. another method for building the table is to use the add-tablemethod which uses a print table object. In such case, the table rows and data elements are automatically added in the table.
The table structure
The table can be designed directly with table rows with table headers and
table data elements. Another method, which is more structured is to use the
table head, table body and table footer elements. The XhtmlTheadclass is the
table head element class. The XhtmlTbodyclass is the table body element
class. The XhtmlTfootclass is the table footer element class. These classes
behaves exactly like the XhtmlTableand are in fact all derived from the
XhtmlTelemclass.
# create a xhtml table const table (afnix:wax:XhtmlTable "text") # create a table body const tbody (
afnix:wax:XhtmlTable "text" "text" "text") # add a print tbl in the body tbody:add-table ptbl # add the body to the table table:ad-child tbody
A table caption node can also be set with the set-captionmethod. The method simply creates a XhtmlCaptionnode and adds it to the table. The caption text is part of the method call which is used by the caption node constructor. It is also possible to create the caption node by calling the XhtmlCaptionconstructor and adding it to the table with he add-childmethod.
# create a xhtml table const table (afnix:wax:XhtmlTable "text") # set a table caption table:set-caption "the afnix table system"
The table structure can also be defined with the XhtmlCgrclass which corresponds to the xhtml column group element. The column group element is designed to support the colelement that formats the table column.
# create a table const table (afnix:wax:XhtmlTable "text") # set the table with to 100% table:add-attribute "width" "100%" # create a column group table:add-child (const xcgr (afnix:wax:XhtmlCgr)) # add a column with 30% width cgr:add-child (afnix:wax:XhtmlCol "30%") # add a column with 70% width cgr:add-child (afnix:wax:XhtmlCol "70%")
XhtmlRoot
The XhtmlRootclass is a xml root node used for the design of a xhtml document
page. At construction, the root node is initialized with a default xml
processing instruction, and xhmtl node with head and body The head and body
nodes can be used to add more nodes in order to build the document. The
construction argument is the page title.
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XhtmlHtml
The XhtmlHtmlclass is a xhtml html node used for the design of a xhtml
document page. At construction, the html node is initialized with a head
node and a body node. Because a valid xhtml document must contain a title
the constructor takes at least a title argument.
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XhtmlHead
The XhtmlHeadclass is a xhtml head node used for the design of a xhtml
document page. At construction, the head node is initialized with a with a
title node. The class is designed to hold as well meta nodes and style
nodes.
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XhtmlBody
The XhtmlBodyclass is a xhtml body node used for the design of a xhtml
document page. The class is designed to be filled with other xhtml
nodes.
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XhtmlTitle
The XhtmlTitleclass is a xhtml title node used in the head node.
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XhtmlMeta
The XhtmlMetaclass is a xhtml meta node used in the head node. The meta data
node is an empty node with two attributes which are the descriptor and
content value. The meta data is stored internally as a xml attribute.
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XhtmlLink
The XhtmlLinkclass is a xhtml link node used in the head node. The link node
is an empty node with several attributes. The most important one is the
'href' attribute that specifies the link uri. Other attributes like 'type'
or 'rel' can also be set at construction.
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XhtmlStyle
The XhtmlStyleclass is a xhtml style node used in the head node. The style
node is built with a xml text node that holds the formatted url string.
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XhtmlScript
The XhtmlScriptclass is a xhtml script node used in the head and body node.
The script node is built with a xml tag node that holds the script content.
Sometimes it is recommended to place the script inside a CDATA node that is
stored as a child node of the script node. A boolean flag controls this
feature at construction.
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XhtmlPara
The XhtmlParaclass is a xhtml paragraph node used in the body element of a
xhtml page. The paragraph node can be created with a style name or as an
empty node.
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Constructors
XhtmlEmph
The XhtmlEmphclass is a xhtml emphasize node used in the body element of a
xhtml page. The emphasize node can be created with a style name.
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XhtmlRef
The XhtmlRefclass is a xhtml reference node used in the body element of a
xhtml page. The node can be used to create hyperlink that references object
by a uri.
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XhtmlImg
The XhtmlImgclass is a xhtml image node used in the html body. The image node
is an empty node with several attributes including the image source, the
image width and height and an alternate string.
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XhtmlDiv
The XhtmlDivclass is a xhtml divnode used in the body element of a xhtml page.
The divnode is a xhtml grouping element.
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XhtmlPre
The XhtmlPreclass is a xhtml prenode used in the body element of a xhtml page.
The prenode is a xhtml formatting element.
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XhtmlHr
The XhtmlHrclass is a xhtml hrnode used in the body element of a xhtml page.
The hrnode is a xhtml horizontal ruler element.
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XhtmlCgr
The XhtmlCgrclass is a xhtml column group node used in the table element. The
column group is designed to hold the column definition bound by the
XhtmlColclass.
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XhtmlCol
The XhtmlColclass is a xhtml column node used in the table column group
element.
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XhtmlTh
The XhtmlThclass is a xhtml thnode used in the table row. The object can be
built with a style name.
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XhtmlTd
The XhtmlTdclass is a xhtml tdnode used in the table row. The object can be
built with a style name.
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XhtmlTr
The XhtmlTrclass is a xhtml trnode used in the table node. The table row node
is designed to accumulate table head or table data nodes.
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XhtmlTelem
The XhtmlTelemclass is an abstract class that implements the node behavior for
the table head, body, foot and table elements. The table element node is
designed to accumulate table row nodes. This class cannot be constructed
directly.
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XhtmlThead
The XhtmlTheadclass is a xhtml thead node. The table head node is designed to
accumulate table rows nodes. The class acts almost like the xhtml table
class.
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XhtmlTbody
The XhtmlTbodyclass is a xhtml tbody node. The table body node is designed to
accumulate table rows nodes. The class acts almost like the xhtml table
class.
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XhtmlTfoot
The XhtmlTfootclass is a xhtml tfoot node. The table foot node is designed to
accumulate table rows nodes. The class acts almost like the xhtml table
class.
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XhtmlTable
The XhtmlTableclass is a xhtml table node. The table node is designed to
accumulate table row nodes or column group nodes. The table can also be
designed with a table head, body and foot nodes.
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XmlMime
The XmlMimeclass is a generic xml mime document class. The class is used to
construct a mime version of a xml document which can be obtained from a file
name, or an input stream. By default, the mime type 'application/xml'.
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XhtmlMime
The XhtmlMimeclass is a generic xhtml mime document class. The class is used
to construct a mime version of a xhtml document which can be obtained from a
file name, or an input stream. By default, the mime type
'application/xhtml+xml'.
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XhtmlForm
The XhtmlFormclass is a generic xhtml form object. A form is defined by an
action and a method. When the form is created, it is appropriate to add
other xhtml objects.
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XhtmlText
The XhtmlTextclass is a generic xhtml input text object. An input text is a
form element which is used to capture text in a field. The text value is
attached with the name attribute.
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XhtmlSubmit
The XhtmlSubmitclass is a generic xhtml input submit object. An input submit
object is a button which is used inside a form generally as a condition to
activate the form.
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2018-07-20 | AFNIX |