Understanding XForms, cont.

Present-Day Limitations

Currently, Web forms are used as a way to exchange bidirectional data over the Web. However, as e-commerce grows on the Web, so does the need to offer more complex ways to exchange data. For example, Company A might want to place a purchase order with Company B. However, Company A might want to place some conditions on that exchange. Without a common language, namely XML, this process gets difficult and requires serious programming. Even then, many limitations exist.

In addition to the limitations of data exchange, there are other concerns regarding present-day HTML limitations: namely, the capability to separate data from presentation. Current form controls tie presentation closely to the involved data. Although this may not pose a serious problem with simple forms, such as the one in Example 8.1, it does create a mess when complex forms are needed to drive e-commerce for major companies.

After all, forms have not seen the editing block for over seven years!