Glossary
XFA Specification
content type element — document object model (DOM)
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content type element
A content type element defines the type of the
data in the parent content element. It may also
include default data or un-changeable data, which
is used when the form is displayed. Examples of
such datatype elements are
date
decimal
image
current record
It is possible to read and process the data
document one record at a time rather than loading
it all into memory at once. When operating in this
mode the record which is currently being
processed is called the current record. Records
immediately preceding and following the current
record may also be loaded, depending upon the
setting of a configuration option. When record
processing is not being done the current record
should be understood as including the entire data
document. See
“Creating, Updating, and
Unloading a Basic XFA Data DOM” on page 113
more information about record processing.
of the data. This feature also retains the structure
of the XML Data DOM and the values of objects in
the XML Data DOM that are not used used in the
XFA Form DOM.
data loader
A program or subsystem responsible for loading
data from an XML data document into the XFA
Data DOM.
data unloader
A program or subsystem responsible for unloading
data from the XFA Data DOM into a new XML data
document.
data value
A data value is an object in the XFA Data DOM that
corresponds to an element holding character data
(and possibly other elements) in an XML data
document. Within the XFA Data DOM leaf nodes
are usually data values. A data value may have
other data values descended from it but it must
not have any data group descended from it.
date/time format style
A locale-independent style of representing date or
time. Supported date and time styles include
short, medium, long, and full. One date style is
designated the default, as is one time style. The
date/time format styles may be defined in the
localeSet element, described in“The
Element” on page 149.
default locale
See
“ambient locale”.
default mapping rule
A rule that governs, by default, how an XML data
document is mapped to an XFA Data DOM.
document
An serialized XML tree. A document is typically
stored as a file.
document object model (DOM)
A Data Object Model is an in-memory
representation of data as a tree of objects. An
object which belongs to a DOM may be referred to
as a “node” in order to emphasize its role as a tree
D
data binding (merging)
The process of merging the Data DOM with the
Template DOM.
Data DOM (XFA Data DOM)
The Data DOM is the tree-structured
representation of user data. During the data
binding process, the Data DOM supplies the
content for fields in the merged form. The term
Data DOM
differs from the XML Data DOM.
data group
A data group is an object in the XFA Data DOM that
corresponds to an element holding other elements
(as opposed to character data) in an XML data
document. Within the XFA Data DOM interior
nodes are usually data groups. A data group may
have other data groups and/or data values
descended from it.
data independence
An XFA feature that allows a form designer to
change a template without requiring that
corresponding changes be made to the structure