JAVASCRIPT

JavaScript Remote Scripting: Processing XML Files

In this article, you will learn how to use AJAX for reading and manipulating simple XML files, in order to implement a basic Web service. Specifically, you will learn how to develop a JavaScript application that fetches data from an XML file. By the end of this article, you will know the basics for using client-side parsed XML in your own applications.

Author Info:

By: Alejandro Gervasio

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Rating:

/ 12

October 05, 2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>READING XML FILES WITH AJAX</title>
<script type="text/javascript">
// initialize XMLHttpRequest object
var xmlobj=null;
var data=new Array();
// send http request
function sendRequest(doc){
    // check for existing requests
    if(xmlobj!=null&&xmlobj.readyState!=0&&xmlobj.readyState!=4){
        xmlobj.abort();
    }
    try{
        // instantiate object for Mozilla, Nestcape, etc.
        xmlobj=new XMLHttpRequest();
    }
    catch(e){
        try{
            // instantiate object for Internet Explorer
            xmlobj=new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.XMLHTTP');
        }
        catch(e){
            // Ajax is not supported by the browser
            xmlobj=null;
            return false;
        }
    }
    // assign state handler
    xmlobj.onreadystatechange=stateChecker;
    // open socket connection
    xmlobj.open('GET',doc,true);
    // send GET request
    xmlobj.send(null);
}
// check request status
function stateChecker(){
    // if request is completed
    if(xmlobj.readyState==4){
        // if status == 200 display text file
        if(xmlobj.status==200){
            // create data container
            createDataContainer();
            // read XML data
            data=xmlobj.responseXML.getElementsByTagName
('message');
// display XML data
            displayData();
        }
        else{
            alert('Failed to get response :'+ xmlobj.statusText);
        }
    }
}
// create data container
function createDataContainer(){
    var div=document.getElementById('container');
    if(div){return};
    var div=document.createElement('div');
    div.setAttribute('id','container');
    document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0].appendChild(div);
}
// display data at a given time interval
function displayData(){
    // reset data container
    document.getElementById('container').innerHTML='';
    var ul=document.createElement('ul');
    for(var i=0;i<data.length;i++){
        // create links
        var li=document.createElement('li');
        var a=document.createElement('a');
        // assign 'href' attribute
        a.setAttribute('href',data[i].getElementsByTagName('url')
[0].firstChild.nodeValue);
        // add link labels
        a.appendChild(document.createTextNode(data
[i].getElementsByTagName('title')[0].firstChild.nodeValue));
        li.appendChild(a);
        ul.appendChild(li);
    }
    document.getElementById('container').appendChild(ul);
    // update headlines each 1 hour
    setTimeout("sendRequest('news.xml')",5*1000);
}
// execute program when page is loaded
window.onload=function(){
    // check if browser is DOM compatible
    if(document.getElementById&&document.
getElementsByTagName&&document.createElement){
        // load XML file
        sendRequest('news.xml');
    }
}
</script>
<style type="text/css">
#container {
    background: #eee;
    padding: 5px;
    border: 1px solid #000;
}
li {
    margin-top: 5px;
}
a:link,a:visited {
    font: bold 11px Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
    color: #00f;
}
a:hover {
    color: #f00;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>

To wrap up

That’s it for now. Throughout this second part of the series, you’ve hopefully learned how to use AJAX for reading and manipulating simple XML files, in order to implement a basic Web service. Certainly, the concepts that I illustrated at the very beginning imply a challenge for developing richer applications that use remote scripting to provide users with a more interactive experience.

The third tutorial of the series goes one step further with remote scripting, by explaining its implementation through the use of fully-standard DOM methods, without getting a single foot into AJAX technology. Want to know more? Just wait for the next part!

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