- Focus
- The InfoPath application is focused on providing a superb visual environment, of similar quality to the rest of the Microsoft Office System suite, for creating and filling out forms. In contrast, the XForms specification is designed to encourage implementations not to focus exclusively on visual media, but rather to define only the intent behind various data-gathering controls. The XForms specification gives implementations wide latitude in choices relating to how a particular form control can be implemented, though new CSS properties can narrow down the specific appearance of a form control. Additionally, while XForms is designed to be readily produced by automated tools, InfoPath appears to be put together in such a way that only mouse-designed forms are readily possible.
- Target Audience
- The recommended system requirements for InfoPath demand a fairly modern Intel-compatible computer: a Pentium III or better as well as Microsoft Windows 2000 (with Service Pack 3) or greater. Further, the software is bundled only in the Enterprise version of Office System, which will in practice be most often used by larger, more Microsoft-committed organizations. By contrast, the XForms specification was designed to work on the broadest possible range of devices, from tiny phones and PDAs to beefy servers. XForms software is being made available in a variety of packages, both open source and commercial, on an assortment of platforms.
- Scope
- XForms encourages development using a defined declarative XML syntax, while InfoPath, like HTML forms, continues to encourage the deployment of script. Some interesting differences are also found in the choices of form controls supported. For example, InfoPath includes ordered and unordered lists as a form control, but doesn't support the equivalent of a multiple selection or free entry select form control (combobox).
A Word on Standards
InfoPath is built upon an impressive list of standard technologies, including WXS, DOM, and XSLT. For web developers modifying existing InfoPath content, such a design can be of great assistance. Other design decisions in InfoPath, however, tend to reduce the ability to use InfoPath with non-Microsoft browsers, platforms, or servers. For example, any investment in designing InfoPath solutions can be difficult to recoup in the face of changing to a different set of tools, no matter how standards-compliant they are.
A Real-World Example
Despite the differences, comparisons between XForms and InfoPath have been inevitable. A chapter in XForms Essentials examines a UBL purchase order application. It is possible to recreate that application in InfoPath and thus compare the results. Doing so is largely a hand-to-mouse experience with the InfoPath application. The result is shown in Figure 1.
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| The design view of Microsoft InfoPath (click for larger image) |
