FileMaker Pro 6 Developers Guide to XML/XSL (Wordware Library for FileMaker)

Overview

Starting with FileMaker Pro 5.0, XML is published by Web Companion, a plug-in that extends the functionality of FileMaker Pro. By issuing particular commands to FileMaker Pro Web Companion, the field names, field content, and some layout information is returned as well-formed and valid XML results.

In this chapter you will learn how to set up FileMaker Pro Unlimited for optimal XML web publishing. A complete overview, with examples, of the XML commands and results used by FileMaker Pro is included here along with considerations for specific field types. Some Claris Dynamic Markup Language (CDML) will be introduced in this chapter, but you will find more about CDML and how it integrates with HTML and XML in Chapter 6. If you are not web publishing your databases on the Internet but are considering using a web published FileMaker Pro database as an XML import source, you should read this chapter.

This chapter is full of options for using FileMaker Pro for XML web publishing and sharing. This chapter begins with "Setting Up Web Companion for XML Requests." If you have already done this successfully and wish to learn about the XML commands and results, jump right to "XML Request Commands for Web Companion." This chapter also covers Web Companion security issues, so you may wish to review those. First, a note about browsers needs to be discussed.