Lesson 9: Using the C++ XML DSO

[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.]

What is the C++ XML DSO?

Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5 ships with a C++ Data Source Object (DSO) that can be used to bind XML to HTML. Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4 shipped with a Java XML DSO that is still supported in Internet Explorer 5; however, the new C++ DSO gives you better performance and the ability to bind directly to an XML data island.

The C++ DSO provides you with the ability to create XML-driven Web applications in a completely declarative fashion, although it is still possible to write scripts against the XML document object. With the C++ DSO, both the ActiveX® Data Object (ADO) and XML object models are available to you.

How do I bind XML to HTML?

Let's say you have the following XML file:

<universities>
  <university>
    <name>UCSB</name>
    <location>Santa Barbara, CA</location>
  </university>
  <university>
    <name>University of Texas at Arlington</name>
    <location>Arlington, TX</location>
  </university>
  <university>
    <name>USM</name>
    <location>Hattiesburg, MS</location>
  </university>
  <university>
    <name>Baylor</name>
    <location>Waco, TX</location>
  </university>
</universities>

You can bind this XML to a repeating table with the following HTML:

<XML ID=xmlDoc src="universities.xml"></XML>
<TABLE DATASRC="#xmlDoc" BORDER=1> 
  <THEAD><TH>NAME</TH><TH>LOCATION</TH></THEAD>
  <TR>
    <TD><SPAN DATAFLD="name"></SPAN></TD>
    <TD><SPAN DATAFLD="location"></SPAN></TD> 
  </TR>
</TABLE>

If you're running Internet Explorer 5, click the button below to view the table created.

There's no need for an APPLET or OBJECT tag; the XML DSO simply does all the work for you.