Architecture of Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003

Microsoft® Office InfoPath™ is a new desktop application that enables teams and organizations to efficiently gather the information they need through rich, dynamic forms. This architecture includes distinctive design features that provide easy structured authoring and flexible viewing of XML documents. For a general overview of InfoPath, see the Technology Overview of Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003.

InfoPath has the following core design goals and main architectural features:

• Build a hybrid tool combining the best of a document editing experience with the rigorous data-capture capabilities of forms. End users can see and modify abstract data structures using editing views in a traditional word-processing environment that provides familiar features such as rich text formatting, table and picture support, and AutoCorrect. The end user can dynamically extend a form, validly adding optional and repeating elements and attributes without seeing the elements and attributes.
• For input and output, use XML documents belonging to a custom-defined schema. InfoPath enables ordinary end users to read and create semi-structured XML documents belonging to your custom-defined XML schema. Users can then submit data in XML format either through SOAP or through the HTTP POST method. InfoPath uses and produces XML schemas and XSL Transformation (XSLT) files, and is integrated with XML Web services standards.
• Provide structural editing. InfoPath enables gathering structured, validated XML information that can be repurposed and connected to the overall enterprise, putting easy creation of XML content into the hands of ordinary end users. To present an easy user interface for visualizing and editing hierarchical XML data, nested field groups and fields in views are mapped to the Document Object Model (DOM) tree, and a context-sensitive drop-down menu in a view enables the end user to add or remove valid field groups. InfoPath supports custom-defined XML schemas, together with user interface customizations that comply with the schema. Industry-standard XML schema validation, additional custom declarative constraints, and support for script-based validation and business logic prevent data errors and ensure that the resulting XML documents fit your needs.
• Provide flexible views. To present an XML document in a way that makes the most sense for the end user, InfoPath uses XSLTs to enable the content of the editing views to be organized differently than the structure of the XML data. InfoPath adheres to the XML paradigm of separating the data in a document from the formatting, enabling rigorous, structured data capture.