Web Forefront

Right off the bat in the abstract it reads like this : "XForms, reduces the number of round-trips to the server". Unless you have been on vacation for the last few months, you have surely heard of AJAX ("Asynchronous JavaScript and XML") and the magic it achieves providing lightning fast interfaces as though no round trip to the server was being made.( In case you have been on vacation, you can read my other entry on : AJAX : Demystifying the buzz for all platforms. ).

Form Controls are another important feature in XForms, and represent the means by which data introduced by an end user is validated through ordinary tags interpreted by a Browser. Unfortunately for XForms, application platforms like J2EE and .NET have already built ways around this predicament. For example, through .NET controls, simply placing a validation attribute is enough for it to be parsed by the server, and in the process create a block of JavaScript returned to the Browser for validation purposes, it isn't pretty, but it does the trick of validating form fields; in J2EE, frameworks like Struts have offered this similar technique for years.

Don't get me wrong, XForms has a lot of thought and work put into it, but it's a fact, there are existing technologies -- as skewed or faulty as the critics may see them -- that provide readily available solutions to the majority of problems XForms tries to tackle.

AJAX critics or layer separation purists may see a breath of fresh air with XForms progressing, but don't hold your breath until mainstream browser makers take the specification seriously.