W3C

XForms 1.1 Quick Reference

Steven Pemberton, W3C/CWI

Version date: 2021-02-05

Blue links are to the spec, red links to within this document.

Namespaces

Name Namespace
XForms http://www.w3.org/2002/xforms
Events (ev) http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events
Schema (xsd) http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema
Schema for instances (xsi) http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance
XHTML http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml

Controls

Model
Element Attributes Content Model
model Events?, functions(QNameList)?, schema(list of anyURI)?, version (xforms:versionList) (instance | schema | submission | bind | Action)*
instance src(anyURI)?, resource (xsd:anyURI) (ANY)
bind nodeset(XPath), relevant(XPath)?, required(XPath)?, readonly(XPath)?, constraint(XPath)?, calculate(XPath)?, type(QName)?, p3ptype(string)? (bind)*
submission Events?, (ref(XPath) | bind(IDREF))?, resource(anyURI), action(anyURI), mode("asynchronous"|"synchronous")?, method("post"|"get"|"put"|"delete"|"multipart-post"|"form-data-post"|"urlencoded-post"|Any other NCName|QNameButNotNCName)?, validate(boolean)?, relevant(boolean)?, serialization("application/xml"|"application/x-www-form-urlencoded"|"multipart/related"|"multipart/form-data"|"none")?, version(NMTOKEN)?, indent(boolean)?, mediatype(string)?, encoding(string)?, omit-xml-declaration(boolean)?, standalone(boolean)?, cdata-section-elements(QNameList)?, replace("all"|"instance"|"text"|"none"|qname-but-not-ncname)?, instance(IDREF)?, targetref (XPath)?, separator(';' | '&')?, includenamespaceprefixes(NMTOKENS)? (resource | method | header)*, Action*
resource value (XPath) PCDATA
method value (XPath) PCDATA
name value(XPath) PCDATA
value value(XPath) PCDATA
Form Controls
Element Attributes Content Model
input Appearance?, Binding, inputmode(string)?, incremental(boolean)? label, (UI Common)*
secret Appearance?, Binding, inputmode(string)?, incremental(boolean)? label, (UI Common)*
textarea Appearance?, Binding, inputmode(string)?, incremental(boolean)? label, (UI Common)*
output Appearance?, (Binding | value(XPath)), mediatype(string)? label?, mediatype?, (UI Common)*
upload Appearance?, Binding, mediatype(string), incremental(boolean)? label, filename?, mediatype?, (UI Common)*
range Appearance?, Binding, start(string)?, end(string)?, step(string)?, incremental(boolean)? label, (UI Common)*
trigger Appearance?, Binding? label, (UI Common)*
submit Appearance?, Binding?, submission(IDREF) label, (UI Common)*
select Appearance?, Binding, selection("open" | "closed")?, incremental(boolean)? label, (List UI Common)+, (UI Common)*
select1 Appearance?, Binding, selection("open" | "closed")?, incremental(boolean)? label, (List UI Common)+, (UI Common)*
Switch, repeat, group
Element Attributes Content Model
switch Appearance?, Binding? case+
repeat Appearance?, Multibinding, startindex(positiveInteger)?, number(nonNegativeInteger)? ((Form Controls) | group | switch | repeat | Action)*
group Appearance?, Binding? label?, ((Form Controls) | group | switch | repeat | (UI Common))*
(various) repeat-nodeset(XPath), repeat-model(IDREF), repeat-bind(IDREF), repeat-startindex(positiveInteger), repeat-number(nonNegativeInteger) N/A
Forms Control Content Sets
Content Set Attributes Content Model
UI Common - help | hint | alert | Action
List UI Common - choices | item | itemset
UI Content - output
case selected(boolean)? label?, ((Form Controls) | group | switch | repeat |Action)*
choices - label?, (List UI Common)+
item - label, value, (UI Common)*
itemset Multibinding label, (value |copy), (UI Common)*
filename Binding -
mediatype Binding, value(XPath){value only when parent is <output>} -
value Binding? (PCDATA | ANY)*
copy Binding? -
label Binding? (PCDATA | output)*
help Binding? (PCDATA | output)*
hint Binding? (PCDATA | output)*
alert Binding? (PCDATA | output)*

Attribute Sets

Attribute set Attributes
Appearance appearance("full"|"compact"|"minimal")
Binding ( ref(XPath), model(IDREF)?) | bind(IDREF)
Multibinding ( nodeset(XPath), model(IDREF)?) | bind(IDREF)

Actions

Element Attributes Content Model
action Events, Conditional (Action)*
delete Events, Conditional, Multibinding, context (XPath), at(XPath) EMPTY
dispatch Events, Conditional, name(NMTOKEN), targetid(IDREF), delay(nonNegativeInteger)?, bubbles(boolean)?, cancelable(boolean)? name?, targetid?, delay? [in any order]
insert Events, Conditional, Multibinding, context(XPath), at(XPath), position("before"|"after"), origin(XPath) EMPTY
load Events, Conditional, Binding?, resource(anyURI), show("new" | "replace")? resource?
message Events, Conditional, Binding?, src(anyURI)?, level("ephemeral" | "modeless" | "modal") (PCDATA | output)*
rebuild Events, Conditional, model(IDREF) EMPTY
recalculate Events, Conditional, model(IDREF) EMPTY
refresh Events, Conditional, model(IDREF) EMPTY
reset Events, Conditional, model(IDREF) EMPTY
revalidate Events, Conditional, model(IDREF) EMPTY
send Events, Conditional, submission(IDREF) EMPTY
setfocus Events, Conditional, control(IDREF) control?
setindex Events, Conditional, repeat(IDREF), index(XPath) EMPTY
setvalue Events, Conditional, Binding, value(XPath)? PCDATA
toggle Events, Conditional, case(IDREF) case?
case value(string)? PCDATA

Attribute Set

Attribute set Attributes
Conditional if(XPath), while(XPath)

Submission methods

Method Serialization Schemes
post xml http(s) mailto
put xml http(s) file
get url encoded http(s) file
delete url encoded http(s) file
urlencoded-post url encoded http(s) mailto
form-data-post multipart form data http(s) mailto
multipart-post multipart related http(s) mailto

Types

Type (all in the XForms namespace) Description
dateTime time date gYearMonth gYear gMonthDay gDay gMonth Dates and times
string
boolean
base64Binary hexBinary
float decimal double
anyURI
QName
normalizedString Multiple whitespace replaced with a single space
token
language Language code
Name NCName
ID IDREF IDREFS NMTOKEN NMTOKENS
integer nonPositiveInteger negativeInteger long int short byte nonNegativeInteger unsignedLong unsignedInt unsignedShort unsignedByte positiveInteger
dayTimeDuration yearMonthDuration Durations
listItem listItems Type for <select> and <select1>
email Email address
card-number Credit card (etc) number

XPath

Axes

See XPath Axes

Axis Shortcut
child
 (empty)
parent ..
self .
attribute @
ancestor
ancestor-or-self
descendant
descendant-or-self //
preceding-sibling
following-sibling
preceding
following
namespace

XPath Operators

See XPath Expressions

| Union
* Wildcard
[ ] Predicate
+ - * div mod Arithmetic
= < <= > >= != and or Boolean

Functions

XForms Functions
Function Arguments Returns Description
adjust-dateTime-to-timezone string string Date and time converted to the local time zone
avg node-set number Average
boolean-from-string string boolean Type conversion
choose boolean, object, object object The first object if the boolean is true, otherwise the second
compare string, string number Is the first argument lexicographically less than, equal to, or greater than the second
context - nodeset The context node of the nearest ancestor element of the node containing the XPath expression
count-non-empty node-set number The number of non-empty nodes
current - nodeset The context node used for this evaluation
days-from-date string number Days since epoch (1970)
days-to-date number string The date so many days after the epoch (1970)
digest string, string, string? string The first argument encrypted according to the algorithm named in the second, and encoded according to the third.
event string object The named property of the current event
hmac string, string, string, string? The second argument encrypted according to the algorithm named in the third using the key in the first argument, and encoded according to the fourth (default base64)
id object, nodeset? nodeset The nodes in the second argument that have the IDREFs in the first.
if boolean, string, string string Conditional
index string number The index of the repeat with the id identified by the parameter.
instance string node-set Locate instance
is-card-number string boolean If the card number is a valid card number
local-date - string Date in current time zone
local-dateTime - string Date and time in current time zone
max node-set number Maximum
min node-set number Minimum
months string number Months in period
now - string Current UTC date and time
power number, number number The first argument raised to the power of the second
property string string XForms feature value
random boolean number A random number between zero and 1
seconds string number Seconds in period
seconds-from-dateTime string number Seconds since epoch (1970)
seconds-to-dateTime number string The date and time so many seconds since the epoch (1970)
XPath functions
Function Arguments Returns Description
boolean object boolean Type conversion
ceiling number number ceiling(3.1) = 4; ceiling(3.9) = 4
concat string, string, string* string Concatenate strings
contains string, string boolean Whether the first argument contains the second as a substring
count nodeset number The number of nodes
false - boolean
floor number number floor(3.1) = 3; floor(3.9) = 3
id - objectnodeset The node(s) matching the supplied id(s)
lang string boolean Whether the context node is defined as being in the given language.
local-name nodeset? string The un-namespaced name of the node
last - number The last position in the context
name nodeset? string The namespaced name of the node
namespace-uri nodeset? string The namespace URI of the node
normalize-space string? string Leading and trailing whitespace stripped, all others reduced to a single space.
not boolean boolean Boolean inversion
number object? number Type conversion
position - number The current position in the context
round number number round(3.1) = 3; round(3.9) = 4
starts-with string, string boolean Whether the first argument starts with the second
string object? string Convert to string
string-length string? number The length of the argument in characters
substring string, number, number? string The first argument from the position of the second, of length the third.
substring-after string, string string The first string after the first occurrence of the second. substring-after("2020-09-23", "-") = 09-23
substring-before string, string string The first string up to the first occurrence of the second. substring-before("2020-09-23", "-") = 2020
sum nodeset number The numerical sum of the nodes.
translate string, string, string string The first argument with all occurrences of characters in the second replaced by the character at the same position in the third, or deleted if there is no corresponding character.
true - boolean

Event attributes

Attribute Type
ev:observer IDREF
ev:target IDREF
ev:event NMTOKEN
ev:handler IDREF
ev:phase ("capture" | "default")
ev:propagate ("stop" | "continue")
ev:defaultAction ("cancel" | "perform")

XForms events

Event Cancel Bubbles Target Context
Initialization Events
xforms-model-construct N Y <model>
xforms-model-construct-done N Y <model>
xforms-ready N Y <model>
xforms-model-destruct N N <model>
Processing Events
xforms-rebuild Y Y <model>
xforms-recalculate Y Y <model>
xforms-revalidate Y Y <model>
xforms-refresh Y Y <model>
xforms-reset Y Y <model>
Interaction Events
xforms-previous Y N control
xforms-next Y N control
xforms-focus Y N control
xforms-help Y Y control
xforms-hint Y Y control
xforms-submit Y Y <submission>
xforms-submit-serialize N Y <submission> submission-body node-set If non-empty, used in the submission instead of the default serialization.
Notification Events
DOMActivate Y Y control
DOMFocusIn N Y control
DOMFocusOut N Y control
xforms-value-changed N Y control
xforms-select N Y <item>, <case> or <itemset>
xforms-deselect N Y <item>, <case> or <itemset>
xforms-scroll-first N Y <repeat>
xforms-scroll-last N Y <repeat>
xforms-insert N Y <instance> inserted-nodes node-set The instance data node or nodes inserted.
origin-nodes node-set The instance data nodes referenced by the insert action's origin attribute if present, or the empty nodeset if not present.
insert-location-node node-set The insert location node as defined by the insert action.
position string The insert position, before or after.
xforms-delete N Y <instance> deleted-nodes node-set The instance data node or nodes deleted. Note that these nodes are no longer referenced by their parents.
delete-location number The delete location as defined by the delete action, or NaN if there is no delete location.
xforms-valid N Y control
xforms-invalid N Y control
xforms-in-range N Y control
xforms-out-of-range N Y control
xforms-readonly N Y control
xforms-readwrite N Y control
xforms-required N Y control
xforms-optional N Y control
xforms-enabled N Y control
xforms-disabled N Y control
xforms-submit-done N Y <submission> resource-uri string The submission resource URI that succeeded (xsd:anyURI)
response-status-code number The protocol return code of the success response, or NaN if the submission did not receive a success response.
response-headers node-set Zero or more elements, each one representing a content header in the success response received by the submission. The returned node-set is empty if the submission did not receive a response or if there were no headers. Each element has a local name of header with no namespace URI and two child elements, name and value, whose string contents are the name and value of the header, respectively.
response-reason-phrase string The protocol response reason phrase of the success response. The string is empty if the submission did not receive a response or if the response did not contain a reason phrase.
Error Notifications
xforms-binding-exception N Y element with the binding
xforms-link-exception N Y <model> resource-uri string The URI associated with the failed link (xsd:anyURI)
xforms-compute-exception N Y <model> error-message string An implementation-specific string that should contain the expression being processed when the exception was detected.
xforms-version-exception N Y default <model> error-information string An implementation-specific error string
xforms-output-error N Y <output>
xforms-submit-error N Y <submission> error-type string One of the following: submission-in-progress, no-data, validation-error, parse-error, resource-error, target-error.
resource-uri string The submission resource URI that failed (xsd:anyURI)
response-status-code number The protocol return code of the error response, or NaN if the failed submission did not receive an error response.
response-headers node-set Zero or more elements, each one representing a content header in the error response received by a failed submission. The returned node-set is empty if the failed submission did not receive an error response or if there were no headers. Each element has a local name of header with no namespace URI and two child elements, name and value, whose string contents are the name and value of the header, respectively.
response-reason-phrase string The protocol response reason phrase of the error response. The string is empty if the failed submission did not receive an error response or if the error response did not contain a reason phrase.
response-body object (string or node-set) When the error response specifies an XML media type as defined by [RFC 3023], the response body is parsed into an XML document and the root element of the document is returned. If the parse fails, or if the error response specifies a text media type (starting with text/), then the response body is returned as a string. Otherwise, an empty string is returned.

CSS

Selector Matches
:valid and :invalid datatype validity and 'constraint' bindings
:in-range and :out-of-range range, select1 and select controls where value doesn't match
:required and :optional 'required' bindings
:read-only and :read-write 'read-only' bindings
:enabled and :disabled 'relevant' bindings
::value The part of a control where the value is displayed/typed in
::choices The items part of a select1 or select
::repeat-item Any row in a repeat
::repeat-index The 'current' repeat row

DOM

Construct
getInstanceDocument()
rebuild()
recalculate()
rebuild()
refresh()