Article:		Ten Favorite XForms Engines
Subject:		XForms Doomed?
Date:		2003-09-13 07:03:52
From:		Clinton Gallagher
Many of the implementations require browser plug-ins. Microsoft just lost a $500+ million judgement to the holder of a patent that alledges ownership of such functionality, i.e. executable control embedded in the browser (Microsoft's ActiveX). In this context I don't see the difference between an ActiverX control, Flash or IBM's implementation. They are all embedded executables are they not? If legitimate, could the patent not also spell doom for XForms implemented as a control?

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• A bit overstated..
  2003-09-14 02:44:38 Micah Dubinko
  
  Read more about the decision and possible forthcoming changes to IE at http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-5074799.html

  
  Anyway, I'm not a lawyer, but my view of the "workarounds" is that they seem pretty trivial (as little as an alert box, apparently) to re-enable plug-in functionality. I wouldn't want to have to change thousands of existing pages, but for XForms documents, which will be new content anyway, no big deal. Certainly not "doom".

  
  Still, it's basically speculation until some new browser code is available from Microsoft.

  
  What's more, many XForms engines are server-based, and don't require any new client-side technology--plugins or otherwise.

  
  -m
  
  

  • A bit overstated..NOT
    2003-10-01 14:04:04 g herb
    
    Read the article the popup is in front the invocation of activex or plugins.
    There is nothing that says the popup would turn activex or plugins back on.
    This is why they are going to try to convert pages into one large dynamic page.

    
    Both solutions will kill IE. One solution that won't is that Microsoft will license the technology. This may cost too much or be unacceptable to Microsoft (they might win on appeal?)