Link

an XML-XSL-XLL browser

version 1999.3.1 by Justin Ludwig <lu99jp26@acs.wooster.edu>

Link is a simple application written in Java that allows a user to view XML documents with XSL stylesheets and XLL hyperlinking. It uses several third-party Java libraries, including the Docuverse DOM implementation, James Clark's XP parser and XT XSL processor, and the XML-DEV mailing list's SAX API. I wrote it for my Senior Independent Study Project at the College of Wooster; the paper portion of this project (An Investigation of XML with Emphasis on XLL) describes the markup details of XML, XSL, and XLL, as well as some of the workings of Link's Viewer class.

Link renders documents with XSL stylesheets that contain HTML formatting only, and not the formatting objects described in the XSL specification. It allows traversal of both simple and extended XLinks, recognizing the xlink:form, xlink:href, and xlink:title attributes. It treats all links as if they had xlink:actuate="user" and xlink:show="new" attributes.

Link requires Sun's JRE 1.2, and contains the Docuverse DOM 1.0, XP 0.5, XT 19990115, and SAX 1.0 jar files. It also contains the link.jar file with a main class of edu.wooster.lu99jp26.link.App.

Eddie Bauer Catalogue Example

To view the example document group included with Link, load the links.xml file in the eddiebauer/1999-spring folder. This file will automatically display the index.xml file, which contains a mock index for the Eddie Bauer Spring Catalogue. The other XML files in this example simulate different departments' contributions to the online catalogue. Warehousing might maintain the inventory.xml file, Sales prices.xml, and Marketing descriptions.xml. A user can access these files by double-click-and holding the mouse button down on link icons (), and then selecting from the menu that pops up.

The XLink information for the links within the index.xml comes from simple links in toc elements in the index.xml file. The XLink information for the links amoung the other XML files comes from extended links in the links.xml file. If a user opens up a file in this example document group without first opening the links.xml file, the links will appear.