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XML Applications


This chapter demonstrates some HTML applications using XML, HTTP, DOM, and JavaScript.


The XML Document Used

In this chapter we will use the XML file called "cd_catalog.xml".


Display XML Data in an HTML Table

This example loops through each <CD> element, and display the values of the <ARTIST> and the <TITLE> elements in an HTML table:

Example

<html>
<head>
<style>
table, th, td {
  border: 1px solid black;
  border-collapse:collapse;
}
th, td {
  padding: 5px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<table id="demo"></table>

<script>
function loadXMLDoc() {
  var xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
  xmlhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
    if (xmlhttp.readyState == 4 && xmlhttp.status == 200) {
      myFunction(xmlhttp);
    }
  };
  xmlhttp.open("GET", "cd_catalog.xml", true);
  xmlhttp.send();
}
function myFunction(xml) {
  var i;
  var xmlDoc = xml.responseXML;
  var table="<tr><th>Artist</th><th>Title</th></tr>";
  var x = xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName("CD");
  for (i = 0; i <x.length; i++) {
    table += "<tr><td>" +
    x[i].getElementsByTagName("ARTIST")[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue +
    "</td><td>" +
    x[i].getElementsByTagName("TITLE")[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue +
    "</td></tr>";
  }
  document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = table;
}
</script>

</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself »

For more information about using JavaScript and the XML DOM, go to DOM Intro.


Display the First CD in an HTML div Element

Ths example uses a function to display the first CD element in an HTML element with id="showCD":

Example

displayCD(0);

function displayCD(i) {
    var xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
    xmlhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
        if (xmlhttp.readyState == 4 && xmlhttp.status == 200) {
            myFunction(xmlhttp, i);
        }
    };
    xmlhttp.open("GET", "cd_catalog.xml", true);
    xmlhttp.send();
}

function myFunction(xml, i) {
    var xmlDoc = xml.responseXML;
    x = xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName("CD");
    document.getElementById("showCD").innerHTML =
    "Artist: " +
    x[i].getElementsByTagName("ARTIST")[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue +
    "<br>Title: " +
    x[i].getElementsByTagName("TITLE")[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue +
    "<br>Year: " +
    x[i].getElementsByTagName("YEAR")[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue;
}
Try it Yourself »

Navigate Between the CDs

To navigate between the CDs, in the example above, add a next() and previous() function:

Example

function next() {
  // display the next CD, unless you are on the last CD
  if (i < x.length-1) {
    i++;
    displayCD(i);
  }
}

function previous() {
  // display the previous CD, unless you are on the first CD
  if (i > 0) {
  i--;
  displayCD(i);
  }
}
Try it Yourself »

Show Album Information When Clicking On a CD

The last example shows how you can show album information when the user clicks on a CD:

Try it yourself.