W3Schools

home HOME

XLINK Basic
XLink HOME
XLink Intro
XLink Syntax
XLink Example
XPointer Example
XLink Summary

References
XLink Reference

Selected Reading
Web Statistics
Web Glossary
Web Hosting
Web Quality

W3Schools Forum

Helping W3Schools

XLink Example

Previous Next

Let's try to learn some basic XLink syntax by looking at an example.


The XML Example Document

Look at the following XML document, "bookstore.xml", that represents a few books:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<bookstore xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
<book title="Harry Potter">
  <description
  xlink:type="simple"
  xlink:href="http://book.com/images/HPotter.gif"
  xlink:show="new">
  As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
  Wizardry approaches, 15-year-old Harry Potter is.......
  </description>
</book>
<book title="XQuery Kick Start">
  <description
  xlink:type="simple"
  xlink:href="http://book.com/images/XQuery.gif"
  xlink:show="new">
  XQuery Kick Start delivers a concise introduction
  to the XQuery standard.......
  </description>
</book>
</bookstore>

View the "bookstore.xml" file in your browser

In the example above the XLink namespace is declared at the top of the document (xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"). This means that the document has access to the XLink attributes and features.

The xlink:type="simple" creates a simple "HTML-like" link. You can also specify more complex links (multidirectional links), but for now, we will only use simple links.

The xlink:href attribute specifies the URL to link to, and the xlink:show attribute specifies where to open the link. xlink:show="new" means that the link (in this case, an image) should open in a new window.


XLink - Going Further

In the example above we have only demonstrated simple links. XLink is getting more interesting when we want to access remote locations as resources, instead of standalone pages. The <description> element in the example above sets the value of the xlink:show attribute to "new". This means that the link should open in a new window. We could have set the value of the xlink:show attribute to "embed". This means that the resource should be processed inline within the page. When you consider that this could be another XML document and not just an image, you could, for example, build a hierarchy of XML documents.

With XLink, you can also specify WHEN the resource should appear. This is handled by the xlink:actuate attribute. xlink:actuate="onLoad" specifies that the resource should be loaded and shown when the document loads. However, xlink:actuate="onRequest" means that the resource is not read or shown before the link is clicked. This is very handy for low-bandwidth settings.


Previous Next


Ektron CMS400.NET Ektron - What do you want your website to do?
The Ektron Intranet
Take the video tour

The Ektron Intranet lets you do everything you need to do on your corporate intranet and everything you want to do... all with just one application.

What can you do with the Ektron Intranet?

Ektron

Navigate through content, documents, assets, colleagues and workgroups quickly and intuitively with enterprise search

Ektron

Communicate with friends and colleagues with forums, message boards and corporate blogging using the new Social Networking Platform

Ektron

Utilize the extensive out-of-the box features or customize your site through Ektron CMS400.NET's open architecture

Ektron

Promote collaboration in your organization through project workspaces where others can efficiently find information and work together

Ektron

Author/edit content, manage navigation, menus, audit trails, workflow and approvals with the best in breed Content Management

See why there are 20,000+ Ektron integrations worldwide.

Take the Video Tour TAKE THE VIDEO TOUR
Take the Video Tour or download a FREE TRIAL today.



Jump to: Top of Page or HOME or Printer Friendly Printer friendly page

W3Schools provides material for training only. We do not warrant the correctness of its contents. The risk from using it lies entirely with the user. While using this site, you agree to have read and accepted our terms of use and privacy policy.

Copyright 1999-2008 by Refsnes Data. All Rights Reserved.

Validate Validate W3C-WAI level A conformance icon W3Schools was converted to XHTML in December 1999