The FormEngine is a Java

Java (programming language)

Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...

 framework

Software framework

In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...

 for dynamic form creation and complex form processing for web applications.

About

The primary goal of this framework is to help application developers in two areas of interest:

1. dynamic creation of form definitions at runtime

2. a simple albeit powerful way to dynamically process complex calculations and validations of form input (user data)

Characteristics

The FormEngine framework is built for use in available (or new) Java web application projects. It can be integrated with a few easy steps into a servlet container.

Form processing occurs in form sessions that bind data processing abilities along with the snapshot of the current data model to the task that's been initiated by a user/client.
A form session manages a form instance that behaves just like described in the form definition. The FormEngine relies on AJAX

Ajax

- Mythology :* Ajax , son of Telamon, ruler of Salamis and a hero in the Trojan War, also known as "Ajax the Great"* Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus, ruler of Locris and the leader of the Locrian contingent during the Trojan War.- People :...

 techniques to allow client-server communication during a form session.

Calculations and data validation have to be implemented server-side only. Several design patterns aim for minimizing memory needs. Renderers are implemented thread-safe and can be used simultaneously with multiple form instances of a single form definition.

History

The FormEngine Java framework project started in 2007. It was created to overcome the shortfalls of other web form frameworks in several areas. It is used in a business process management suite (*) as a replacement for the Chiba Engine, a form framework to process XForms

XForms

XForms is an XML format for the specification of a data processing model for XML data and user interface for the XML data, such as web forms...

 definitions. The FormEngine framework was first released for open use under a modified MIT

MIT License

The MIT License is a free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . It is a permissive license, meaning that it permits reuse within proprietary software provided all copies of the licensed software include a copy of the MIT License terms...

 license in December 2009.

Articles and further information

Several articles have been posted about the FormEngine Java framework, such as "FormEngine : Multidynamische Formulare" (German).
For further information see External links.

External links

• form-engine.de Home
• FormEngine example page
• Chiba Engine Home
• Imatics ProcessSuite - A business process management suite that makes use of the FormEngine framework