[ANN] xx-2.0.0

A

ara.t.howard

NAME

xx


SYNOPSIS

xhtml and xml generation => twice as dirty!


USAGE

require "xx"

include XX::XHTML

doc = xhtml_{
html_{
head_{ title_{ " go xx! " } }
body_{ " one more and it would be illegal " }
}
}

puts doc


INSTALL

harp:~ > gem install "double x"


URIS

http://rubyforge.org/projects/codeforpeople/
hhtp://codeforpeople.com/xx/


DESCRIPTION

xx is a library designed to extend ruby objects with html, xhtml, and xml
generation methods. the syntax provided by xx aims to make the generation
of xml or xhtml as clean looking and natural as ruby itself, while still
being entirely robust and safe.

the approach taken, that of extending objects, allows natural document
generation while preserving access to instance data. in essence it provides
ruby objects (including the top level 'main' object) mixin ability to
generate various markup views of their data in a way that is correct and
elegant.

xx is brought to you by the good folks at http://eparklabs.com.


SAMPLES

<========< samples/a.rb >========>

~ > cat samples/a.rb

require "xx"
include XX::XHTML
#
# xx modules extend any object with natural document markup methods. the
# special 'tag_name_(attributes){ block }' is a bit odd first but, as you will
# see, has many important properties
#

puts xhtml_{
html_{
head_{ title_{ " go xx! " } }
body_{ " one more 'x' and it would be illegal " }
}
}

~ > ruby samples/a.rb

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html lang='en' xml:lang='en' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<head>
<title> go xx! </title>
</head>
<body> one more &apos;x&apos; and it would be illegal </body>
</html>


<========< samples/b.rb >========>

~ > cat samples/b.rb

require "xx"
#
# xx doesn't name clash
#
class C
include XX::XHTML

attr 'body'

def initialize
@body = 'body'
end

def to_html
xhtml_{ html_{ body_{ body } } }
end
end

puts C.new.to_html

~ > ruby samples/b.rb

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html lang='en' xml:lang='en' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<body>body</body>
</html>


<========< samples/c.rb >========>

~ > cat samples/c.rb

require "xx"
#
# no reserved words prohibiting tags - oh, and xml too. also note the
# blockless form of tag generation which is also supported
#
class C
include XX::XML

attr 'table'

def initialize
@table = %w( a b c ), %w( 1 2 3 )
end

def to_xml
xml_{
class_{ self.class }
object_id_{ 42 }
send_ 'send'
exit_ 'exit'

table_{
table.each do |row|
tr_{
row.each do |cell|
td_ cell
end
}
end
}
}
end
end

puts C.new.to_xml.pretty # auto indentation with 'pretty'

~ > ruby samples/c.rb

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<class>C<object_id>42</object_id>
<send>send</send>
<exit>exit</exit>
<table>
<tr>
<td>a</td>
<td>b</td>
<td>c</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
</tr>
</table>
</class>


<========< samples/d.rb >========>

~ > cat samples/d.rb

require "xx"
#
# the brackets make it dang easy to bounce on the '%' key (or whatever key
# matches braces in your editor) to balance tags. and the phrase '_{' is very
# useful for searching huge doccuments for tag generation methods
#
class C
include XX::XML

def to_xml
xml_{ a_{ b_{ c_{ d_{ e_{ f_{ ' but am i balanced? ' }}}}}}} # vim will tell you!
end
end

puts C.new.to_xml

~ > ruby samples/d.rb

<?xml version='1.0'?><a><b><c><d><e><f> but am i balanced? </f></e></d></c></b></a>


<========< samples/e.rb >========>

~ > cat samples/e.rb

require "xx"
#
# the handy '_' method can bail you out when your tags aren't valid ruby
# syntax
#

include XX::XML

puts xml_{ _('mething missing is cool'){ 'but not always the best fit' } }

~ > ruby samples/e.rb

<?xml version='1.0'?><mething missing is cool>but not always the best fit</mething missing is cool>


<========< samples/f.rb >========>

~ > cat samples/f.rb

require "xx"
#
# '_' really bails you out for namespaces
#
module Furniture
class Table
include XX::XML

attr 'legs'

def initialize
@legs = %w[ 1 2 3 4 ]
end

def to_xml
xml_{
_('furniture:table', 'xmlns:f' => 'http://www.w3schools.com/furniture'){
legs.each{|leg|
_('furniture:leg'){ "leg #{ leg }" }
}
}
}
end
end
end

#
# xml types don't get formatted by default - use pretty for that
#
puts Furniture::Table.new.to_xml.pretty

~ > ruby samples/f.rb

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<furniture:table xmlns:f='http://www.w3schools.com/furniture'>
<furniture:leg>leg 1</furniture:leg>
<furniture:leg>leg 2</furniture:leg>
<furniture:leg>leg 3</furniture:leg>
<furniture:leg>leg 4</furniture:leg>
</furniture:table>


<========< samples/g.rb >========>

~ > cat samples/g.rb

require "xx"
#
# there are bunch of shorthand methods - each is 'escaped' via a double
# underscore
#
include XX::XHTML
include XX::XML

puts xml_{ t__{ 'this is text data' } }
puts xml_{ x__{ '<xml> in raw form, nothing is auto-escaped </xml>' } }
puts xml_{ h__{ '<html> entities like & are ignored </html>' } }
puts xml_{ c__{ 'cdata' } }
puts xml_{ tag_(a__('k=v, x=y')){ 'a__ is a handy attribute parser' } }
puts xml_{ tag_(y__('k: v, a: b')){ 'y__ is too - yaml style' } }

~ > ruby samples/g.rb

<?xml version='1.0'?>this is text data
<?xml version='1.0'?><xml> in raw form, nothing is auto-escaped </xml>
<?xml version='1.0'?><html> entities like & are ignored </html>
<?xml version='1.0'?><![CDATA[cdata]]>
<?xml version='1.0'?><tag k='v' x='y'>a__ is a handy attribute parser</tag>
<?xml version='1.0'?><tag k='v' a='b'>y__ is too - yaml style</tag>


HISTORY

2.0.0:

- !!!!!!! NOT BACKWARD COMPATIBLE WITH 1.X.X VERSIONS !!!!!!!

_ the special method '_' can now be used to generate any tag

_:)td, :width => 600, :height => 400){ 'content' }

this enables xml namespaces!

xml_{

_('furniture:table', 'xmlns:f' => 'http://www.w3schools.com/furniture'){
...
...
...
}

}

- all the special escaping class of methods have been changed from one to
two underscores

g_ => g__ ## tag generator, now same as '_'
t_ => t__ ## xml text node generator
x_ => x__ ## raw xml, no escaping
h_ => h__ ## escaped only html entities
c_ => c__ ## cdata
a_ => a__ ## parse attribute string
y_ => y__ ## parse yaml attribute string

as you can see, this is consistent with the new '_' tag generation: any
method ending with one underscord is a generator. all methods ending in
two are special methods.

this is the major compatibilty breaker. sorry, but the new method is
much more consistent and less typing.

- fixed bug with rexml changes in 1.8.5 regarding order of sending doc
preamble

0.1.0:
- added the "g_" method, which generates any tag
^
g_("anytag", "key" => "value"){ b_{ "bold" } }

- added at_ and att_ methods to parse yaml and k=v strings as hashes.

at_("src : image.jpg, width : 100%")

#=> {"src"=>"image.jpg", "width"=> "100%"}

0.0.0:
- initial version


AUTHORS

dan fitzpatrick <[email protected]>
ara.t.howard <[email protected]>


BUGS

please send bug reports to /dev/null. patches to addresses above. ;-)


LICENSE

ePark Labs Public License version 1 Copyright (c) 2005, ePark Labs, Inc. and
contributors All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

3. Neither the name of ePark Labs nor the names of its contributors may be
used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without
specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR
SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

-a
 
T

Tim Pease


For some reason I want a Mexican beer at lunch now ;)

Clever use of method missing, though. Can this package generate XML
tags that contain a dash '-' character?

TwP
 
A

ara.t.howard

For some reason I want a Mexican beer at lunch now ;)

Clever use of method missing, though. Can this package generate XML
tags that contain a dash '-' character?

TwP

harp:~ > cat a.rb
require "xx"
include XX::XML

legs = 1,2,3,4

doc = xml_{
_('furniture:table'){
legs.each do |leg|
_ "furniture:leg-#{ leg }", leg
end
}
}

puts doc.pretty


harp:~ > ruby a.rb
<?xml version='1.0'?>
<furniture:table>
<furniture:leg-1>1</furniture:leg-1>
<furniture:leg-2>2</furniture:leg-2>
<furniture:leg-3>3</furniture:leg-3>
<furniture:leg-4>4</furniture:leg-4>
</furniture:table>


cheers.

-a
 
T

Tim Pease

harp:~ > cat a.rb
require "xx"
include XX::XML

legs = 1,2,3,4

doc = xml_{
_('furniture:table'){
legs.each do |leg|
_ "furniture:leg-#{ leg }", leg
end
}
}

puts doc.pretty


harp:~ > ruby a.rb
<?xml version='1.0'?>
<furniture:table>
<furniture:leg-1>1</furniture:leg-1>
<furniture:leg-2>2</furniture:leg-2>
<furniture:leg-3>3</furniture:leg-3>
<furniture:leg-4>4</furniture:leg-4>
</furniture:table>


cheers.

So simple! The XML namespace example should have clued me in -- need
more coffee.

As Tim Becker mentioned, this is a lot like Markaby, but it fixes some
of Markaby's shortcomings -- mainly support for valid XML tag
characters not currently allowed in method_missing and/or symbols.

Thanks Ara. Thanks Dan.

TwP
 
T

Trans

So simple! The XML namespace example should have clued me in -- need
more coffee.

As Tim Becker mentioned, this is a lot like Markaby, but it fixes some
of Markaby's shortcomings -- mainly support for valid XML tag
characters not currently allowed in method_missing and/or symbols.

markaby has #tag! which is same as #_ however (AFAICT) markaby does
html, not xml.

the builder pattern is pretty common now. Facets has a class one can
use to build any kind you'd like called BuildingBlock. you simply
apply a helper object for specially defined "tags" and the method to
use as the default. Very basic example:

require 'facets/more/buildingblock'

module BasicXMLMarkup
extend self

def element( tag, body=nil, atts={} )
atts = atts.collect{ |k,v| %{ #{k}="#{v}"} }.join('')
if body
"<#{tag}#{atts}>#{body}</#{tag}>"
else
"<#{tag}#{atts} />"
end
end
end

builder = BuildingBlock.new(BasicXMLMarkup, :element)

builder.html do
h1 "Hello World", :class=>"big"
end

produces

"<html><h1 class=\"big\">Hello World</h1></html>"

BuildingBlock is not limited to XML type markups. you can use
BuildingBlock to make other types of builders too. an Outline bulder
for instance should be pretty easy (you can use the to_roman method ;)

T.
 
A

ara.t.howard

markaby has #tag! which is same as #_ however (AFAICT) markaby does
html, not xml.

the builder pattern is pretty common now. Facets has a class one can
use to build any kind you'd like called BuildingBlock. you simply
apply a helper object for specially defined "tags" and the method to
use as the default. Very basic example:

require 'facets/more/buildingblock'

module BasicXMLMarkup
extend self

def element( tag, body=nil, atts={} )
atts = atts.collect{ |k,v| %{ #{k}="#{v}"} }.join('')
if body
"<#{tag}#{atts}>#{body}</#{tag}>"
else
"<#{tag}#{atts} />"
end
end
end

builder = BuildingBlock.new(BasicXMLMarkup, :element)

builder.html do
h1 "Hello World", :class=>"big"
end

produces

"<html><h1 class=\"big\">Hello World</h1></html>"

right, but with that approach, or that of markaby, tags like 'p', 'id',
'size', et all are clobbered. with builder they've solved this by making the
user pass the builder to all blocks, but that's a lot of typing!


-a
 
T

Trans

right, but with that approach, or that of markaby, tags like 'p', 'id',
'size', et all are clobbered. with builder they've solved this by making the
user pass the builder to all blocks, but that's a lot of typing!

Well, that's partly true. BuildingBlock removes all but a few methods,
so 'p', 'id', and 'size' are fine. In any case, while the underscore
notation you present is the least clobbering of all of them, in the
end there are always some cases that one must use the special call for
(eg, #_ or #tag!). it's just a matter of little more or a little less,
and a few extra feautres along the way (for example, markaby can
calsses added more easily: h1.big "Hello World"). btw, i think markaby
is built ontop of builder too, oddly enough.

anyway, i'm not trying to be argumentative or anything. i'm just
saying that I think, on the whole, each of these solutions about as
good as any other.

T.
 
A

ara.t.howard

Well, that's partly true. BuildingBlock removes all but a few methods, so
'p', 'id', and 'size' are fine. In any case, while the underscore notation
you present is the least clobbering of all of them, in the end there are
always some cases that one must use the special call for (eg, #_ or #tag!).
it's just a matter of little more or a little less, and a few extra feautres
along the way (for example, markaby can calsses added more easily: h1.big
"Hello World"). btw, i think markaby is built ontop of builder too, oddly
enough.

anyway, i'm not trying to be argumentative or anything. i'm just saying that
I think, on the whole, each of these solutions about as good as any other.

abosolutely! i'm just stating the reasons __i__ went ahead and did something
slight different so people have the context to make choices.

cheers.

-a
 

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