ECMAScript for XML
ECMAScript for XML (E4X) was an extension to ECMAScript (which includes ActionScript, JavaScript, and JScript) to add native support for Extensible Markup Language (XML).[1] The goal was to provide a simpler alternative to the Document Object Model (DOM) interface for accessing XML documents. E4X added XML as a primitive data structure to allow faster accessScript error: No such module "Unsubst". and better support within the language.
E4X was standardized by Ecma International in the ECMA-357 standard. The first edition was published in June 2004 and the second edition in December 2005. However, the E4X standard was deprecated by the Mozilla Foundation in 2014,[2] and it was withdrawn by ISO/IEC in 2021.[1]
The first implementation of E4X was designed by Terry Lucas and John Schneider and appeared in BEA's Weblogic Workshop 7.0, released in February 2002.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". BEA's implementation was based on Rhino and released before the ECMAScript E4X spec was completed in June 2004.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Browser support
E4X is supported by Mozilla's Rhino, as well as by Tamarin, the JavaScript engine used in the Flash virtual machine.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". However, it is unsupported by other common engines like Nitro (Safari), V8 (Google Chrome), Carakan (Opera), and Chakra (Internet Explorer).[3]
E4X was supported by SpiderMonkey (used in Firefox and Thunderbird). However, E4X was deprecated in Firefox 10[4] and eventually removed in Firefox 21.[5]Template:Clarification needed
E4X was supported by the OpenOffice.org software suite.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Example
var sales = <sales vendor="John">
<item type="peas" price="4" quantity="6"/>
<item type="carrot" price="3" quantity="10"/>
<item type="chips" price="5" quantity="3"/>
</sales>;
alert( sales.item.(@type == "carrot").@quantity );
alert( sales.@vendor );
for each( var price in sales..@price ) {
alert( price );
}
delete sales.item[0];
sales.item += <item type="oranges" price="4"/>;
sales.item.(@type == "oranges").@quantity = 4;
See also
- JSX (JavaScript) – an XML based markup specifically for DOM manipulation
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
- ECMA-357 (withdrawn first edition, second edition)
- E4X at faqts.com (or via WayBack Machine)
- Slides from 2005 E4X Presentation by Brendan Eich, Mozilla Chief Architect
- E4X at Mozilla Developer Center Template:Webarchive
- Introducing E4X at xml.com: compares E4X and json
- Processing XML with E4X at Mozilla Developer Center
- E4X: Beginner to Advanced at Yahoo Developer Network
Template:Ecma International Standards Template:ISO standards Template:List of IEC standards