3.3. The welcome page

Creating the welcome page

Create a file named index.xdime

Start your XDIME as usual with an XML declaration, followed by all the namespaces used on the page

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2002/06/xhtml2"
  xmlns:event="http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events"
  xmlns:mcs="http://www.volantis.com/xmlns/2006/01/xdime/mcs"
  xmlns:widget="http://www.volantis.com/xmlns/2006/05/widget"
  xmlns:template="http://www.volantis.com/xmlns/marlin-template">

In the head section, use link elements to identify layout and theme polices to apply. Remember to include the required title element.

<head>
  <title>Client Framework Sample Application</title>
  <link rel="mcs:theme" href="/themes/main.mthm"/>
  <link rel="mcs:theme" href="/themes/index.mthm"/>
  <link rel="mcs:layout" href="/layouts/main.mlyt"/>
  ...
</head>

Now you can bind the template you completed in the last module. The template:apply element binds this page and the page template together, with the template:binding elements passing the title and content parameter values.

<body>
  <template:apply href="templates/demo-main.xdtpl">
    <template:binding name="title" value="Widget Samples"/>
    <template:binding name="content">
      <template:complexValue>
        <ul class="index">
          <li><a href="index-ajax.xdime">AJAX widgets</a></li>
          <li><a href="index-nonajax.xdime">Non-AJAX widgets</a></li>
          <li><a href="index-effects.xdime">Effects</a></li>
          <li><a href="index-bb.xdime">Building blocks</a></li>
        </ul>
      </template:complexValue>
    </template:binding>
  </template:apply>
</body>

Welcome page code

The complete welcome page should contain the following code.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2002/06/xhtml2" xmlns:event="http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events"
  xmlns:mcs="http://www.volantis.com/xmlns/2006/01/xdime/mcs"
  xmlns:widget="http://www.volantis.com/xmlns/2006/05/widget"
  xmlns:template="http://www.volantis.com/xmlns/marlin-template">
  <head>
    <title>Client Framework Sample Application</title>
    <link rel="mcs:theme" href="/themes/main.mthm"/>
    <link rel="mcs:theme" href="/themes/index.mthm"/>
    <link rel="mcs:layout" href="/layouts/main.mlyt"/>
  </head>
  <body>
    <template:apply href="templates/demo-main.xdtpl">
      <template:binding name="title" value="Widget Samples"/>
      <template:binding name="content">
        <template:complexValue>
          <ul class="index">
            <li>
              <a href="index-ajax.xdime">AJAX widgets</a>
            </li>
            <li>
              <a href="index-nonajax.xdime">Non-AJAX widgets</a>
            </li>
            <li>
              <a href="index-effects.xdime">Effects</a>
            </li>
            <li>
              <a href="index-bb.xdime">Building blocks</a>
            </li>
          </ul>
        </template:complexValue>
      </template:binding>
    </template:apply>
  </body>
</html>

Checklist

Name	Purpose
a	Used to create an explicit link to another place in the same document or to another document. The current document is the source of the link and the value of the `href` attribute, defines the link target
body	Contains the document's content.
div	A section used to add extra structure to documents. Style sheets can be used to control the presentation.
head	Information such as the title and other metadata that is not document content. The contained `title` element is required and it must be the first child of the `head` element.
html	The container for the XDIME 2 document.
li	A list item in an ordered, unordered or navigation list.
link	Defines a link. Multiple links and relationships may be defined for a single document. Refer to the topic entitled Document relationship links for more information.
title	The `title` element is used to identify the document. `title` is required and it must be the first child of the `head` element.
ul	A list of unordered items.
template:apply	Applies a template to the bound parameter values. If the optional `href` attribute is set, the `template:binding` element must be used to specify a binding. If the attribute is omitted, multiple `template:bindings` and a nested `template:definition` must be used.
template:binding	Specifies a binding to a parameter value. If a value is fixed, then it should be set using the `value` attribute. If value is dynamic or larger than can be used as an attribute, then it can be set using a nested element appropriate to the parameter type.
template:complexValue	Specifies a complex value for a parameter. The element has an open content model.
Core attributes	Attributes that are common to XDIME 2 elements.
Hypertext attributes	Attributes that define link targets.