How iFS XML Parsing Works

When you place an XML representation of a document in iFS, SimpleXmlParser() is called to create the document object.

Assume gking.vcf document instance has been converted to an XML file, gking.xml, and that the end user is using the iFS Windows interface.

1. Assume next that you have dragged an instance of the XML document, such as gking.xml, into iFS folder, /ifs/system/vcards.

2. SMB performs a parser lookup based on the file extension, .xml. SMB is a protocol that lets you access iFS through Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT clients. You can drag files into and out of Oracle iFS, or they can edit them directly in iFS.

3. Because this is an XML file, the parser lookup finds a match and invokes the SimpleXmlParser().

4. Because the Vcard custom class definition file was previously stored in iFS, the SimpleXmlParser() recognizes gking.xml as a Vcard document.

5. SimpleXmlParser() parses gking.xml, creating a Vcard object called gking.

   If the gking.vcf document instance had been used instead, the result of the parser lookup in Step 2 would be that SMB would invoke the custom parser, VcardParser.