Appendix A. Examining Microsoft InfoPath

Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

For months, people wondered what Microsoft's response to XForms would be. In the fall of 2002, Microsoft announced a new product code-named "XDocs" that appeared, at least on the surface, to be quite similar in functionality to an XForms implementation. The product came to be known officially as InfoPath and, due to the sheer size and influence of Microsoft, a subject of frequent comparison with XForms and other related technologies.

The information in this appendix is based on the Beta 2 Technical Refresh of Microsoft Office Infopath, so some details may change.