More Advanced VML | Real World XML (2nd Edition)

Besides the material we've seen in this chapter, there's plenty more in VML. Like many graphics languages, VML has a lot of depth. Here's a last example, adapted from the examples in the Microsoft VML reference, which displays text along a VML text path , specified using VML formulas:

Listing ch19_23.html

 <HTML xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml">     <HEAD>         <TITLE>             Using Vector Markup Language         </TITLE>         <STYLE>         v\:* {behavior: url(#default#VML);}         </STYLE>     </HEAD>     <BODY>         <CENTER>             <H1>                 VML Text Paths             </H1>             <v:shapetype id="MyShape"                 coordsize="21600,21600" adj="9931"                 path="m0@0c7200@2,14400@1,21600,                 0m0@5c7200@6,14400@6,21600@5e">                 <v:formulas>                     <v:f eqn="val #0"/>                     <v:f eqn="prod #0 3 4"/>                     <v:f eqn="prod #0 5 4"/>                     <v:f eqn="prod #0 3 8"/>                     <v:f eqn="prod #0 1 8"/>                     <v:f eqn="sum 21600 0 @3"/>                     <v:f eqn="sum @4 21600 0"/>                     <v:f eqn="prod #0 1 2"/>                     <v:f eqn="prod @5 1 2"/>                     <v:f eqn="sum @7 @8 0"/>                     <v:f eqn="prod #0 7 8"/>                     <v:f eqn="prod @5 1 3"/>                     <v:f eqn="sum @1 @2 0"/>                     <v:f eqn="sum @12 @0 0"/>                     <v:f eqn="prod @13 1 4"/>                     <v:f eqn="sum @11 14400 @14"/>                 </v:formulas>                 <v:path textpathok="t" />                 <v:textpath on="t" fitshape="t" xscale="t"/>             </v:shapetype>             <v:shape type="#MyShape"                 style='position:absolute; top:60pt; left:60pt;                 width:207pt;height:63pt;' adj="8717"                 fillcolor="blue" strokeweight="1pt">                 <v:fill method="linear sigma" focus="100%"                 type="gradient"/>                 <v:shadow on="t" offset="3pt"/>                 <v:textpath style='font-family:"Times New Roman";                     v-text-kern:t'trim="t" fitpath="t" xscale="f"                     string="VML"/>             </v:shape>         </CENTER>     </BODY> </HTML>

You can see the result of this VML in Figure 19-22. You may have seen text graphics like this in Microsoft Office products such as Word and PowerPoint, and now you know how it's done.

For more information on VML, take a look at the Microsoft VML site. VML is a powerful language, but it's limited to Internet Explorer. One day, browsers will implement a W3C language such as SVG, and I'll be able to rewrite this chapter.

It's time to take a look at using Perl and XML on the server side, as well as Wireless Markup Language (WML). I'm going to do that in the next chapter.