The following example shows how you can use an XML document as a data provider for a Spark List control in Flex 4 by using an XMLListCollection.
Full code after the jump.
The following example(s) require Flash Player 10 and the Adobe Flex 4 SDK. To download the Adobe Flash Builder 4 beta, check out the Adobe Flash Builder 4 page on the Adobe Labs site. To download the latest build of the Flex 4 SDK, see http://opensource.adobe.com/wiki/display/flexsdk/Download+Flex+4. For instructions on using the beta Flex 4 SDK in Flex Builder 3, see "Using the beta Flex 4 SDK in Flex Builder 3".
<?xml version="1.0"?> <!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2009/11/04/using-an-xml-data-provider-with-the-spark-list-control-in-flex-4/ --> <s:Application name="Spark_List_dataProvider_XML_test" xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009" xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark" xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/halo"> <s:List id="lst" labelField="@label" horizontalCenter="0" verticalCenter="0"> <s:dataProvider> <s:XMLListCollection> <fx:XMLList xmlns=""> <node label="One" /> <node label="Two" /> <node label="Three" /> <node label="Four" /> <node label="Five" /> <node label="Six" /> <node label="Seven" /> <node label="Eight" /> <node label="Nine" /> </fx:XMLList> </s:XMLListCollection> </s:dataProvider> </s:List> </s:Application>
Or, if you wanted to embed the XML into your application, you could use the <fx:XML/> tag and bind to an XMLListCollection, as seen in the following example:
<?xml version="1.0"?> <!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2009/11/04/using-an-xml-data-provider-with-the-spark-list-control-in-flex-4/ --> <s:Application name="Spark_List_dataProvider_XML_test" xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009" xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark" xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/halo"> <fx:Declarations> <fx:XML id="nodes" source="nodesAndStuff.xml" /> </fx:Declarations> <s:List id="lst" labelField="@label" horizontalCenter="0" verticalCenter="0"> <s:dataProvider> <s:XMLListCollection source="{nodes.children()}" /> </s:dataProvider> </s:List> </s:Application>
And the external .XML file, nodesAndStuff.xml, is as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2009/11/04/using-an-xml-data-provider-with-the-spark-list-control-in-flex-4/ --> <root> <node label="One" /> <node label="Two" /> <node label="Three" /> <node label="Four" /> <node label="Five" /> <node label="Six" /> <node label="Seven" /> <node label="Eight" /> <node label="Nine" /> </root>
Or, if you didn’t want to use data binding, Corey, you could set the data provider using ActionScript, as seen in the following example:
<?xml version="1.0"?> <!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2009/11/04/using-an-xml-data-provider-with-the-spark-list-control-in-flex-4/ --> <s:Application name="Spark_List_dataProvider_XML_test" xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009" xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark" xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/halo" initialize="init();"> <fx:Script> <![CDATA[ private function init():void { xmlListColl.source = nodes.children(); } ]]> </fx:Script> <fx:Declarations> <fx:XML id="nodes" source="nodesAndStuff.xml" /> </fx:Declarations> <s:List id="lst" labelField="@label" horizontalCenter="0" verticalCenter="0"> <s:dataProvider> <s:XMLListCollection id="xmlListColl" /> </s:dataProvider> </s:List> </s:Application>
This entry is based on a beta version of the Flex 4 SDK and therefore is very likely to change as development of the Flex SDK continues. The API can (and will) change causing examples to possibly not compile in newer versions of the Flex 4 SDK.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah thx, its really usefull :D I’ve been posting on some forums how to load an xml file in flex 4 , and your guide is perfect! :)
One question, is this feature enabled today (4 November, 2009) ? I’m pretty sure I typed in flex 4 <xml and it didn't find anything, now it finds and
@divin3x,
Should work. I used yesterday’s build, I believe.
Peter