You can query the SPASE data dictionary and request that information be returned as XML using the SPASE data dictionary XML schema. Using a style sheet you can then present the results through your own application.

Possible uses include context sensitve help in a SPASE metadata editor or search engine. To demonstrate the capabilities let's implement a simple service which will display a single entry from data dictionary and allow links between terms.

Try it! --> SPASE

When you click on the "SPASE" link a new window will be created which only has scroll bars. The link is defined as:
<a href="javascript:void(0);" onClick='javascript:window.open( "dictionary.jsp?style=xml&term=spase", "blank", "toolbar=no,width=450,height=300,scrollbars=yes")'> SPASE</a>

The link calls an JSP service called "dictionary.jsp" which calls the SPASE data dictionary lookup tool and requests that the results be returned as XML. It then transforms the results using a style sheet

The file dictionary.jsp contains: <%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html" %> <!-- Example SPASE dictionary lookup tool. Written by Todd King 18 July 2006 --> <%@page import="javax.xml.transform.OutputKeys" %> <%@page import="javax.xml.transform.Transformer" %> <%@page import="javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory" %> <table width=100%> <tr> <td width=50><a href="javascript:history.back();">< Back</a></td> <td align=center><a href="http://www.spase-group.org">SPASE</a> Dictionary Term</td> <td width=50></td> </tr> </table> <hr> <% String term = request.getParameter("term"); if(term != null) term = "&term=" + term; else term = ""; String xslFile = "http://www.spase-group.org/tools/stylesheet/dictionary.xsl"; String xmlFile = "http://www.spase-group.org/data/search.jsp?style=xml" + term; TransformerFactory tFactory = TransformerFactory.newInstance(); Transformer transformer = tFactory.newTransformer( new javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamSource(xslFile)); transformer.transform(new javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamSource(xmlFile), new javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamResult(out) ); %>

The XML stylesheet dictionary.xsl used to convert the SPASE data dictionary XML to HTML is: <?xml version="1.0"?> <xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" version="1.0"> <xsl:variable name="search">dictionary.jsp?style=xml&term=</xsl:variable> <xsl:template match="spaseDD"> <xsl:for-each select="entry"> <table> <tr> <td width="50%" bgcolor="#000000" align="left"><font color="#FFFFF"><xsl:value-of select="term"/></font></td> <td width="50%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="right"><xsl:value-of select="type"/></td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2"><xsl:value-of select="definition"/></td></tr> </table> <xsl:apply-templates select="elements" /> <xsl:apply-templates select="values" /> <xsl:apply-templates select="usage" /> </xsl:for-each> </xsl:template> <xsl:template match="elements"> <table><tr><td width="40"></td><td valign="top">Sub-elements:</td><td> <xsl:for-each select="element"> <xsl:variable name="hrefval" select="." /> <a href="{$search}{$hrefval}"><xsl:value-of select="."/></a><br /> </xsl:for-each> </td></tr></table> </xsl:template> <xsl:template match="usage"> <table><tr><td width="40"></td><td valign="top">Used by:</td><td> <xsl:for-each select="usedby"> <xsl:variable name="hrefval" select="." /> <a href="{$search}{$hrefval}"><xsl:value-of select="."/></a><br /> </xsl:for-each> </td></tr></table> </xsl:template> <xsl:template match="values"> <table><tr><td width="40"></td><td valign="top">Allowed values:</td><td> <xsl:for-each select="value"> <xsl:variable name="hrefval" select="." /> <a href="{$search}{$hrefval}"><xsl:value-of select="."/></a><br /> </xsl:for-each> </td></tr></table> </xsl:template> </xsl:stylesheet>