AppML Prototyping
AppML can run entirely client-side against a plain JSON or text file standing in for a database, letting a page's look and data flow be mocked up before any server-side backend exists.
Faking the Backend On Purpose
Because a model's data source can simply be a static file, a page can be built, linked, and clicked through while no PHP or ASP handler exists yet. This is useful for prototyping: a designer or developer can demonstrate how a list will look, how a form will bind to fields, and how the overall page will behave, without first standing up a database and a server-side script.
- A static JSON file holds a sample records array in place of a live query
- The page loads that file directly the same way it would load a model-backed data source
- appml-repeat and appml-if bindings behave exactly as they would against a live source
- Insert, update, and delete are either omitted or left disabled, since a static file has nowhere to persist changes
A stand-in data file
{
"records": [
{ "name": "Keyboard", "price": 29.99 },
{ "name": "Mouse", "price": 14.99 },
{ "name": "Monitor Stand", "price": 39.50 }
]
}A page bound to the stand-in file
<html>
<head>
<script src="appml.js"></script>
</head>
<body appml-data="products.json">
<table>
<tr appml-repeat="records">
<td>{{name}}</td>
<td>{{price}}</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>Once the mockup is approved, the plain file reference is swapped for a model that points at a real PHP or ASP handler. Because the markup only ever spoke in terms of {{placeholders}} and repeat/if bindings, nothing in the page has to change - only where the data comes from.
