Christian Wenz
Libauer Str. 2
81927 Munich
Germany
E-Mail: christian@wenz.org
Tel.: +49 172 8118774
Fax: +49 8151 89408

Tobias Hauser
Prinz-Karl-Straße 30b
82319 Starnberg
Germany
E-Mail: TobiHauser@compuserve.com
Tel.: +49 171 4811976
Fax: +49 8151 21146

Topic of presentation: SVG server-side

Intention: To show how to generate SVG server-side, including configuration issues and some examples

Motivation: SVG is powerful, and using its scripting capabilities, it is even more powerful. However the ultimate power only can be achieved when using server-side scripting. This enables the usage of storing information in files, retrieving (and writing) data into databases and so on. In this talk, we will show how you can extend your server and your scripts so that you can generate SVG code on the server side. The focus of this talk is on the how, e.g. which steps are necessary for a script to generate code the viewer understands. Thus, there is no focus on one special technology (PHP, ASP, JSP, Java Servlets, Perl, ...) - the goal of this talk is that everyone can benefit from it, no matter which technology is used.

Abstract: The talk is planned to consist out of these parts:

1. Motivation: Some hints why server-side generation offers advantages over "static" SVG document, e.g. fresh content, easy and automatic update, and so on.
2. Satisfying the browser: The browser expects a certain MIME type in order to decide what to do with a file (if no MIME type is provided, some browsers use the extension). We explain what exactly a MIME type is, what the MIME type of SVG documents is and how you can set the MIME type of a script's output in PHP, ASP, JSP, Perl and others.
3. Creating SVG elements: Using a lot of "write" functions, it is possible to create SVG to send to the client, however a little bit of methodic is quite nice. We show some examples using PHP (we chose PHP since it is widely spread and available for many platforms) and Perl (same reasons as above, plus large amount of modules) and generate some SVG elements. We also have a look at existing classes/modules that make generating SVG elements fairly easy.
4. Examples: After the initial work is done and the basics have been introduced, we show some examples that use server-side techniques like database access in order to generate truly dynamic SVG effects. The listings are short and simple (so also people who do not know a specific language can understand what is happening), however the effects may be surprising.

Conclusion: SVG will never look the same to you once you have seen what can be done using server-side techniques.
Presentation setup will use an Apache Web Server and Open Source scripting languages, however we will also have a look at other products and technologies, e.g. Microsoft's ASP. The goal is to satisfy all platforms whose supporters attend the presentation.

About the presenters:

• Christian Wenz is a well-known German book author with approximately 25 publications on various aspects of web programming, including two bestsellers on JavaScript and several successful books on PHP and ASP. He has worked for both German and international publishers. Some of his books have been translated into other languages.
• Tobias Hauser is also a well-known book author. He specializes in web design, both the graphical and the programming side. Among his around two dozen publications are successful books on Photoshop, HTML and PHP, some of them are also available in other languages.