What is XLM and how to use

[por930]

Sorry for asking such a basic question. All the explanations I see wander off into code and zillions of definitions....but no one seems to get down to basics and provide a how it works description....

I see a lot of XML creeping into my flight sim world where we are creating these xml routines...I have created this code because some one said I need it. But, lets start at the beginning. I have this xml routine. It is sitting in my documents structure where I got told to place it.
How does the computer know it is there?
what tells the computer to do some thing with this routine?
What do I do that triggers the computer to see this routine?

The routine I was told to create is below...

<SimBase.Document Type="AddOnXml" version="4,0" id="add-on">
<AddOn.Name>AI Traffic - Aircraft</AddOn.Name>
<AddOn.Description>AI Traffic - Aircraft</AddOn.Description>
<AddOn.Component>
<Category>SimObjects</Category>
<Path>D:\Prepar3D Add-on\AI Traffic - Aircraft</Path>
</AddOn.Component>
<AddOn.Component>
<Category>Effects</Category>
<Path>D:\Prepar3D Add-on\AI Traffic - Aircraft\effects</Path>
</AddOn.Component>
<AddOn.Component>
<Name>AI Traffic - Aircraft</Name>
<Category>Scenery</Category>
<Path>D:\Prepar3D Add-on\AI Traffic - Aircraft\scenery</Path>
</AddOn.Component>
<AddOn.Component>
<Category>Texture</Category>
<Path>D:\Prepar3D Add-on\AI Traffic - Aircraft\texture global</Path>
<Type>GLOBAL</Type>
</AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

Sorry if this is too basic...just curious..

Geoff

[Radu]

Hi Geoff,

You can regard XML as a small database in text format. Applications may store or read such XML files and update their internal settings accordingly. The format of the XML document (tag names, attribute names) are all application dependent and some applications detail the format of XML they expect to load in their online documentation.
So you probably use a software application which when started will look in a certain place on the hard drive for an XML configuration file. So probably this is why you have been advised to place your XML document in a certain location.

Regards,
Radu

[por930]

Hi Radu, Thanks for the reply.

A flight sim has a big database structure and I suppose as you say, the xml code merely provides a shortcut method of finding data.

Yes, you are probably right and LM P3dv4 has a built in procedure that checks for these files. Be great if we could some how see it being used, as at present, it is like some innate object and you do not really know if it works until it does in some fashion..

Regards
Geoff