Is there an existing standard or framework for multi-part, branching-logic input forms?

Question

I have several clients who need a multi-part form input systems.

In fact, this comes up all the time for intensive input form type apps -- mortgage applications, college applications, large order forms, etc. The need is for a form in multiple steps, where users can go forward or backward, and there can be branching logic. Think SurveyMonkey.

Is there some standard here? In my head, I'm working up an XML spec to control the logic of this in a general sense, but I can't be the first one to solve this problem, and I keep thinking there must be some larger framework that already exists. Does this fit under the umbrella of workflow, or business process automation?

So, before I try to reinvent this wheel, I just want to see if there's something out there I'm missing.

Answer 1

The Apache Cocoon project developed a framework called Flow [http://cocoon.apache.org/2.1/userdocs/flow/index.html] to solve this problem. While I wouldn't recommend migrating to Cocoon, the pattern that they used may be useful to you.