Advantages of Using Infopath

The following are the advantages of using InfoPath Forms compared with the default forms:

Custom Design Possibility	We can design the forms using InfoPath Designer that allows much more layout & user control choice.
Better Formatting Options	More colors & data formatting options are possible.
Better Validation Options	Better validations are possible
Better Data Entry through Repeating & Nested Sections	Repeating Sections allow capturing of repeating set of data.  For example multiple contacts addresses with same kind of fields like address, city, and state.
Lookup Data from various sources
Offline Form Filling	Forms can be send to users for offline filling (through email attachment)
Digital Signature	Users can digitally sign the form
Managed Code Integration	We can write custom code for much more control.
Late Form Submissions	Completed forms can be submitted later on through the Submit feature of InfoPath form filler.

These are the advantages of Infopath :

1) You can connect to many back-end data sources to get data, whether it be SharePoint itself, SQL DBs, Access, or any web service that interfaces with a non-MS DB.
2) The forms can be directly integrated with SharePoint through form libraries, which allows your people to stay within the primary collaboration interface (SharePoint) when doing all your work, including filling out electronic forms.
3) When the form is submitted to the form library, the data is then discoverable in the search index across all of SharePoint (depending on how your enterprise search is configured)
4) If using MOSS 2007 Enterprise, then you have the option of browser-enabled forms where people can interact with the forms from different non-MS platforms and non-MS browsers without the users needing the InfoPath client.
5) Submitting forms to SharePoint allows you to then trigger workflows that can do just about anything you want for routing, notification, updating data in other lists/libraries, etc.
6) InfoPath is part of the Office Suite and has already been improved greatly in 2010. It is built to interface and integrate with other Office products, including Word and Outlook.

InfoPath offers the following advantages as a form technology for
AgilePoint-based, process-driven applications:

•     Created using a GUI. No code is required.
•     Easy to use and business user friendly.
•     Rapid form creation.
•     Close integration with SharePoint.
•     Dynamic lookups from most any external data source, including SharePoint.
•     Simple integration with SharePoint, web services, and databases.
•     Multiple views for single form. : A single form can have several different views. For example, a large complex form can have several views that slowly expose different blocks of controls as the form is completed. A print view can also be constructed to let the form be easily printed for those cases where online completion is inappropriate or impossible.
  
•     Repeating tables.
•     Dynamic validation. : A paper form is subject to the whims and fancies of the person entering data, but not so with the electronic form. Each control can be set up to validate the data entered. Examples of data validation range from the simple, such as setting the control to only accept text or numbers, to complex, such as notifying the user that the number entered is out of an acceptable range. Data validation ensures that the data collected is as consistent as possible.
•     Conditional formatting.
•     Multiple attachments.
•     Multi-lingual form capabilities.
•     Custom branding.
•     Web-based or client-based data entry mode.
•      Digital Signature : InfoPath templates may be secured using digital signatures from staff with or without signature registration. This ability ensures the authenticity and the integrity of the form template.
•      SharePoint Workflow
  When used in conjunction with Microsoft SharePoint, an InfoPath form can operate under the direction of a workflow. For example, a simple approval workflow can, when a form is completed and submitted, raise an approval task to the manager of the person that raised the form.
  
  
  When the manager approves the information entered into the form then the workflow is complete. Some simple workflows are built into the InfoPath application, while other more complex workflows may be built using applications such as SharePoint Designer.
• InfoPath Forms and Templates - XML Structure
  In InfoPath, the form template and the captured form data are rendered in XML, or extensible mark-up language. Simply put, XML is a data structure that identifies individual blocks of data with easy-to-understand tags. For example, the username "Tomas" may be identified as <username>Tomas</username>, where <username> and </username> are the opening and closing tags for that item of data. XML is widely used and easily readable in its native form.
  
  

Info Path Disadvatages

InfoPath includes the following disadvantages as a form technology for AgilePoint-based, process-driven applications:

•     Difficult to integrate with process-driven applications outside of SharePoint
•     Difficult to secure sensitive data.
•     Both web-based and client-based forms require the InfoPath client license.
•     InfoPath Forms Server license is required for web-based forms.
•     Limited standard controls.
•     No support for custom controls.
•     No support for AJAX.
•     No multilingual support.
•     Performance reduction on large or complex forms. Post back to form is slow, and performance is not good.
•     Custom, managed code is difficult to maintain.