[html-formfu] DBIC: setting accessor for a Select element triggers options_from_model()

[Carl Franks]

On 21/02/2008, Steve Caldwell <info-formfu at caldwellhb.com> wrote:
> I'm building a form that has a Select element that I'm mapping to a
>  non-column accessor on my DBIC object, as described in "non-column
>  accessors" in the HTML::FormFu::Model::DBIC POD, like this:
>
>  ---
>  action: /foo
>  elements:
>   - type: Select
>     name: bar
>     label: Your Bar
>     db:
>       accessor: bar
>     options:
>       - [ 01, January ]
>       - [ 02, February ]
>
>  When I then try and populate it from my DBIC object:
>
>  $form->defaults_from_model( $myobj );
>
>  HTML::FormFu::Model::DBIC::options_from_model gets called (thanks to
>  line 44 in HTML::FormFu::Element::_Group), which then overwrites the
>  options I've set from my select list with a bunch of stuff from the
>  database.  This is obviously not what I want here.
>
>  Anyone else come across this problem?  The work-around isn't that much
>  work (manually populate from and save to my object instead of using
>  defaults_from_model() and save_to_model()), but it would be cooler if it
>  all worked correctly.

I agree that this is broken.
I think Select automatically calling options_from_model() is a case of
*too much magic*

(sidenote) - I know you've only just subscribed to the list, so a
quick explanation, so that you understand my following proposal:
FormFu in svn has been changed so that you set Model/DBIC options with:
    $field->{model_config}{DBIC}
instead of:
    $field->{db}

This will be in the next cpan release. However, setting {db} will
still work, and Do The Right Thing, it'll just print a warning that
it's deprecated and will be removed at some point in the future.

The reason for this, is the model was implemented as a bit of a
rush-job and we need to get it working properly to support multiple
models - much like how Catalyst handles models.
(/sidenote)

I suggest we require that a new option be set to run
options_from_model(), such as:

    ---
    element:
      type: Select
      name: foo
        model_config:
          DBIC:
            options_from_model: 1

(or, in the old, deprecated, style):

    ---
    element:
      type: Select
      name: foo
        db:
          options_from_model: 1

Any opinions on this?

Carl