[Html-widget] Rails-like form helpers - RFC for a new module

Tue Sep 26 16:14:04 CEST 2006

Hi,

I've made a package of the current Instant development branch:
zby.aster.net.pl/Catalyst-Example-InstantCRUD-v0.0.17.tar.gz
- it includes the widget stuff.  If anyone is interested I can explain
things at #catalyst.
For now I am a bit stuck with the question about the interface.  If I make
it a subclass of HTML::Widget would it be considered bad form if I do
something like:

...
package HTML::Widget::Result

sub save_to_db {
...

adding effectively the save_to_db method to the HTML::Widget::Result
objects?  Or should I solve it in some other way?

--
Zbyszek

On 9/26/06, John Napiorkowski <jjn1056 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I'm definitely interested in seeing what you come up
> with.  I'm not sure if any names I come up with are
> useful though :)  I also used DBIx::Class::Widget for
> a little while but found as you that it was a little
> too much bound together which is why I'm using
> formbuilder now (which has less glue to DBIx then I
> would like, granted).
>
> As far as the config file format, why not use
> config::any and just let people choose the config of
> their choice?
>
> --john
>
>
>
> --- Zbigniew Lukasiak <zzbbyy at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Thanks for the ideas, I think I'll try them later -
> > for now the module is
> > nearly ready it just needs some finishing touches. I
> > would like to finish it
> > and see if people use it before extending.  What I
> > need now is to decide how
> > to name it and if make it a subclass of HTML::Widget
> > - the creator would
> > record the config and db row in the object and then
> > the update would an
> > object method with no arguments.  This would be the
> > simplest interface I see
> > - but unfortunately the update method needs to have
> > a HTML::Widget::Result
> > object not a simple HTML::Widget - any ideas how to
> > cleanly solve that?
> >
> > All the logic for this module I've taken from
> > DBIx::Class::Widget (by Jonas
> > Alves). We came to conclusion that it was coupling
> > the db and the interface
> > too strongly and I hope that the config will make
> > the coupling a bit more
> > loose.
> >
> > --
> > Zbyszek
> >
> > On 9/25/06, Peter Edwards <peter at dragonstaff.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > The sort of interface I'd like would be a form
> > definition file, say in
> > > Config::General format, following a standard
> > syntax.
> > > As a starting point it would be worth looking at a
> > Visual Basic .frm file
> > > to
> > > see the sort of info that stores.
> > > - general form level attributes, including data
> > source spec
> > > - nested containers, both simple and tabbed
> > > - labels
> > > - widgets for display elements with optional link
> > to data source element
> > > - back in InstantCRUD an overrideable handler for
> > generalised form
> > > handling
> > > tasks (list paging, record view, record next/prev,
> > that sort of thing) and
> > > backends for AJAX widgets.
> > >
> > > Later on someone could write an Eclipse plugin to
> > make it easy to set up
> > > forms. Valuable for proof of concept prototyping
> > and then you can fine
> > > tune
> > > the form def or write custom TT2 templates where
> > necessary.
> > > It also makes it easy to write a utility to allow
> > users to customise
> > > screen
> > > appearance.
> > >
> > > Regards, Peter
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: html-widget-bounces at lists.rawmode.org
> > > [mailto:html-widget-bounces at lists.rawmode.org] On
> > Behalf Of John
> > > Napiorkowski
> > > Sent: 24 September 2006 23:38
> > > To: html-widget at lists.rawmode.org
> > > Subject: Re: [Html-widget] Rails-like form helpers
> > - RFC for a new module
> > >
> > > --- Zbigniew Lukasiak <zzbbyy at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Dear all,
> > > >
> > > > In the new InstantCRUD I decided to take out the
> > > > code for html forms
> > > > generation and make a separate module for it.
> > After
> > > > reading 'Rails-like
> > > > form helpers' thread I think that this module
> > might
> > > > find a more general use.
> > > > I would like to ask you what intefrace would you
> > > > propose for it.
> > > >
> > > > It can build the HTML::Widgets based on some
> > config
> > > > and data from the
> > > > database and then can also save the data from
> > the
> > > > widget to the database.
> > > > The config part is more complicated than it
> > could be
> > > > because the info about
> > > > many-to-many relations is not available from the
> > > > schema so you need to
> > > > specify it in the config.  Since it is already
> > there
> > > > I've added also the
> > > > stringification to it - as it is a bit cleaner
> > to
> > > > have it here in the
> > > > interface part than overload stringification in
> > the
> > > > database schema
> > > > definition.
> > > >
> > > > The current interface is composed of just two
> > > > functions:
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> Catalyst::Example::InstantCRUD::Widget->make_widget($interface_config,
> > > > $class, $schema, $item);
> > > >
> > > > $interface_config is a hash containing info
> > about
> > > > all db classes and how to
> > > > wigetify them, $class is the db class, $schema
> > is
> > > > DBIC schema and $item is
> > > > the db row to populate values in the form - its
> > > > optional.
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> Catalyst::Example::InstantCRUD::Widget->populate_db($result,
> > > > $item);
> > > >
> > > > $result is HTML::Widget::Result and $item is the
> > db
> > > > row to be updated
> > > >
> > > > So my question is do you think it deserves to be
> > > > taken out from InstantCRUD
> > > > and then what name would you propose for it?
> > How
> > > > would you design the API?
> > >
> > > I personally like the idea of having a config file
> > for
> > > this.  One of the things that has really worked
> > for me
> > > with Formbuilding is that option to use a yaml
> > > configuration file to build forms.  I didn't
> > > personally like building the forms in the
> > controller,
> > > it really seems like a view thing to me, and
> > > forwarding to a view to build the form and then to
> > > Template Toolkit seemed really like a lot of extra
> > > work.
> > >
> > > With formbuilding I can put the config file in
> > with
> > > the *.tt files and it seems really neat and
> > ordered to
> > > me.
> > >
> > > Other things I'd like is an easier way to have the
> > > forms and other elements hook back to catalyst
> > > controllers.  I've really liked the JSF idea of
> > having
> > > the template language be more than a renderer.
> > Makes
> > > developing AJAX stuff easier.
> > >
> > > So it would be very cool if instead of exposing
> > > information to the template system you would
> > expose
> > > objects with callbacks to controllers.  However to
> > get
> > > this to work right we really need a better
> > subrequest
> > > system.  I've been playing with the subrequest
> > plugin
> > > from Trunk just to get the idea of how this all
> > works
> > > but haven't made so much progress in understanding
> > it
> > > all :)
> > >
> > > Right now for my portal like system I'm just
> > creating
> > > objects that do dumb LWP requests to a controller.
> >  It
> > > works but feels very crude.
> > >
> > > --john
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Html-widget mailing list
> > > Html-widget at lists.rawmode.org
> > >
> >
> http://lists.rawmode.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/html-widget
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Zbigniew Lukasiak
> > http://brudnopis.blogspot.com/
> > > _______________________________________________
> > Html-widget mailing list
> > Html-widget at lists.rawmode.org
> >
> http://lists.rawmode.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/html-widget
> >
>
>
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-- 
Zbigniew Lukasiak
http://brudnopis.blogspot.com/
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