=head1 NAME
-Catalyst::Manual::Tutorial::AdvancedCRUD::FormFu - Catalyst Tutorial - Part 9: Advanced CRUD - FormFu
+Catalyst::Manual::Tutorial::AdvancedCRUD::FormFu - Catalyst Tutorial - Chapter 9: Advanced CRUD - FormFu
-NOTE: This part of the tutorial is in progress and will be ready soon.
-
=head1 OVERVIEW
-This is B<Part 9 of 10> for the Catalyst tutorial.
+This is B<Chapter 9 of 10> for the Catalyst tutorial.
L<Tutorial Overview|Catalyst::Manual::Tutorial>
This portion of the tutorial explores L<HTML::FormFu|HTML::FormFu> and
how it can be used to manage forms, perform validation of form input,
-as well as save and restore data to/from the database.
+as well as save and restore data to/from the database. This was written
+using HTML::FormFu version 0.03007.
See
L<Catalyst::Manual::Tutorial::AdvancedCRUD|Catalyst::Manual::Tutorial::AdvancedCRUD>
=head1 Install C<HTML::FormFu>
-If you are following along in Ubuntu, it turns out that C<HTML::FormFu>
-is not yet available as a package at the time this was written. To
-install it with a combination of C<apt-get> packages and traditional
-CPAN modules, first use C<apt-get> to install most of the modules
-required by C<HTML::FormFu>:
+If you are following along in Debian 5, it turns out that some of the
+modules we need are not yet available as Debian packages at the time
+this was written. To install it with a combination of Debian packages
+and traditional CPAN modules, first use C<aptitude> to install most of
+the modules:
+
+we need to install the
+L<HTML::FormFu|HTML::FormFu> package:
- sudo apt-get install libtest-nowarnings-perl libdatetime-format-builder-perl \
- libdatetime-format-strptime-perl libdatetime-locale-perl \
- libhtml-tokeparser-simple-perl liblist-moreutils-perl \
- libregexp-copy-perl libregexp-common-perl libyaml-syck-perl libparams-util-perl
+ sudo aptitude -y install libhtml-formfu-perl libmoose-perl \
+ libregexp-assemble-perl libhtml-formfu-model-dbic-perl
+
+ ...
+
+ sudo aptitude clean
Then use the following command to install directly from CPAN the modules
-that aren't available as Ubuntu/Debian packages via C<apt-get>:
+that aren't available as Debian packages:
- sudo cpan File::ShareDir Task::Weaken Config::Any HTML::FormFu \
- Catalyst::Controller::HTML::FormFu
+ sudo cpan Catalyst::Component::InstancePerContext Catalyst::Controller::HTML::FormFu
=head1 C<HTML::FormFu> FORM CREATION
This section looks at how L<HTML::FormFu|HTML::FormFu> can be used to
-add additional functionality to the manually created form from Part 4.
+add additional functionality to the manually created form from Chapter 4.
=head2 Inherit From C<Catalyst::Controller::HTML::FormFu>
First, change your C<lib/MyApp/Controller/Books.pm> to inherit from
L<Catalyst::Controller::HTML::FormFu|Catalyst::Controller::HTML::FormFu>
-by changing the C<use base> line from the default of:
+by changing the C<use parent> line from the default of:
- use base 'Catalyst::Controller';
+ use parent 'Catalyst::Controller';
to use the FormFu base controller class:
- use base 'Catalyst::Controller::HTML::FormFu';
+ use parent 'Catalyst::Controller::HTML::FormFu';
=head2 Add Action to Display and Save the Form
=head2 formfu_create
- Build an HTML::FormFu form for book creation and updates
+ Use HTML::FormFu to create a new book
=cut
- sub formfu_create :Local :FormConfig {
+ sub formfu_create :Chained('base') :PathPart('formfu_create') :Args(0) :FormConfig {
my ($self, $c) = @_;
# Get the form that the :FormConfig attribute saved in the stash
my $form = $c->stash->{form};
- # Check if the form as been submitted (vs. displaying the initial
- # form) and if the data based validation. "submitted_and_valid"
+ # Check if the form has been submitted (vs. displaying the initial
+ # form) and if the data passed validation. "submitted_and_valid"
# is shorthand for "$form->submitted && !$form->has_errors"
if ($form->submitted_and_valid) {
# Create a new book
my $book = $c->model('DB::Books')->new_result({});
# Save the form data for the book
- $form->save_to_model($book);
+ $form->model->update($book);
# Set a status message for the user
$c->flash->{status_msg} = 'Book created';
# Return to the books list
- $c->response->redirect($c->uri_for('list'));
+ $c->response->redirect($c->uri_for($self->action_for('list')));
$c->detach;
} else {
# Get the authors from the DB
- my @authorObjs = $c->model("DB::Authors")->all();
+ my @author_objs = $c->model("DB::Authors")->all();
# Create an array of arrayrefs where each arrayref is an author
my @authors;
- foreach (sort {$a->last_name cmp $b->last_name} @authorObjs) {
+ foreach (sort {$a->last_name cmp $b->last_name} @author_objs) {
push(@authors, [$_->id, $_->last_name]);
}
# Get the select added by the config file
name: submit
value: Submit
+B<NOTE:> Copying and pasting YAML from perl documentation is sometimes
+tricky. See the L<Config::General Config for this tutorial> section of
+this document for a more foolproof config format.
+
=head2 Update the CSS
-Edit C<root/src/ttsite.css> and add the following lines to the bottom of
+Edit C<root/static/css/main.css> and add the following lines to the bottom of
the file:
+ ...
input {
display: block;
}
[%# Render the HTML::FormFu Form %]
[% form %]
- <p><a href="[% Catalyst.uri_for('list') %]">Return to book list</a></p>
+ <p><a href="[% c.uri_for(c.controller.action_for('list')) %]">Return to book list</a></p>
=head2 Add Links for Create and Update via C<HTML::FormFu>
Open C<root/src/books/list.tt2> in your editor and add the following to
the bottom of the existing file:
+ ...
<p>
HTML::FormFu:
- <a href="[% Catalyst.uri_for('formfu_create') %]">Create</a>
+ <a href="[% c.uri_for(c.controller.action_for('formfu_create')) %]">Create</a>
</p>
This adds a new link to the bottom of the book list page that we can
$ script/myapp_server.pl
-Login as C<test01>. Once at the Book List page, click the new
-HTML::FormFu "Create" link at the bottom to display the form. Fill in
-the following values: Title = "Internetworking with TCP/IP Vol. II",
-Rating = "4", and Author = "Comer". Click Submit, and you will be
-returned to the Book List page with a "Book created" status message
-displayed.
+Login as C<test01> (password: mypass). Once at the Book List page,
+click the new HTML::FormFu "Create" link at the bottom to display the
+form. Fill in the following values: Title = "Internetworking with
+TCP/IP Vol. II", Rating = "4", and Author = "Comer". Click Submit,
+and you will be returned to the Book List page with a "Book created"
+status message displayed.
Also note that this implementation allows you to can create books with
bogus information. Although we have constrained the authors with the
-drop-down list (somewhat, we still have not prevented a user from
-"hacking" the form to specify other values), there are no restrictions
-on items such as the length of the title (for example, you can create a
-one-letter title) and value for the rating (you can use any number you
-want, and even non-numeric values with SQLite). The next section will
-address this concern.
+drop-down list (note that this isn't bulletproof because we still have
+not prevented a user from "hacking" the form to specify other values),
+there are no restrictions on items such as the length of the title (for
+example, you can create a one-letter title) and value for the rating
+(you can use any number you want, and even non-numeric values with
+SQLite). The next section will address this concern.
B<Note:> Depending on the database you are using and how you established
the columns in your tables, the database could obviously provide various
# This is an optional 'mouse over' title pop-up
attributes:
title: Enter a book title here
- # Use Filter to clean up the input data
- filter:
- # Remove whitespace at both ends
- - TrimEdges
- # Escape HTML characters for safety
- - HTMLEscape
# Add constraints for the field
constraints:
- # The user cannot leave this field blank
- - Required
- # Force the length to be between 5 and 30 chars
+ # Force the length to be between 5 and 40 chars
- type: Length
min: 5
- max: 30
+ max: 40
# Override the default of 'Invalid input'
- message: Length must be between 5 and 30 characters
+ message: Length must be between 5 and 40 characters
# Another text field for the numeric rating
- type: Text
attributes:
title: Enter a rating between 1 and 5 here
# Use Filter to clean up the input data
- filter:
- # Remove whitespace at both ends
- - TrimEdges
+ # Could use 'NonNumeric' below, but since Filters apply *before*
+ # constraints, it would conflict with the 'Integer' constraint below.
+ # So let's skip this and just use the constraint.
+ #filter:
# Remove everything except digits
- - NonNumeric
+ #- NonNumeric
# Add constraints to the field
constraints:
- - Required
# Make sure it's a number
- - Integer
+ - type: Integer
+ message: "Required. Digits only, please."
+ # Check the min & max values
+ - type: Range
+ min: 1
+ max: 5
+ message: "Must be between 1 and 5."
# Add a select list for the author selection. Note that we will
# dynamically fill in all the authors from the controller but we
# One could argue we don't need to do filters or constraints for
# a select list, but it's smart to do validation and sanity
# checks on this data in case a user "hacks" the input
- # Use Filter to clean up the input data
- filter:
- # Remove whitespace at both ends
- - TrimEdges
- # Escape HTML characters for safety
- - HTMLEscape
# Add constraints to the field
constraints:
- - Required
# Make sure it's a number
- Integer
name: submit
value: Submit
- # Globally ensure that each field only specified one value
+ # Global filters and constraints.
constraints:
- - SingleValue
+ # The user cannot leave any fields blank
+ - Required
+ # If not all fields are required, move the Required constraint to the
+ # fields that are
+ filter:
+ # Remove whitespace at both ends
+ - TrimEdges
+ # Escape HTML characters for safety
+ - HTMLEscape
+
+B<NOTE:> Copying and pasting YAML from perl documentation is sometimes
+tricky. See the L<Config::General Config for this tutorial> section of
+this document for a more foolproof config format.
The main changes are:
$ script/myapp_server.pl
-Now try adding a book with various errors: title less than 5 characters,
-non-numeric rating, a rating of 0 or 6, etc. Also try selecting one,
-two, and zero authors. When you click Submit, the HTML::FormFu
-C<constraint> items will validate the logic and insert feedback as
-appropriate. Try adding blank spaces at the front or the back of the
-title and note that it will be removed.
+Make sure you are still logged in as C<test01> and try adding a book
+with various errors: title less than 5 characters, non-numeric rating, a
+rating of 0 or 6, etc. Also try selecting one, two, and zero authors.
+When you click Submit, the HTML::FormFu C<constraint> items will
+validate the logic and insert feedback as appropriate. Try adding blank
+spaces at the front or the back of the title and note that it will be
+removed.
+
+
+=head1 CREATE AND UPDATE/EDIT ACTION
+
+Let's expand the work done above to add an edit action. First, open
+C<lib/MyApp/Controller/Books.pm> and add the following method to the
+bottom:
+
+ =head2 formfu_edit
+
+ Use HTML::FormFu to update an existing book
+
+ =cut
+
+ sub formfu_edit :Chained('object') :PathPart('formfu_edit') :Args(0)
+ :FormConfig('books/formfu_create.yml') {
+ my ($self, $c) = @_;
+
+ # Get the specified book already saved by the 'object' method
+ my $book = $c->stash->{object};
+
+ # Make sure we were able to get a book
+ unless ($book) {
+ $c->flash->{error_msg} = "Invalid book -- Cannot edit";
+ $c->response->redirect($c->uri_for($self->action_for('list')));
+ $c->detach;
+ }
+
+ # Get the form that the :FormConfig attribute saved in the stash
+ my $form = $c->stash->{form};
+
+ # Check if the form has been submitted (vs. displaying the initial
+ # form) and if the data passed validation. "submitted_and_valid"
+ # is shorthand for "$form->submitted && !$form->has_errors"
+ if ($form->submitted_and_valid) {
+ # Save the form data for the book
+ $form->model->update($book);
+ # Set a status message for the user
+ $c->flash->{status_msg} = 'Book edited';
+ # Return to the books list
+ $c->response->redirect($c->uri_for($self->action_for('list')));
+ $c->detach;
+ } else {
+ # Get the authors from the DB
+ my @author_objs = $c->model("DB::Authors")->all();
+ # Create an array of arrayrefs where each arrayref is an author
+ my @authors;
+ foreach (sort {$a->last_name cmp $b->last_name} @author_objs) {
+ push(@authors, [$_->id, $_->last_name]);
+ }
+ # Get the select added by the config file
+ my $select = $form->get_element({type => 'Select'});
+ # Add the authors to it
+ $select->options(\@authors);
+ # Populate the form with existing values from DB
+ $form->model->default_values($book);
+ }
+
+ # Set the template
+ $c->stash->{template} = 'books/formfu_create.tt2';
+ }
+
+Most of this code should look familiar to what we used in the
+C<formfu_create> method (in fact, we should probably centralize some of
+the common code in separate methods). The main differences are:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item *
+
+We have to manually specify the name of the FormFu .yml file as an
+argument to C<:FormConfig> because the name can no longer be
+automatically deduced from the name of our action/method (by default,
+FormFu would look for a file named C<books/formfu_edit.yml>).
+
+=item *
+
+We load the book object from the stash (found using the $id passed to
+the Chained object method)
+
+=item *
+
+We use C<$id> to look up the existing book from the database.
+
+=item *
+
+We make sure the book lookup returned a valid book. If not, we set
+the error message and return to the book list.
+
+=item *
+
+If the form has been submitted and passes validation, we skip creating a
+new book and just use C<$form-E<gt>model-E<gt>update> to update the existing
+book.
+
+=item *
+
+If the form is being displayed for the first time (or has failed
+validation and it being redisplayed), we use
+ C<$form-E<gt>model-E<gt>default_values> to populate the form with data from the
+database.
+
+=back
+
+Then, edit C<root/src/books/list.tt2> and add a new link below the
+existing "Delete" link that allows us to edit/update each existing book.
+The last E<lt>tdE<gt> cell in the book list table should look like the
+following:
+
+ ...
+ <td>
+ [% # Add a link to delete a book %]
+ <a href="[% c.uri_for(c.controller.action_for('delete'), [book.id]) %]">Delete</a>
+ [% # Add a link to edit a book %]
+ <a href="[% c.uri_for(c.controller.action_for('formfu_edit'), [book.id]) %]">Edit</a>
+ </td>
+ ...
+
+B<Note:> Only add two lines (the "Add a link to edit a book" comment
+and the href for C<formfu_edit>). Make sure you add it below the
+existing C<delete> link.
+
+
+=head2 Try Out the Edit/Update Feature
+
+Press C<Ctrl-C> to kill the previous server instance (if it's still
+running) and restart it:
+
+ $ script/myapp_server.pl
+
+Make sure you are still logged in as C<test01> and go to the
+L<http://localhost:3000/books/list> URL in your browser. Click the
+"Edit" link next to "Internetworking with TCP/IP Vol. II", change the
+rating to a 3, the "II" at end of the title to the number "2", add
+Stevens as a co-author (control-click), and click Submit. You will then
+be returned to the book list with a "Book edited" message at the top in
+green. Experiment with other edits to various books.
+
+=head2 More Things to Try
+
+You are now armed with enough knowledge to be dangerous. You can keep
+tweaking the example application; some things you might want to do:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item *
+
+Add an appropriate authorization check to the new Edit function.
+
+=item *
+
+Cleanup the List page so that the Login link only displays when the user
+isn't logged in and the Logout link only displays when a user is logged
+in.
+
+=item *
+
+Add a more sensible policy for when and how users and admins can do
+things in the CRUD cycle.
+
+=item *
+
+Support the CRUD cycle for authors.
+
+=back
+
+Or you can proceed to write your own application, which is probably the
+real reason you worked through this Tutorial in the first place.
+
+=head2 Config::General Config for this tutorial
+
+If you are having difficulty with YAML config above, please save the
+below into the file C<formfu_create.conf> and delete the
+C<formfu_create.yml> file. The below is in
+L<Config::General|Config::General> format which follows the syntax of
+Apache config files.
+
+ constraints Required
+ <elements>
+ <constraints>
+ min 5
+ max 40
+ type Length
+ message Length must be between 5 and 40 characters
+ </constraints>
+ filter TrimEdges
+ filter HTMLEscape
+ name title
+ type Text
+ label Title
+ <attributes>
+ title Enter a book title here
+ </attributes>
+ </elements>
+ <elements>
+ constraints Integer
+ filter TrimEdges
+ filter NonNumeric
+ name rating
+ type Text
+ label Rating
+ <attributes>
+ title Enter a rating between 1 and 5 here
+ </attributes>
+ </elements>
+ <elements>
+ constraints Integer
+ filter TrimEdges
+ filter HTMLEscape
+ name authors
+ type Select
+ label Author
+ multiple 1
+ size 3
+ </elements>
+ <elements>
+ value Submit
+ name submit
+ type Submit
+ </elements>
+ indicator submit
+
=head1 AUTHOR
Please report any errors, issues or suggestions to the author. The
most recent version of the Catalyst Tutorial can be found at
-L<http://dev.catalyst.perl.org/repos/Catalyst/trunk/Catalyst-Manual/lib/Catalyst/Manual/Tutorial/>.
+L<http://dev.catalyst.perl.org/repos/Catalyst/Catalyst-Manual/5.70/trunk/lib/Catalyst/Manual/Tutorial/>.
-Copyright 20066-2008, Kennedy Clark, under Creative Commons License
-(L<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/>).
-
\ No newline at end of file
+Copyright 2006-2008, Kennedy Clark, under Creative Commons License
+(L<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/>).
projects / catagits/Catalyst-Manual.git / blobdiff