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lib/Class/DBI/FormBuilder.pm  view on Meta::CPAN

    use Class::DBI::FormBuilder;
    
    # for indented output:
    # use Class::DBI::FormBuilder PrettyPrint => 'ALL';
    
    # POST all forms to server
    Film->form_builder_defaults->{method} = 'post';
    
    # customise how some fields are built:
    # 'actor' is a has_a field, and the 
    # related table has 1000's of rows, so we don't want the default popup widget,
    # we just want to show the current value
    Film->form_builder_defaults->{process_fields}->{actor} = 'VALUE';
    
    # 'trailer' stores an mpeg file, but CDBI::FB cannot automatically detect 
    # file upload fields, so need to tell it:
    Film->form_builder_defaults->{process_fields}->{trailer} = 'FILE';
    
    # has_a fields will be automatically set to 'required'. Additional fields can be specified:
    Film->form_builder_defaults->{required} = qw( foo bar );
    

lib/Class/DBI/FormBuilder.pm  view on Meta::CPAN

and C<might_have> relationships. Further relationships can be added by subclassing. C<has_a> columns 
are set as 'required' fields in create/update forms.

A demonstration app (using L<Maypole::FormBuilder|Maypole::FormBuilder>) can be viewed at 

    http://beerfb.riverside-cms.co.uk
    
=head1 Customising field construction

Often, the default behaviour will be unsuitable. For instance, a C<has_a> relationship might point to 
a related table with thousands of records. A popup widget with all these records is probably not useful.  
Also, it will take a long time to build, so post-processing the form to re-design the field is a 
poor solution. 

Instead, you can pass an extra C<process_fields> argument in the call to C<as_form> (or you can 
set it in C<form_builder_defaults>).

Many of the internal routines use this mechanism for configuring fields. A manually set '+' 
(basic) processor will be B<added> to any other automatic processing, whereas a manually set shortcut 
processor (no '+') will B<replace> all automatic processing.