=encoding ISO8859-1
=head1 NAME
Class GvaScript.Form - Wrapper around HTML Forms
=head1 SYNOPSIS
<form id="my_form" onsubmit="return false;">
<div repeat="foo">
<h2>Foo #{foo.count}</h2>
<input type="text" name="person.name"/>
<input type="text" name="person.bdate"/>
This is the repeated foo section
<table>
<tr repeat="bar">
<td>Item #{bar.count}</td>
<td><input name="#{bar.path}.buz"></td>
<td><button onclick="GvaScript.Form.remove('#{bar.path}')">
Remove this row
</button></td>
</tr>
</table>
<button onclick="GvaScript.Form.add('#{foo.path}.bar')">
Add a bar
</button>
</div>
<button onclick="GvaScript.Form.add('foo')">Add a foo</button>
</form>
<script>
var gvascript_form = new GvaScript.Form('my_form', {
datatree: {name:'kitty', bdate:'01.01.1990'},
dataprefix: 'person',
// 'active' form elements
registry: [
['input', 'mouseover', function(event) {}],
['input', 'mouseout', function(event) {}],
['input', 'change', function(event, newv ,oldv) {}],
['input', 'init', function(event, newv) {}]
],
// handlers to form's custom events
onInit: function(gva_form) {},
onRepeatBlockRemove: function(gva_form, arg) {
arg[0] // removed repeat name
arg[1] // removed repeat path
},
onRepeatBlockAdd: function(gva_form, arg) {
arg[0] // added repeat name
arg[1] // added repeat path
},
onChange: function(gva_form, event) {
// event.target -> element changed
// event.memo.oldvalue -> changed element's old value
// event.memo.newvalue -> changed element's new value
},
onSubmit: function(gva_form) {
// ....
// do form submission
// ....
if(success) {gva_form.fire('AfterSubmit', arg)}
else
if(data_validation_error) {gva_form.fire('DataValidationError', arg)}
else {gva_form.fire('SubmitFailure', arg)}
},
onAfterSubmit: function(gva_form, arg) {},
onDataValidationError: function(gva_form, arg) {},
onSubmitFailure: function(gva_form, arg) {},
onBeforeDestroy: function(gva_form, arg) {}
}
</script>
=head1 DESCRIPTION
This module of L<Alien::GvaScript> manages forms with
hierarchical fields and dynamically repeated sections.
It works in close collaboration with L<Alien::GvaScript::Repeat>.
The design is partially inspired by the C<Web Forms 2.0> proposal
(L<http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-forms/current-work/>), but is
not an attempt to implement the proposed specification: there are
some differences both in syntax and in semantics.
=head1 Constructor
new GvaScript.Form(form_id[, options])
=over 12
=item * form_id
id of the HTML form to extend
=item * options
hash of optional properties that would define the behavior of the form
=over
=item * datatree
tree represention of the initial form data.
Ex:
{
name: 'barbie',
age: '49',
friends: [
{ name: 'ken', age: '35' },
{ name: 'jen', age: '55' }
]
}
=item * dataprefix
sometimes it's helpful to prefix the html input names to give them 'context'.
Ex: C<doll.name> C<doll.friends.0.name>.
in this example, the dataprefix should be set to 'doll'
=item * registry
a list of arrays C<[expression, eventName, handler]>.
each item in the array would be passed over to the L</notify> method.
=item * onInit
function to be called after the successful initialization of the GvaScript.Form instance.
=item * onRepeatBlockRemove
function to be called after a block in a repeated section is removed
Signature
function onRepeatBlockRemove(gva_form, arg) {
// gva_form : GvaScript.Form instance
// arg: array containing repeat name as first element and repeat path as second
}
=item * onRepeatBlockAdd
function to be called after a block in a repeated section is added
Signature
function onRepeatBlockAdd(gva_form, arg) {
// gva_form : GvaScript.Form instance
// arg: array containing repeat name as first element and repeat path as second
}
=item * onChange
function to be called when any of the form's elements has changed or onAdd/onRemove of a repeatable section.
Signature
function onChange(gva_form, event) {
// gva_form : GvaScript.Form instance
// event: Event object fired by the change on the form element
// Has a memo object that has olvalue and newvalue set unless
// called from the Repeat module
}
=item * onBeforeSubmit
function to be called directly before the form submits.
Signature
function onBeforeSubmit(gva_form) {
// gva_form : GvaScript.Form instance
// return false if you want to stop the form from submitting
}
=item * onSubmit
function to be called when the form is submit.
Signature
function onSubmit(gva_form) {
// gva_form : GvaScript.Form instance
// use to fire 'onAfterSubmit', 'onSubmitFailure' or 'onDataValidationError'
}
=item * onBeforeDestroy
function to be called right before the form instance calls the destroy method.
Callback useful for doing some inhouse cleaning before the form gets removed from the DOM.
=item * on[XYZ]
Event handlers for custom form events. The form instance should fire these events so as corresponding handler can be fired.
=item * actionsbar
initializes and instance of L<Alien::GvaScript::ActionsBar>.
Signature
actionsbar : {
container : 'container_id',
actions : [
{
label : 'Submit Form',
type : 'submit'
},
{
label : 'Init Form',
type : 'button',
callback : function() {
// 'this' correspond to the button
GvaScript.Form.init('form', datatree);
}
}
]
}
=back
=back
=head1 HTML
=head2 Markup of repeat elements
Repeat elements may occur outside of forms and therefore
are described in a separate document;
see L<Alien::GvaScript::Repeat>.
=head2 Autofocus
The L</init> method inspects all form elements for an
C<autofocus> attribute; the first element that possesses
this attribute automatically receives focus.
Similarly, when a repetition block is added into
the form through the L</add> method, the first
element within that repetition block that possesses
an C<autofocus> attribute automatically receives focus.
=head1 METHODS
=head2 destroy
gvascript_form.destroy()
instance destructor - will unregister the GvaScript.Form instance from the GvaScript.Forms namespace and will remove all of its observers.
=head2 getId
gvascript_form.getId()
returns the id of the form element that the gvascript_form instance is wrapped around.
=head2 fire
gvascript_form.fire(eventName[, arg])
used to fire event on the for instance and thus called corresponding responders and instance callback.
C<eventName>: eventName to fire without the 'on' prefix.
C<arg> argument to send over to the corresponding responder(s) and callback.
this method will
=over
=item 1.
execute the early responders set the on[eventName]
=item 2.
execute instance on[eventName] callback
=item 3.
execute the responders set the on[eventName]
=back
execution sequence will stop whenever one of the responders or callback returns C<false>
NOTE that the B<onBeforeSubmit, onSubmit> events cannot be notified programatically.
You actually need to call form.submit() for these events to be fired.
=head2 register
gvascript_form.register(expression, eventName, handler)
GvaScript.Form.register(form, expression, eventName, handler)
tells the form to watch the I<eventName> on elements that match the I<expression> and to fire the corresponding I<handler>.
C<expression> (String) - A css selector
C<eventName> (String) - The name of the event, in all lower case, without the "on" prefix e.g., "click" (not "onclick").
A custom B<"init"> event is also supported which is fired on an input that gets its value initialized with the initialization of the form.
C<handler> (Function) - handler to fire.
Signature
function handler(event[, newValue[, oldValue]]) {
event.target // element being observed
}
C<newValue> is set for the C<change> and the C<init> events.
C<oldValue> is set for the C<change>.
B<NOTE:> Form.Element.setValue method is wrapped in GvaScript.ProtoExtensions module to programatically fire the blur event after setting the value on the input, and hence firing the change handler if any.
[I<This method can be called either as an instance method or as a generic method. If calling as a generic, pass the form HTMLElement/id in as the first argument.>]
=head2 unregister
gvascript_form.unregister(expression[, eventName[, handler]])
GvaScript.Form.unregister(form, expression[, eventName[, handler]])
removes observers set on given C<expression>. if C<eventName> is provided, will only stop observing that eventName.
if C<handler> is also provided, will just stop calling this handler.
NOTE that the same handler signature should be used in the register method for it to work in the unregister method.
[I<This method can be called either as an instance method or as a generic method. If calling as a generic, pass the form HTMLElement/id in as the first argument.>]
=head2 init
gvascript_form.init(initial_tree, prefix)
GvaScript.Form.init(form, initial_tree, prefix)
C<form> is the id of a form (or directly the DOM element). Optional
C<initial_tree> is a javascript nested datastructure containing
initial values for fields, that will be passed to the
L</fill_from_tree> method.
[I<This method can be called either as an instance method or as a generic method. If calling as a generic, pass the form HTMLElement/id in as the first argument.>]
=head2 to_hash
var flat_hash = GvaScript.Form.to_hash(form);
Inspects the contents of all fields in C<form> and
returns a flat hash of pairs (key-value).
[I<This method can be called either as an instance method or as a generic method. If calling as a generic, pass the form HTMLElement/id in as the first argument.>]
=head2 to_tree
var tree = GvaScript.Form.to_tree(form);
Inspects the contents of all fields in C<form> and
returns a data tree, were dotted names in form names
are expanded into sub-arrays or sub-hashes. So for example
if the form looks like
<input name="father.firstname"> <input name="father.lastname"><br>
<input name="mother.firstname"> <input name="mother.lastname"><br>
<div repeat="child" repeat-start="1">
<input name="#{child.path}.firstname"><br>
</div>
and if that form has been expanded with 3 repetition blocks
for children, the resulting tree would be
{ "father" : {"firstname" : ..., "lastname": ...},
"mother" : {"firstname" : ..., "lastname": ...},
"child" : [ {"firstname": ...},
{"firstname": ...},
{"firstname": ...} ] }
[I<This method can be called either as an instance method or as a generic method. If calling as a generic, pass the form HTMLElement/id in as the first argument.>]
=head2 fill_from_tree
GvaScript.Form.fill_from_tree(form, field_prefix, tree);
Fills the form from values found in C<tree> (this is the
reverse of the L</to_tree> operation).
Optional C<field_prefix> is prepended to key names in C<tree> for
finding the corresponding form fields.
The method walks through nested subtrees in C<tree>: the sequence
of keys leading to a leaf is concatenated into a flat string, with dot
separators, and if the form has a corresponding input element,
the value of that element is set to the value of the leaf.
Furthermore, if the initial tree contains repeated data sets
(array subtrees), and if the form contains repeat elements
with the same path, then new repetition blocks are
dynamically created to match the number of items in the array:
so if the form above is filled with the following tree
{ "child" : [ {"firstname": "Abel"},
{"firstname": "Bob"},
{"firstname": "Cod"},
{"firstname": "Dave"}, ] }
then four repetition blocks will automatically created in the form.
[I<This method can be called either as an instance method or as a generic method. If calling as a generic, pass the form HTMLElement/id in as the first argument.>]
=head2 add
GvaScript.Form.add(repeat_name, count);
Creates one or several new repetition blocks. The parameter C<count>
is optional and defaults to 1. Focus is automatically given to the
first input element in the last repetition block that has an
C<autofocus> attribute (if any).
See L<Alien::GvaScript::Repeat/add> for more explanations on
the C<add> operation.
=head2 remove
GvaScript.Form.remove(repeat_block[, live_update]);
Removes a repetition block from the DOM. The argument is either
a DOM element or a string containing the element id.
param C<Boolean> live_update: flag to indicate whether the 'remaining'
repeatable sections are to be also removed from DOM, recreated by re-merging
the data with repeat template, then finally re-appended to the DOM.
Default true.
All repetition blocks above the removed block are renumbered,
leaving no hole in the index sequence. To do so, these
blocks are also removed from the DOM, and then added
again through the L</add> method. This operation is implemented
by L<Alien::GvaScript::Repeat/remove>.
The recreated blocks are then re-populated with their
previous input values.
=head2 autofocus
GvaScript.Form.autofocus(element);
Inspects DOM children of C<element>, and gives focus to the
first child that has an C<autofocus> attribute.
=head1 GvaScript.Forms
namespace that holds all active instances of GvaScript.Form
instances are unique per form id
=head2 METHODS
=head3 get
GvaScript.Forms.get(id)
finds and returns the GvaScript.Form instance where id is the unique id of the form HTMLElement.
=head1 GvaScript.Form.Responders
A repository of global listeners notified about every step of the GvaSript.Form lifecycle.
Sometimes, you need to provide generic behaviors over all GvaScript.Form(s) in a single application.
To achieve this, GvaScript.Form provides global Responders that will be executed for every GvaScript.Form instance.
Responders by default are executed B<after> the instance specific event callback.
=head2 METHODS
=head3 register
GvaScript.Form.Responders.register({eventName: handler}[, {eventName: handler}[, ...]]})
adding one or more global form events responders.
Supported B<eventNames>: C<onInit, onChange, onBeforeSubmit, onSubmit, on[XXX]> where C<on[XXX]> is a custom event name.
=head3 unregister
GvaScript.Form.Responders.unregister({eventName: handler}[, {eventName: handler}[, ...]]})
unregistering one or more global form events responders.
=head1 GvaScript.Form.EarlyResponders
Identical to GvaScript.Form.Responders except that these responders would be executed B<before> the instance specific callback.