Provided by: libcgi-formbuilder-perl_3.09-3_all 
NAME
CGI::FormBuilder::Field - Base class for FormBuilder fields
SYNOPSIS
use CGI::FormBuilder::Field;
# delegated straight from FormBuilder
my $f = CGI::FormBuilder::Field->new($form, name => 'whatever');
# attribute functions
my $n = $f->name; # name of field
my $n = "$f"; # stringify to $f->name
my $t = $f->type; # auto-type
my @v = $f->value; # auto-stickiness
my @o = $f->options; # options, aligned and sorted
my $l = $f->label; # auto-label
my $h = $f->tag; # field XHTML tag (name/type/value)
my $s = $f->script; # per-field JS validation script
my $m = $f->message; # error message if invalid
my $m = $f->jsmessage; # JavaScript error message
my $r = $f->required; # required?
my $k = $f->validate; # run validation check
my $v = $f->tag_value; # value in tag (stickiness handling)
my $v = $f->cgi_value; # CGI value if any
my $v = $f->def_value; # manually-specified value
$f->field(opt => 'val'); # FormBuilder field() call
DESCRIPTION
This module is internally used by FormBuilder to create and maintain field information.
Usually, you will not want to directly access this set of data structures. However, one
big exception is if you are going to micro-control form rendering. In this case, you will
need to access the field objects directly.
To do so, you will want to loop through the fields in order:
for my $field ($form->field) {
# $field holds an object stringified to a field name
if ($field =~ /_date$/) {
$field->sticky(0); # clear CGI value
print "Enter $field here:", $field->tag;
} else {
print $field->label, ': ', $field->tag;
}
}
As illustrated, each $field variable actually holds a stringifiable object. This means if
you print them out, you will get the field name, allowing you to check for certain fields.
However, since it is an object, you can then run accessor methods directly on that object.
The most useful method is "tag()". It generates the HTML input tag for the field,
including all option and type handling, and returns a string which you can then print out
or manipulate appropriately.
Second to this method is the "script" method, which returns the appropriate JavaScript
validation routine for that field. This is useful at the top of your form rendering, when
you are printing out the leading "<head>" section of your HTML document. It is called by
the $form method of the same name.
The following methods are provided for each $field object.
METHODS
new($form, %args)
This creates a new $field object. The first argument must be a reference to the top-level
$form object, for callbacks. The remaining arguments should be hash, of which one
"key/value" pair must specify the "name" of the field. Normally you should not touch this
method. Ever.
field(%args)
This is a delegated field call. This is how FormBuilder tweaks its fields. Once you have
a $field object, you call this method the exact same way that you would call the main
"field()" method, minus the field name. Again you should use the top-level call instead.
inflate($subref)
This sets the inflate attribute: subroutine reference used to inflate values returned by
value() into objects or whatever you want. If no parameter, returns the inflate
subroutine reference that is set. For example:
use DateTime::Format::Strptime;
my $date_format = DateTime::Format::Strptime->new(
pattern => '%D', # for MM/DD/YYYY american dates
locale => 'en_US',
time_zone => 'America/Los_Angeles',
);
$field->inflate( sub { return $date_format->format_datetime(shift) } );
invalid
This returns the opposite value that "validate()" would return, with some extra magic that
keeps state for form rendering purposes.
jsfunc()
Returns the appropriate JavaScript validation code (see above).
label($str)
This sets and returns the field's label. If unset, it will be generated from the name of
the field.
tag($type)
Returns an XHTML form input tag (see above). By default it renders the tag based on the
type set from the top-level field method:
$form->field(name => 'poetry', type => 'textarea');
However, if you are doing custom rendering you can override this temporarily by passing in
the type explicitly. This is usually not useful unless you have a custom rendering module
that forcibly overrides types for certain fields.
type($type)
This sets and returns the field's type. If unset, it will automatically generate the
appropriate field type, depending on the number of options and whether multiple values are
allowed:
Field options?
No = text (done)
Yes:
Less than 'selectnum' setting?
No = select (done)
Yes:
Is the 'multiple' option set?
Yes = checkbox (done)
No:
Have just one single option?
Yes = checkbox (done)
No = radio (done)
For an example, view the inside guts of this module.
validate($pattern)
This returns 1 if the field passes the validation pattern(s) and "required" status
previously set via required() and (possibly) the top-level new() call in FormBuilder.
Usually running per-field validate() calls is not what you want. Instead, you want to run
the one on $form, which in turn calls each individual field's and saves some temp state.
value($val)
This sets the field's value. It also returns the appropriate value: CGI if set, otherwise
the manual default value. Same as using "field()" to retrieve values.
tag_value()
This obeys the "sticky" flag to give a different interpretation of CGI values. Use this to
get the value if generating your own tag. Otherwise, ignore it completely.
cgi_value()
This always returns the CGI value, regardless of "sticky".
def_value()
This always returns the default value, regardless of "sticky".
tag_name()
This returns the tag name of the current item. This was added so you could subclass, say,
"CGI::FormBuilder::Field::select" and change the HTML tag to "<b:select>" instead. This is
an experimental feature and subject to change wildly (suggestions welcome).
accessors
In addition to the above methods, accessors are provided for directly manipulating values
as if from a "field()" call:
Accessor Same as...
----------------------- -----------------------------------
$f->force(0|1) $form->field(force => 0|1)
$f->options(\@opt) $form->field(options => \@opt)
$f->multiple(0|1) $form->field(multiple => 0|1)
$f->message($mesg) $form->field(message => $mesg)
$f->jsmessage($mesg) $form->field(jsmessage => $mesg)
$f->jsclick($code) $form->field(jsclick => $code)
$f->sticky(0|1) $form->field(sticky => 0|1);
$f->force(0|1) $form->field(force => 0|1);
$f->growable(0|1) $form->field(growable => 0|1);
$f->other(0|1) $form->field(other => 0|1);
SEE ALSO
CGI::FormBuilder
REVISION
$Id: Field.pm 100 2007-03-02 18:13:13Z nwiger $
AUTHOR
Copyright (c) Nate Wiger <http://nateware.com>. All Rights Reserved.
This module is free software; you may copy this under the terms of the GNU General Public
License, or the Artistic License, copies of which should have accompanied your Perl kit.