Perth Hackfest October 2012/Forms API

• Problems with Form API
  • Cannot use forms in a javascript popout (MDL-17146)
  • Cannot override how they look
  • Forms lib was done before renderers (but should not be required, otherwise we cannot use existing form libraries)
  • Handling files simpler
  • Ability to have form elements appear/disappear (now able to be accessible with ARIA attributes)
  • ARIA support is required
  • Ability to create custom form elements for plugins
  • No easy way to create special forms (eg: rubrics form)
  • Multi-step forms are not possible
  • Admin tree is a separate form library (should be unified)
  • Ability to submit by AJAX
  • Needs to be backwards compatible
  • Complex dependencies between form elements
  • label in form submit button - bad for accessibility
• Discuss: Could forms api sort of extend web services to help in implementing ws throughout moodle? (bad performance?)
  • abstracting validation functions
  • This is blue sky perhaps as theres too much to cZhange and its too late to introduce validations into xmldb
• Drupal forms uses hooks: Drupal Forms API ( http://drupal.org/node/751826 )
  • plugin extends forms
  • people can create local plugins to modify, reorder, etc core forms
  • form extensions can define fields, etc..
• Existing form frameworks
  • Symfony [https://github.com/symfony/Form
  • Drupal forms
  • Reinvent the wheel
    • From scratch (like database framework) => moodleforms2
    • Or upgrade using Quickform2
      • No, it is a dead end
      • We don’t use Quickform elements, etc, we only use 10% of existing Quickform library. Quickform was mainly used as just a renderer
      • But author of Quickform library wants to help ( https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=200124 )
  • Zend Framework forms ( http://framework.zend.com/manual/1.12/en/zend.form.html )
  • List of possibilities: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/910708/html-form-library-for-php-5 (circa 2009-2011)
  • How much work is it to integrate moodle with existing frameworks? (lang packs, editors, )
• Petr’s speech on *3’ QF2
  • frozen + hard freeze history/problems
  • we have bc issues and currently tied into QF
  • Author shares the same perspective on using code as Petr ;-)
• Forms library should be so easy to use for first time coder.
  • should ensure sesskey
  • should have validations somehow..?
  • all the day to day stuff that we don’t want to have to think about everyday - thats the win we can get from our forms lib.
  • as few as possible bc issues from any simple bug fixes. (eg: accessibility sprint)
  • dynamic form elements/validation