module-forms.xml #1

<!DOCTYPE section
[
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    %xinclude;

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    <!ENTITY % language-snippets SYSTEM "../standalone/language-snippets.xml">
    %language-snippets;

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]>
<section id="modules.forms">
    <title>Forms</title>

    <para>
        <emphasis>Forms</emphasis> are the primary mechanism for accepting information from users. A
        form can use decorators, elements, validators, filters, and sub-forms. Place form classes in
        the module folder, in the <filename>forms</filename> folder. Place decorator classes in the
        <filename>forms/decorators</filename> folder. Place element classes in the
        <filename>forms/elements</filename> folder.
    </para>

    <para>
        Here is the skeleton of a form for the <classname>Foo</classname> module:
    </para>

<programlisting language="php">
&lt;?php
/**
 * Form description
 *
 * @copyright   copyright info
 * @license     license info
 * @version     version info
 */
class Foo_Form_Example extends P4Cms_Form
{
    /**
     * Defines the elements that make up the example form.
     */
    public function init()
    {
        // set the method for the form to POST
        $this->setMethod('post');

        $this->addElement(
            'text',             // the element type
            'identifier',
            array(
                'label'         => 'Example',
                'required'      => true,
                'description'   => 'Enter some text for this example.',
            )
        );
    }
}
</programlisting>

    <para>
        For details, see the
        <ulink url="http://framework.zend.com/manual/1.11/en/zend.form.html">Zend Form
        documentation</ulink>.
    </para>

    <section id="modules.forms.decorators">
        <title>Decorators</title>

        <para>
            The forms in &product.longname; use the decorator pattern to render elements and forms
            by means of the strategy pattern, which allows decorators to create, modify, and wrap
            markup, using a chaining mechanism to apply decorators in a specified order. For
            details, see the
            <ulink url="http://framework.zend.com/manual/1.11/en/zend.form.decorators.html">Zend
            Form Decorators</ulink> documentation.
        </para>
    </section>

    <section id="modules.elements">
        <title>Elements</title>

        <para>
            <emphasis>Elements</emphasis> implement the fields in forms that correspond to
            <acronym>HTML</acronym> form fields. To handle specialized input scenarios that cannot
            be handled using simple <acronym>HTML</acronym> form fields, you can create custom
            elements. For details, see the
            <ulink url="http://framework.zend.com/manual/1.11/en/zend.form.elements.html">Zend
            Form Elements</ulink> documentation.
        </para>
    </section>
</section>
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