Rails core - Jul 2006 - help finishing a patch for label helpers? [#362]

Hi,

I found a plugin on the web for a label helper and modified it to be
more like the rails core form elements behave (errors etc). I really
think this could be good to DRY forms especially with the new CRUD for
everything and likely more reliance on scaffolding. In my _form.rhtml
partial I can now write (abreviated)

<% form_for :category, @category,
                   :url => {:action=>''update''}  do |f|
%>

    <%= f.label :name %></dt>
    <%= f.text_field :name  %></dd>
    <%= f.label :description, ''The description''
%></dt>
    <%= f.text_area :description  %></dd>

<% end %>

I''m not a rails wizard and don''t feel like I could make a
quality
patch. Can someone help or tell me what''s wrong with my plugin?

View the plugin code online
http://dev.actioncommerce.org/trac/browser/trunk/vendor/plugins/label_helpers/lib/label_helper.rb

Checkout the plugin
svn checkout
http://www.actioncommerce.org/svn/actioncommerce/trunk/vendor/plugins/label_helpers

Thanks,
Peter


The plugin I found doesn''t work with form_for and doesn''t
behave like
the other rails form_helpers. It appends an error string instead of
wrapping the element. I don''t think that is as flexible

http://www.eric-stewart.com/svn/rails/plugins/label_helpers/lib/label_helper.rb

Have you seen the labelling form builder in the test case for form_for?

On 7/4/06, Peter Michaux <petermichaux@gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I found a plugin on the web for a label helper and modified it to be
> more like the rails core form elements behave (errors etc). I really
> think this could be good to DRY forms especially with the new CRUD for
> everything and likely more reliance on scaffolding. In my _form.rhtml
> partial I can now write (abreviated)
>
> <% form_for :category, @category,
>                    :url => {:action=>''update''}  do
|f| %>
>
>     <%= f.label :name %></dt>
>     <%= f.text_field :name  %></dd>
>     <%= f.label :description, ''The description''
%></dt>
>     <%= f.text_area :description  %></dd>
>
> <% end %>
>
> I''m not a rails wizard and don''t feel like I could make a
quality
> patch. Can someone help or tell me what''s wrong with my plugin?
>
> View the plugin code online
>
>
http://dev.actioncommerce.org/trac/browser/trunk/vendor/plugins/label_helpers/lib/label_helper.rb
>
> Checkout the plugin
> svn checkout
>
http://www.actioncommerce.org/svn/actioncommerce/trunk/vendor/plugins/label_helpers
>
> Thanks,
> Peter
>
>
> The plugin I found doesn''t work with form_for and doesn''t
behave like
> the other rails form_helpers. It appends an error string instead of
> wrapping the element. I don''t think that is as flexible
>
>
>
http://www.eric-stewart.com/svn/rails/plugins/label_helpers/lib/label_helper.rb
> _______________________________________________
> Rails-core mailing list
> Rails-core@lists.rubyonrails.org
> http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails-core
>

_______________________________________________
Rails-core mailing list
Rails-core@lists.rubyonrails.org
http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails-core

On 7/4/06, Nicholas Seckar <nseckar@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Have you seen the labelling form builder in the test case for form_for?
No I haven''t. Do you mean in svn? Does it work like my example?

Thanks,
Peter

>From rails/actionpack/test/template/form_helper_test.rb
http://dev.rubyonrails.org/browser/trunk/actionpack/test/template/form_helper_test.rb
starting at line 345

  class LabelledFormBuilder < ActionView::Helpers::FormBuilder
    (field_helpers - %w(hidden_field)).each do |selector|
      src = <<-END_SRC
        def #{selector}(field, *args, &proc)
          "<label
for=''\#{field}''>\#{field.to_s.humanize}:</label>
" +
super + "<br/>"
        end
      END_SRC
      class_eval src, __FILE__, __LINE__
    end
  end

On 7/4/06, Peter Michaux <petermichaux@gmail.com>
wrote:
> On 7/4/06, Nicholas Seckar <nseckar@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Have you seen the labelling form builder in the test case for
form_for?
>
> No I haven''t. Do you mean in svn? Does it work like my example?
>
> Thanks,
> Peter
> _______________________________________________
> Rails-core mailing list
> Rails-core@lists.rubyonrails.org
> http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails-core
>

On 7/4/06, Erik Kastner <kastner@gmail.com> wrote:
> >From rails/actionpack/test/template/form_helper_test.rb
>
http://dev.rubyonrails.org/browser/trunk/actionpack/test/template/form_helper_test.rb
> starting at line 345
>
>   class LabelledFormBuilder < ActionView::Helpers::FormBuilder
>     (field_helpers - %w(hidden_field)).each do |selector|
>       src = <<-END_SRC
>         def #{selector}(field, *args, &proc)
>           "<label
for=''\#{field}''>\#{field.to_s.humanize}:</label>
" +
> super + "<br/>"
>         end
>       END_SRC
>       class_eval src, __FILE__, __LINE__
>     end
>   end
>
Thanks for the link.

I think this is a good idea but is not so flexible. If I am reading
this correctly, this will produce

<label for="foo">Foo</label><input
type="submit" name="foo /><br/>

This is nice for the very simplest cases and I''d like to see that in
the core but what about when I want to do just a little more.

Perhaps I want to specify non-automatic label content for just one field.

Perhaps I want more HTML control so the CSS will be easier. I don''t
ever really use <br />. (Side note: I think they should add a space
between the ''r'' and the ''/'' for
safety'') Another HTML issue is all
form inputs will not be <input> tags. First the text area is not. This
makes the CSS more difficult which is why I wrap all my inputs in
<span class="input"> or even better just <dd> as the whole
form is
part of a <dl>.

I think this

<%= f.label :name %>

would be a nice addition to the core also. I''ve been wanting this for
a long time. The label can also be nicely wrapped in <span
class="labelWithError"> and hiding this can be set individually
like
the input elements.

The only reason I don''t submit a patch is I don''t know if
I''ve got it
right and I don''t know if the higher-ups would be receptive.

Peter

> I think this is a good idea but is not so flexible. If I am reading
> this correctly, this will produce
>
> <label for="foo">Foo</label><input
type="submit" name="foo /><br/>
>
> This is nice for the very simplest cases and I''d like to see that
in
> the core but what about when I want to do just a little more.
This is why I don''t want to see it in core.  Everyone has their own
little way of doing forms.  I did hack up a little plugin for this:
http://svn.techno-weenie.net/projects/plugins/labeled_form_helper/ as
more of a proof of concept than anything.  It just shows how you might
go about making your own labeled form helper, letting you set up your
simple forms like so:

<%= f.text_field :name %>
<%= f.text_field :age %>

etc...
>
> I think this
>
> <%= f.label :name %>
>
> would be a nice addition to the core also. I''ve been wanting this
for
> a long time. The label can also be nicely wrapped in <span
> class="labelWithError"> and hiding this can be set
individually like
> the input elements.
>
> The only reason I don''t submit a patch is I don''t know if
I''ve got it
> right and I don''t know if the higher-ups would be receptive.
>
> Peter
I personally rarely use a plain label helper.  It''s usually less to
type out than the actual label field.  My plugin from above implements
that as <%= f.label_for :name %>.


-- 
Rick Olson
http://techno-weenie.net

On 7/4/06, Rick Olson <technoweenie@gmail.com> wrote:
> I personally rarely use a plain label helper.  It''s usually less
to
> type out than the actual label field.
But it is not as DRY to type it out directly which, I think, is the
whole point of the form builder.

<%= f.label_for :name %>

is a lot less than

<label for="big_name_object_name">name</label>.

and the potential for error wrapping is nice with a helper.

I''ll check out your plugin. Thanks for the link.

Peter

<%= f.label_for :name %> is cool as it hides the internal generation of
the
id attribute for use in the for=.

In most people''s views, this is done twice by two different methods,
once
for the label (manually), then again for the input (using internal rails
stuff).

I agree this isn''t DRY and there is no way around it without installing
plugins.

Having it in the core would promote better practices and should be used by
every LabelingFormBuilder and view. There''s a reason we
have input tag helpers (to encapsulate internal logic and
naming schemes) and there should be
all the other helpers necessary to complete this encapsulation.

Scaffold generation could be simplified using this (no more duplicated logic)
and I can''t see a reason why you wouldn''t use it.

We shouldn''t be leaving the generation of the for attribute up to the
developer since it requires an understanding of the internal rails input tag
id generation that shouldn''t be necessary.

I''m sure I''m not the only one who''s created an input
tag with a helper, then
rendered the view and looked at the source to find out what the forattribute
should be.. This should be an unnecessary step.

-Martin


On 7/4/06, Peter Michaux <petermichaux@gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> On 7/4/06, Rick Olson <technoweenie@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I personally rarely use a plain label helper.  It''s usually
less to
> > type out than the actual label field.
>
> But it is not as DRY to type it out directly which, I think, is the
> whole point of the form builder.
>
> <%= f.label_for :name %>
>
> is a lot less than
>
> <label for="big_name_object_name">name</label>.
>
> and the potential for error wrapping is nice with a helper.
>
> I''ll check out your plugin. Thanks for the link.
>
> Peter
> _______________________________________________
> Rails-core mailing list
> Rails-core@lists.rubyonrails.org
> http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails-core
>

_______________________________________________
Rails-core mailing list
Rails-core@lists.rubyonrails.org
http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails-core

On 7/4/06, Rick Olson <technoweenie@gmail.com>
wrote:
> > I think this is a good idea but is not so flexible. If I am reading
> > this correctly, this will produce
> >
> > <label for="foo">Foo</label><input
type="submit" name="foo /><br/>
> >
> > This is nice for the very simplest cases and I''d like to see
that in
> > the core but what about when I want to do just a little more.
>
> This is why I don''t want to see it in core.  Everyone has their
own
> little way of doing forms.  I did hack up a little plugin for this:
> http://svn.techno-weenie.net/projects/plugins/labeled_form_helper/ as
> more of a proof of concept than anything.
Rick, it looks like a little more than hacking. What is stopping your
patch from going into the core?

Peter

On Jul 5, 2006, at 5:43 PM, Peter Michaux wrote:
> Rick, it looks like a little more than hacking. What is stopping your
> patch from going into the core?
(BTW, you quoted his answer just a few lines up.)

I use labels too and would like to see them in the standard form  
builder.

jeremy

On 7/5/06, Jeremy Kemper <jeremy@bitsweat.net>
wrote:
> On Jul 5, 2006, at 5:43 PM, Peter Michaux wrote:
> > Rick, it looks like a little more than hacking. What is stopping your
> > patch from going into the core?
>
> (BTW, you quoted his answer just a few lines up.)
>
> I use labels too and would like to see them in the standard form
> builder.
>
> jeremy
The actual label_tag and label helpers are fine, I was just expressing
my opinion on the custom LabelingFormBuilder thing that adds labels to
other helpers.

I don''t remember why I never submitted it as a patch.  Maybe the
rails-core channel wasn''t as receptive that particular night :)

-- 
Rick Olson
http://techno-weenie.net

Jeremy Kemper wrote:
> On Jul 5, 2006, at 5:43 PM, Peter Michaux wrote:
>> Rick, it looks like a little more than hacking. What is stopping your
>> patch from going into the core?
>
> (BTW, you quoted his answer just a few lines up.)
>
> I use labels too and would like to see them in the standard form builder.
Including the calls in the standard builder would be great, as I could 
then optimize them away with the template optimizer ;-)


-- stefan


-- 
Rails performance tuning: http://railsexpress.de/blog
Subscription: http://railsexpress.de/blog/xml/rss20/feed.xml

On 7/5/06, Rick Olson <technoweenie@gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> The actual label_tag and label helpers are fine, I was just expressing
> my opinion on the custom LabelingFormBuilder thing that adds labels to
> other helpers.
>
> I don''t remember why I never submitted it as a patch.  Maybe the
> rails-core channel wasn''t as receptive that particular night :)
Rick,

Before submitting -- hoping you will -- would you consider adding a
class attribute to the label tag called "labelWithError" and an option
to suppress this?

Peter

Hi,

How would people feel about an error_message_on helper?

<%= f.label_for :name %>
<%= f.text_field :name  %>
<%= f.error_message_on :name %>

I think it would be nice if this returned the error message in a <span
class="errorMessage"> so all messages could be styled easily and
consistently.

Peter