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<!-- $Id: -->
<section id="form">
<title>Form: An HTML Form Fields Generation Utility</title>
<section>
<title>Introduction</title>
<para>
The <command>form</command> package is a utility for generating html forms. A <command>form</command>
object command saves the programmer from typing the cumbersome html code of input elements,
working out a solution for better standardization and readability of the code.
<command>form</command> requires that only the minimum necessary to distinguish the element is
typed, greatly simplyfing the development of forms.
Options to the command are treated as a list of parameter-value pairs that become the defaults
for the corresponding attributes of the form.
</para>
<para>
A <command>form</command> object has specialized menthods to generate all of the standard
input fields, i.e. text, password, hidden, generic button, submit or reset buttons and
image. <command>form</command> creates select input fields, radiobutton and checkbox
boolean options groups. Also new inputs introduced with HTML5 are supported: color, date,
datetime, datetime-local, email, file, month, number, range, search, tel, time, url, week.
</para>
<para>
Other input elements can be generated using the general purpose 'field' method.
</para>
</section>
<refentry id="form_package">
<refnamediv>
<refname>form</refname>
<refpurpose> a Tcl command object for creating HTML forms</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>
<refsynopsisdiv>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>form</command>
<arg choice="plain"><replaceable>form_name</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-option1 <replaceable>value_1</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-option2 <replaceable>value_2</replaceable></arg>
<arg>...</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
</refsynopsisdiv>
<refsect1>
<para>
creates and returns a new Tcl command named <option><replaceable>form_name</replaceable></option>.
</para>
<refsect2>
<title>Options</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-method</arg>
<arg choice="opt">post|get</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
The http method for sending the form data back to the server.
Possible values are get or post
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-name</arg>
<arg choice="opt"><replaceable>form_name</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
a name for the form being created: this value becomes the value of the
attribute 'name' in the &lt;form&gt; tag.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-defaults</arg>
<arg choice="opt"><replaceable>default_values</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
an array of default values to be assigned to the fields of the form.
Every name in the array is matched with an input field, when
a given field gets added to the form it is initialized with the
value of the corresponding variable in the array.
This option works well in conjuction with the
<command>load_response</command> command of Rivet when default
values come from another form.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-action</arg>
<arg choice="opt"><replaceable>URL</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
The URL the data are being sent to. If no <arg>-action</arg> switch is specified
the data are sent to the form's URL.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
</refsect1>
<refsect1>
<title>Form Object Commands</title>
<para>
Form object commands follow the usual syntax of Tcl commands with a <arg><replaceable>subcommand</replaceable></arg> argument playing the
role of a switch among various functionalities of the command. Form objects also need the <arg><replaceable>name</replaceable></arg> parameter
which is to become the value of the 'name' attribute in an input field. This argument is the key that has to be
used by the server-side script to retrieve the input field value.
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
form_object <arg choice="plain">subcommand</arg> <arg>name</arg>
<arg>-option1 <replaceable>value1</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-option2 <replaceable>value2</replaceable></arg>
<arg>...</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>
Options passed to a subcommand are copied into the tag as attribute="value" pairs.
Some subcommands (e.g. form, radiobuttons and checkboxes) treat specific options in a way
that fits the specific organization and function of these fields.
</para>
<para>
Exceptions to this general syntax are the <command>field</command> and <command>end</command> subcommands.
<command>field</command> is an abstract input field creation method and requires an additional
parameter specifiyng the type of field to create. Every concrete input field generation command
uses this subcommand internally to print the final html.
</para>
</refsect1>
<refsect1>
<title>Subcommands</title>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>start</command>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>-method <replaceable>get | post</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-name <replaceable>form_name</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-defaults <replaceable>default_values</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-action <replaceable>URL</replaceable></arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Print the &lt;form&gt; tag with all its attributes.
This command must be called as first in the form generation
process. The following is a sample of code creating a form named 'formname' whose data will
be sent via the GET method. Initial form fields values will be obtained from array
<varname>response</varname>
</para>
<programlisting>
form myform -defaults response -method get -name formname
myform start
myform text text_entry -size 20
myform select option_selected -values {opt1 opt2 opt3 opt4}
myform submit submit -value Search
myform end</programlisting>
<para>
The code prints a form that sends a text entry content and the option value
associated with a radiobutton. The URL of the server script is the same that
created the form. Use the <arg>-url</arg> option to specify a different url.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<refsect3>
<title>Options</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-method</arg>
<arg choice="opt">post|get</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
The method to be used to encode the form data.
Possible values are get or post
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-name</arg>
<arg choice="opt"><replaceable>form_name</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
a name for the form being generated: this value becomes the value of the
attribute 'name' in the &lt;form&gt; tag.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-defaults</arg>
<arg choice="opt"><replaceable>default_values</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
an array of default values to be assigned to the fields of the form.
Every name in the array is matched with an input field, when
a given field gets added to the form it is initialized with the
value of the corresponding variable in the array.
This option works well in conjuction with the
<command>load_response</command> command of Rivet when default values
come from another form.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-action</arg>
<arg choice="opt"><replaceable>URL</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
The URL the data will be sent to. If no <arg>-action</arg> switch is specified
the data are sent to the form's URL.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect3>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>end</command>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Print the &lt;/form&gt; closing tag. This command must
be called last in the form generation process
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>field</command>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>type</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Print a field of the given <arg><replaceable>type</replaceable></arg> and <arg><replaceable>name</replaceable></arg>,
including any default key-value pairs defined for this field
type and optional key-value pairs included with the statement
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<refsect3>
<title>Options</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-opt1</arg>
<arg choice="opt">val1</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Option description
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect3>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">radiobuttons</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>-values <replaceable>values</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-labels <replaceable>labels</replaceable></arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
the <command>radiobutton</command> creates a whole radiobutton group
with the values and labels specified in the argument list.
If no <arg>-labels</arg> switch is
passed to the subcommand the values are printed as labels of
the radiobutton.
</para>
<refsect3>
<title>Options</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-values</arg>
<arg choice="opt"><replaceable>values_list</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
List of values associated with the radiobuttons to be displayed
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-labels</arg>
<arg choice="opt"><replaceable>labels_list</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
List of labels to be printed with every radiobutton. There must
be a label for every radiobutton
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect3>
<para>
Example:
</para>
<programlisting>
form myform -defaults response -method get -name formname
myform start
myform text text_entry -size 20
myform radiobuttons fruit -values {big medium small} \
-labels {Watermelon Orange Strawberry} \
-class myradiobclass
myform submit submit -value Search
myform end</programlisting>
<para>
will print the following HTML code.
</para>
<programlisting>
&lt;input type="radio" name="fruit" class="myradiobclass" value="big" /&gt;Watermelon
&lt;input type="radio" name="fruit" class="myradiobclass" value="medium" /&gt;Orange
&lt;input type="radio" name="fruit" class="myradiobclass" value="small" /&gt;Strawberry
</programlisting>
<para>
if the <varname>response</varname> array has a variable for the name 'fruit' the corresponding
radiobutton field is automatically checked. The options <arg>values</arg> and <arg>labels</arg>
are used internally and don't get into the tag attributes. If a <arg>labels</arg>
option is not given, labels are assigned using the <arg>values</arg> list.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">checkbox</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>-label <replaceable>label</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-value <replaceable>value</replaceable></arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
The <arg choice="plain">checkbox</arg> subcommand emits a checkbox
type input field with the name, label and value attributes set
according to the parameters passed to the subcommand.
</para>
<para>
Example:
</para>
<programlisting>form myform -defaults response -method get -name formname -action &lt;form_url&gt;
myform start
myform checkbox options -value opt1 -label "Option 1"
myform checkbox options -value opt2 -label "Option 2"
myform checkbox options -value opt3 -label "Option 3"
myform checkbox options -value opt4 -label "Option 4"
myform submit save_tps -value "Send Options"
myform end
myform destroy</programlisting>
<para>
Provided opt2 was in response array (in the list valued 'options' variable) that
initialized the form, the output would look like this
</para>
<programlisting>&lt;form action=&quot;&lt;form_url&gt;&quot; method=&quot;get&quot; name=&quot;formname&quot;&gt;
&lt;input type=&quot;checkbox&quot; name=&quot;options&quot; id=&quot;autogen_1&quot; label=&quot;Option 1&quot; value=&quot;sopt1&quot; /&gt;&lt;label for=&quot;autogen_1&quot;&gt;Option 1&lt;/label&gt;
&lt;input type=&quot;checkbox&quot; name=&quot;options&quot; id=&quot;autogen_2&quot; label=&quot;Option 2&quot; value=&quot;sopt2&quot; /&gt;&lt;label for=&quot;autogen_2&quot;&gt;Option 2&lt;/label&gt;
&lt;input type=&quot;checkbox&quot; name=&quot;options&quot; id=&quot;autogen_3&quot; label=&quot;Option 3&quot; value=&quot;sopt3&quot; /&gt;&lt;label for=&quot;autogen_3&quot;&gt;Option 3&lt;/label&gt;
&lt;input type=&quot;checkbox&quot; name=&quot;options&quot; id=&quot;autogen_4&quot; label=&quot;Option 4&quot; value=&quot;sopt4&quot; /&gt;&lt;label for=&quot;autogen_4&quot;&gt;Option 4&lt;/label&gt;
&lt;input type=&quot;submit&quot; name=&quot;submit&quot; value=&quot;Send&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/form&gt;</programlisting>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<!-- CHECKBOXES -->
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">checkboxes</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>-labels <replaceable>labels_list</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-values <replaceable>values_list</replaceable></arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
The <arg choice="plain">checkboxes</arg> is an extended form
of the <arg choice="plain">checkbox</arg> subcommand.
<arg choice="plain">checkboxes</arg>
prints as many checkboxes as the number of elements in the
<arg><replaceable>labels_list</replaceable></arg> argument
</para>
<refsect3>
<title>Options</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-values</arg>
<arg choice="opt"><replaceable>values_list</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
List of values associated with the checkboxes to be displayed
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">-labels</arg>
<arg choice="opt"><replaceable>labels_list</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
List of labels to be printed with every checkbox. There must
be a label for every checkbox
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect3>
<para>
Example:
</para>
<programlisting>form myform -defaults response -method post -action &lt;form_url&gt;
myform start
myform checkboxes options -values {opt1 opt2 opt3 opt4} -labels {"Option 1" "Option 2" "Option 3" "Option 4"}
myform submit save_tps -value "Send Options"
myform end
myform destroy</programlisting>
<para>
will print the following HTML code
</para>
<programlisting>&lt;form action=&quot;&lt;form_url&gt;&quot; method=&quot;post&quot;&gt;
&lt;input type=&quot;checkbox&quot; name=&quot;options&quot; id=&quot;autogen_1&quot; label=&quot;Option 1&quot; value=&quot;opt1&quot; /&gt;&lt;label for=&quot;autogen_1&quot;&gt;Option 1&lt;/label&gt;
&lt;input type=&quot;checkbox&quot; name=&quot;options&quot; id=&quot;autogen_2&quot; label=&quot;Option 2&quot; value=&quot;opt2&quot; /&gt;&lt;label for=&quot;autogen_2&quot;&gt;Option 2&lt;/label&gt;
&lt;input type=&quot;checkbox&quot; name=&quot;options&quot; id=&quot;autogen_3&quot; label=&quot;Option 3&quot; value=&quot;opt3&quot; /&gt;&lt;label for=&quot;autogen_3&quot;&gt;Option 3&lt;/label&gt;
&lt;input type=&quot;checkbox&quot; name=&quot;options&quot; id=&quot;autogen_4&quot; label=&quot;Option 4&quot; value=&quot;opt4&quot; /&gt;&lt;label for=&quot;autogen_4&quot;&gt;Option 4&lt;/label&gt;
&lt;input type=&quot;submit&quot; name=&quot;save_tps&quot; value=&quot;Send Options&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/form&gt;</programlisting>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">password</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Same as text, but the input is obfuscated so as not to reveal the text being typed
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">hidden</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
hidden input element: typicall embedded in a form in order to
pass status variables.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">submit</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
emits the code for a classical HTML submit button. Example: the following
code
</para>
<para>
<programlisting>
form myform -defaults response -method get -name feedsearch
myform start
myform submit submit -value Search</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
Would emit a form like this
</para>
<programlisting>
&lt;form...&gt;
&lt;input type="submit" name="submit" value="Search" /&gt;
&lt;/form&gt;</programlisting>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">button</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
emits the code for a button field having <arg><replaceable>name</replaceable></arg> as name
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">reset</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Classical HTML reset button that resets the input fields
back to their initial values
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">image</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an image input field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">radio</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits a radiobutton input field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">color</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "color" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">date</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "date" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">datetime</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "datetime" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">datetime_local</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "datetime_local" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">email</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "email" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">file</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "file" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">month</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "month" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">number</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "number" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">range</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "range" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">search</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "search" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">tel</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "tel" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">time</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "time" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">url</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "url" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<listitem>
<cmdsynopsis>
<arg choice="plain">week</arg>
<arg>name</arg>
<arg>args</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<para>
Emits an HTML 5 "week" form field
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
</refsect1>
</refentry>
</section>