[wp-hackers] Call for thoughts on a new Settings/Options/Metadata API

[Eric Andrew Lewis]

Thanks for the response everyone, and of course keep it coming if you'd
like to add your two cents. I think these points will be a good launchpad
for roadmapping in a dev chat.

Something I'd also like to add to the must-have list is repeating form
fields. For example, a custom post type for Company might include a
repeating field for phone number, to which you could add multiple different
contact numbers to. This is already built-in to some of the post meta
libraries, and brings JS MV* framework support into the discussion.

Eric Andrew Lewis
ericandrewlewis.com
610.715.8560


On Wed, Nov 13, 2013 at 8:38 AM, Thomas Belknap
<dragonfly at dragonflyeye.net>wrote:

> What if the form-building API remained more or less agnostic, and a
> hook-type vehicle was used to listen for appropriate data?
>
> (in the form):
> echo $Form->input('my_setting', array('type' => 'text', 'class' =>
> 'my_plugin_setting', 'maxlength' => 200));
>
> (on save):
> function save_my_setting() {
>     if( !empty($_POST['settings_api']['my_setting']) ) :
>         $Form->check_nonce($_POST['settings_api']['my_setting_nonce']);
>         add_option('my_setting', $_POST['settings_api']['my_setting']);
>     endif;
> }
>
> The idea here is that we only require the developer to provide the language
> that correctly inserts a form element into the form. The API handles
> creating a nonce and correctly setting the name field to include the array
> that sets all settings_api fields apart from any other data (just for
> convenience sake).
>
> If you want to create a "section," feel free to do so in HTML. If you want
> to nest form elements together or save them into subelements of the array
> for your own purposes, have at it. The API only cares that a limited but
> effective set of layout and security needs be met in order to properly save
> your data.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 13, 2013 at 8:20 AM, Ryan McCue <lists at rotorised.com> wrote:
>
> > Eric Andrew Lewis wrote:
> > > An issue in previous iterations of these APIs has been the object
> > structure
> > > of a setting/metadata/option being intermingled with the the UI
> > components
> > > in some cases. I don't want to jump the gun on implementation, but here
> > is
> > > a gist of  meanderings imagining a new
> > > API<https://gist.github.com/ericandrewlewis/7441441>
> >
> > I think that's a good start on structure. I do think we need to avoid
> > being too verbose though; having used some other systems similar to
> > this, you can end up very abstract quickly.
> >
> > Rather than having the 'for' key, and letting settings be attached to
> > everything, I think we could use subclassing. It's a little weird to
> > have something attached to both a post *and* as an option without
> > needing different handling. I'm thinking:
> >
> >         abstract class WP_Setting {}
> >         class WP_Setting_Option extends WP_Setting {}
> >         class WP_Setting_Post_Meta extends WP_Setting {}
> >
> > But that could end up being confusing.
> >
> > > I would love to hear constructive feedback: what the issues you face
> as a
> > > developer in the current environment, what you might want from a new
> API,
> > > etc.
> >
> > I think something we should look into handling is making nested options
> > a first-class feature. That is, storing an array/etc into a single
> > option, rather than spreading it out. It's been recommended for a long
> > time, but you have to write all of the handling yourself.
> >
> > On the other hand, if you could do something like...
> >
> >         $setting = new WP_Setting( array(
> >                 'key' => 'master_option',
> >                 'type' => 'array',
> >                 'children' => array(
> >                         'option1' => new WP_Setting( ... ),
> >                         'option2 => new WP_Setting( ... ),
> >                 ),
> >         ) );
> >
> > ...that'd be pretty cool. This could also be implemented via the
> > settings group API you proposed.
> >
> > --
> > Ryan McCue
> > <http://ryanmccue.info/>
> > _______________________________________________
> > wp-hackers mailing list
> > wp-hackers at lists.automattic.com
> > http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo/wp-hackers
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Tom Belknap
> Owner/Editor, DragonFlyEye.Net
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