[pmwiki-users] Request input on soon-coming FAST Data release

The Editor editor at fast.st
Fri Oct 6 07:08:48 CDT 2006


On 10/5/06, Joachim Durchholz <jo at durchholz.org> wrote:
> The Editor schrieb:
> > Actually not too many recipes can do everything from an instant
> > messaging system, to blogging, to forums, to member authentication,
> > etc, all in one script.
>
> I'm pretty sure yours can't do all this in a single script, too. There
> will still be lots of input massaging and translation going on for each
> application.

Ahh, but it can, and more. In fact it already does this on my site.
What it does is move the creation of recipes like this from the php to
the forms markup.  My goal was to make every significant function
available through a form--If you are clever enough in setting up the
form.  With 3.0 it will be able to do some really amazing things.
Imagine sending out fully merged emails drawn from member profile
pages--with easy automation of the mailing list.  Or if you prefer,
set up internal groups where group members can post notes on the
message pages of all other members.  Or a file management system that
uses pagelists to generate lists of pages--which checkboxes to delete
any page in the list. Or multiple page creation.  (I should add a
rename page function).  : )

What this recipe does is identify core functions and make them so they
all work together: data save/retrieve, logging (comments), lists
(arrays), templating, page create/destroy, emails, merging, etc. Even
conditionals. With such core functions all integrated you can create
about any kind of form you want.

>  > The zip part is once the recipe is installed
> > all the features become available by simply cutting and pasting wiki
> > markup from one page to another.  Or, to put it differently, 90% of
> > the recipes can be duplicated by this recipe (at least those doing
> > anything with forms)--without having to install any additional
> > scripts.  To me that is kind of cool.
>
> Yes, sure, but then it's not that 90% of all recipes are doing input forms.

That's true--but it's a pretty good number.

> > If FAST Data were included as an optional script in the default
> > distribution of PmWiki, most users might never have to install another
> > recipe, for anything.
>
> You're over-enthusiastic. You're not doing inline markup, mail
> protection, or a gazillion other things that recipes do. I'm pretty sure
> that the number of recipes that do input forms is below the 50% mark.

Yes, you're right.  I'm only trying to create a solid forms processing
engine. Most of our list members are programmers--but I want to be
able to make what you can do through PHP available to a noncoder by
simply creating a well-designed form.  My apologies for being
over-enthusiastic. It's a tendency I have!

> Don't include_once from a function unless you have tested the
> performance ramifications with a web server that has PHP caching. You
> might end up slowing down that particular configuration, doing a lot of
> work just to make the recipe worse.
>
> I'd recommend something like this cookbook/data/data.php:
>   <?php # PmWiki check goes here
>   foreach ($_POST as $field => $value) {
>   if ($field == "page")
>     include_once (basename (__FILE__) . '/page.php');
>   if ($field == "create")
>     include_once (basename (__FILE__) . '/create.php');
>   if ($field == "destroy")
>     include_once (basename (__FILE__) . '/destroy.php');
>   ...
>   }

Thanks Jo. I will follow this suggestion if the recipe gets much
bigger. May hold off for now in light of the 1000 line cap!!!

Cheers,
Caveman




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