Zend Form — validate an array of data

Using Zend Framework v 1.12, we can validate an array of data using a subForm.
In this example, we want to validate up to 10 transaction_ids passed in an array.
The validation for each will used Zend_Validate_Db_RecordExists to make sure the transaction_id exists in the database and is for the currently logged in seller_id.

    $form = new Zend_Form();

    // add validations for the 'simple', non Array elements
    $form->addElement( ................. ); 
    $form->addElement( ................. ); 
    $form->addElement( ................. ); 

    // add validations for the 'transaction_id' input field
    // Input: transaction_id[0] = 'value'
    //        transaction_id[1] = 'value'
    //               ...
    //        transaction_id[9] = 'value'
    $this->createTransactionIdSubForm($form, 10);
 
    /**
     * createTransactionIdSubForm creates a form element that handles an array of
     * transaction_ids.  Each will be validated to exist in the database and be
     * valid for our current seller_id.
     *
     * @param  Zend_Form $form
     * @param  integer $nbr_of_ids defines the number of subForm element to build
     */
    public function createTransactionIdSubForm($form, $nbr_of_ids)
    {
        $subForm = new Zend_Form_SubForm();

        // Create a validator for each array element of the transaction_id array
        for($i=0; $i < $nbr_of_ids; $i++) {
            $subForm->addElement('text', (string) $i, array(
                'required'   => false,
                'filters'    => array('Digits'),
                'validators' => array(
                    array('Db_RecordExists', true, array(
                        'transaction',
                        'transaction_id',
                        '(select seller_id 
                          from activity 
                          where activity_id = transaction.activity_id
                         ) = '.$this->getSellerId()
                        ))
            )));
        }
        $form->addSubForm($subForm, 'transaction_id');
    }

Using Zend Cache to save the results of a function

The Zend_Cache is a great way to save (i.e. cache) the results of a function. Using ->call() it will automatically handle building a unique key for each cache based on the arguments passed to the function. So, all you have to do is ->call() the function and use the results as you normally would.

The following example caches the results of calling the getData function in the CustomStats class. The cache automatically expires after 120 seconds which results in the getData function being run only once every other minute.

$class_name    = 'CustomStats';
$function_name = 'getData';

try {
    $cache = Zend_Cache::factory('Function', 'File', array(
        'caching'                 => true,
        'lifetime'                => 120,   // 120 seconds
        'cache_id_prefix'         => $function_name,
        'automatic_serialization' => true
    ), array(
        'cache_dir'               => APPLICATION_PATH."/cache/",
        'hashed_directory_level'  => 2,
        'hashed_directory_perm'   => '0755',
        'cache_file_perm'         => '0644'
    ));

    if ($class_name) {
        $results = $cache->call(array($class_name,$function_name), 
                                array($param1,$param2,$etc));
    } else {
        $results = $cache->call($function_name, 
                                array($param1,$param2,$etc));
    }

} catch(Zend_Cache_Exception $e) {

    // Don't blowup if Zend_Cache fails ... 
    // ... just put a message in the log and continue.
    trigger_error($e->getMessage(), E_USER_NOTICE);

    $results = false;
}

print $results;

Zend Framework Forms

Zend Forms … what can you do with it?

The general structure of a Zend_Form class is :

class my_form extends Zend_Form
{
    protected $_originalData; //holds the data used to populate the form.

    /**
     * setOriginalData is automatically used by the
     * constructor when invoked with the argument...
     *           (array('originalData' => $array_of_data));
     */
    public function setOriginalData(array $original_data)
    {
        $this->_originalData = $original_data;
        return $this;
    }

    public function init()
    {
        if (empty($this->_originalData)) {
            throw new Zend_Form_Exception("originalData must be set during construction.");
        }

        $this->setName('MapLocationForm')
             ->setAttrib('enctype', 'multipart/form-data');

        // initialize form
        $this->setMethod('post');

        // --------------- csrf handling --------------------------
        $this->addElement(new Zend_Form_Element_Hash('csrf',
                                                     array('salt'    => $this->getName(),
                                                           'timeout' => 1800)));

        $this->getElement('csrf')
             ->getValidator('Identical')
             ->setMessage('There was a problem with your form submission, please try again.');

        // ---------------------------------------------------------
        $street = new Zend_Form_Element_Text('map_street');
        $street ->setOptions(array('size' => '40', 'maxlength' => '60'))
                ->setRequired(false)
                ->addFilter('StringTrim')
                ->setLabel("Street address");

        $city = new Zend_Form_Element_Text('map_city');
        $city ->setOptions(array('size' => '40', 'maxlength' => '40'))
              ->setRequired(false)
              ->addFilter('StringTrim')
              ->setLabel("City");

        $submit = new Zend_Form_Element_Submit('submit');
        $submit ->setOptions(array('ignore' => true))
                ->setAttrib('class','bp') // add a class of 'bp' to the input element
                ->setLabel('Save');

        $cancel = new Zend_Form_Element_Button('cancel');
        $cancel ->setOptions(array('ignore' => true))
	        // add a class of 'bs' to the button element
                ->setAttrib('class','bs')
                // suppress the ability to 'tab' to the cancel button
                ->setAttrib('tabindex','-1')
                ->setLabel('Cancel and exit to other.php')
                ->setAttrib('onclick', "window.location.href='/other.php';return false");

        // setup the form elements
        $this->addElement($street)
             ->addElement($city)
             ->addElement($submit)
             ->addElement($cancel);

        // add data to the form...
        $this->populate($this->_originalData);
    }

}

The point of this blog is to highlight the things you can do with a form element all in one place (i.e. here).

->setLabel("Element Label")

->setRequired(true|false)

->setAtrtrib('class','<class_name>') // associate a class name with the element
->setAttrib('tabindex','-1') // suppress tabbing to this element

->setOptions(array('size'      => '20,'
                   'maxlength' => '40') // for text elements
->setOptions(array('rows'      => '2',
                   'cols'      => '30',
                   'maxlength' => 200,
                   'style'     => 'width:100%')) // for textarea elements

->addDecorator('HtmlTag', array('tag'=>'div',
                                'class'=>'input-wrapper'))

->addValidator('NotEmpty',
               true,
               array('messages'=> "Please enter a value, it's reqired."))
->addValidator('regex',
               true,
               array(NUMBER_6DECIMAL,
                     'messages'=> "Please enter a number with up to 6 decimals."))
->addValidator('between',
               true,
               array('min' => -90,
                     'max' => 90,
                     'messages'=> Please enter a Latitude between -90 and 90."));
->addValidator('Int',
               true,
               array('messages' => "zip code must be all numeric."))
->addValidator('StringLength',
               true,
               array(3, 5, 'messages'=>"value must be 3 to 5 characters long."));
->addValidator('StringLength',
               true,
               array(5, 5, 'messages'=>"zip code must be 5 digits."));

NOTE: NUMBER_6DECIMAL = /^-?[0-9]*(\.[0-9]{1,6})?$/