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authorChris McDonough <chrism@agendaless.com>2009-05-31 22:47:14 +0000
committerChris McDonough <chrism@agendaless.com>2009-05-31 22:47:14 +0000
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Make a copy of the tutorial for Routes+SQLAlchemy.
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+==============
+Defining Views
+==============
+
+Views in BFG are typically simple Python functions that accept two
+parameters: :term:`context`, and :term:`request`. A view is assumed
+to return a :term:`response` object.
+
+Adding View Functions
+=====================
+
+We're going to add four :term:`view` functions to our ``views.py``
+module. One view (named ``view_wiki``) will display the wiki itself
+(it will answer on the root URL), another named ``view_page`` will
+display an individual page, another named ``add_page`` will allow a
+page to be added, and a final view named ``edit_page`` will allow a
+page to be edited.
+
+.. note::
+
+ There is nothing automagically special about the filename
+ ``views.py``. A project may have many views throughout its codebase
+ in arbitrarily-named files. Files implementing views often have
+ ``view`` in their filenames (or may live in a Python subpackage of
+ your application package named ``views``), but this is only by
+ convention.
+
+
+The ``view_wiki`` view function
+-------------------------------
+
+The ``view_wiki`` function will respond as the default view of a
+``Wiki`` model object. It always redirects to the ``Page`` object
+named "FrontPage". It returns an instance of the
+``webob.exc.HTTPFound`` class (instances of which implement the WebOb
+:term:`response` interface), and the ``repoze.bfg.model_url`` API.
+``model_url`` constructs a URL to the ``FrontPage`` page
+(e.g. ``http://localhost:6543/FrontPage``), and uses it as the
+"location" of the HTTPFound response, forming an HTTP redirect.
+
+The ``view_page`` view function
+-------------------------------
+
+The ``view_page`` function will respond as the default view of a
+``Page`` object. The ``view_page`` function renders the
+:term:`ReStructuredText` body of a page (stored as the ``data``
+attribute of the context, which will be a Page object) as HTML. Then
+it substitutes an HTML anchor for each *WikiWord* reference in the
+rendered HTML using a compiled regular expression.
+
+The curried function named ``check`` is used as the first argument to
+``wikiwords.sub``, indicating that it should be called to provide a
+value for each WikiWord match found in the content. If the wiki (our
+page's ``__parent__``) already contains a page with the matched
+WikiWord name, the ``check`` function generates a view link to be used
+as the substitution value and returns it. If the wiki does not
+already contain a page with with the matched WikiWord name, the
+function generates an "add" link as the subsitution value and returns
+it.
+
+As a result, the ``content`` variable is now a fully formed bit of
+HTML containing various view and add links for WikiWords based on the
+content of our current page object.
+
+We then generate an edit URL (because it's easier to do here than in
+the template), and we call the
+``repoze.bfg.chameleon_zpt.render_template_to_response`` function with
+a number of arguments. The first argument is the *relative* path to a
+:term:`Chameleon` ZPT template. It is relative to the directory of
+the file in which we're creating the ``view_page`` function. The
+``render_template_to_response`` function also accepts ``request``,
+``page``, ``content``, and ``edit_url`` as keyword arguments. As a
+result, the template will be able to use these names to perform
+various rendering tasks.
+
+The result of ``render_template_to_response`` is returned to
+:mod:`repoze.bfg`. Unsurprisingly, it is a response object.
+
+The ``add_page`` view function
+------------------------------
+
+The ``add_page`` function will be invoked when a user clicks on a
+WikiWord which isn't yet represented as a page in the system. The
+``check`` function within the ``view_page`` view generates URLs to
+this view. It also acts as a handler for the form that is generated
+when we want to add a page object. The ``context`` of the
+``add_page`` view is always a Wiki object (*not* a Page object).
+
+The request :term:`subpath` in BFG is the sequence of names that are
+found *after* the view name in the URL segments given to BFG as the
+result of a request. If our add view is invoked via,
+e.g. ``http://localhost:6543/add_page/SomeName``, the :term:`subpath`
+will be ``['SomeName']``.
+
+The add view takes the zeroth element of the subpath (the wiki page
+name), and aliases it to the name attribute in order to know the name
+of the page we're trying to add.
+
+If the view rendering is *not* a result of a form submission (if the
+expression ``'form.submitted' in request.params`` is False), the view
+renders a template. To do so, it generates a "save url" which the
+template use as the form post URL during rendering. We're lazy here,
+so we're trying to use the same template (``templates/edit.pt``) for
+the add view as well as the page edit view, so we create a dummy Page
+object in order to satisfy the edit form's desire to have *some* page
+object exposed as ``page``, and we'll render the template to a
+response.
+
+If the view rendering *is* a result of a form submission (if the
+expression ``'form.submitted' in request.params`` is True), we scrape
+the page body from the form data, create a Page object using the name
+in the subpath and the page body, and save it into "our context" (the
+wiki) using the ``__setitem__`` method of the context. We then
+redirect back to the ``view_page`` view (the default view for a page)
+for the newly created page.
+
+The ``edit_page`` view function
+-------------------------------
+
+The ``edit_page`` function will be invoked when a user clicks the
+"Edit this Page" button on the view form. It renders an edit form but
+it also acts as the handler for the form it renders. The ``context``
+of the ``edit_page`` view will *always* be a Page object (never a Wiki
+object).
+
+If the view rendering is *not* a result of a form submission (if the
+expression ``'form.submitted' in request.params`` is False), the view
+simply renders the edit form, passing the request, the page object,
+and a save_url which will be used as the action of the generated form.
+
+If the view rendering *is* a result of a form submission (if the
+expression ``'form.submitted' in request.params`` is True), the view
+grabs the ``body`` element of the request parameter and sets it as the
+``data`` attribute of the page context. It then redirects to the
+default view of the context (the page), which will always be the
+``view_page`` view.
+
+Viewing the Result of Our Edits to ``views.py``
+===============================================
+
+The result of all of our edits to ``views.py`` will leave it looking
+like this:
+
+.. literalinclude:: src/views/tutorial/views.py
+ :linenos:
+ :language: python
+
+Adding Templates
+================
+
+The views we've added all reference a :term:`template`. Each template
+is a :term:`Chameleon` template. The default templating system in
+:mod:`repoze.bfg` is a variant of :term:`ZPT` provided by Chameleon.
+These templates will live in the ``templates`` directory of our
+tutorial package.
+
+The ``view.pt`` Template
+------------------------
+
+The ``view.pt`` template is used for viewing a single wiki page. It
+is used by the ``view_page`` view function. It should have a div that
+is "structure replaced" with the ``content`` value provided by the
+view. It should also have a link on the rendered page that points at
+the "edit" URL (the URL which invokes the ``edit_page`` view for the
+page being viewed).
+
+Once we're done with the ``view.pt`` template, it will look a lot like
+the below:
+
+.. literalinclude:: src/views/tutorial/templates/view.pt
+ :linenos:
+ :language: xml
+
+
+The ``edit.pt`` Template
+------------------------
+
+The ``edit.pt`` template is used for adding and editing a wiki page.
+It is used by the ``add_page`` and ``edit_page`` view functions. It
+should display a page containing a form that POSTs back to the
+"save_url" argument supplied by the view. The form should have a
+"body" textarea field (the page data), and a submit button that has
+the name "form.submitted". The textarea in the form should be filled
+with any existing page data when it is rendered.
+
+Once we're done with the ``edit.pt`` template, it will look a lot like
+the below:
+
+.. literalinclude:: src/views/tutorial/templates/edit.pt
+ :linenos:
+ :language: xml
+
+Static Resources
+----------------
+
+Our templates name a single static resource named ``style.css``. We
+need to create this and place it in a file named ``style.css`` within
+our package's ``templates/static`` directory:
+
+.. literalinclude:: src/views/tutorial/templates/static/style.css
+ :linenos:
+ :language: css
+
+This CSS file will be accessed via
+e.g. ``http://localhost:6543/static/style.css`` by virtue of the
+``static_view`` view we've defined in the ``views.py`` file. Any
+number and type of static resources can be placed in this directory
+(or subdirectories) and are just referred to by URL within templates.
+
+Testing the Views
+=================
+
+We'll modify our ``tests.py`` file, adding tests for each view
+function we added above. As a result, we'll *delete* the
+``ViewTests`` test in the file, and add four other test classes:
+``ViewWikiTests``, ``ViewPageTests``, ``AddPageTests``, and
+``EditPageTests``. These test the ``view_wiki``, ``view_page``,
+``add_page``, and ``edit_page`` views respectively.
+
+Once we're done with the ``tests.py`` module, it will look a lot like
+the below:
+
+.. literalinclude:: src/views/tutorial/tests.py
+ :linenos:
+ :language: python
+
+Running the Tests
+=================
+
+We can run these tests by using ``setup.py test`` in the same way we
+did in :ref:`running_tests`. Assuming our shell's current working
+directory is the "tutorial" distribution directory:
+
+On UNIX:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+ $ ../bin/python setup.py test -q
+
+On Windows:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+
+ c:\bigfntut\tutorial> ..\Scripts\python setup.py test -q
+
+The expected result looks something like:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+ .........
+ ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Ran 9 tests in 0.203s
+
+ OK
+
+Mapping Views to URLs in ``configure.zcml``
+===========================================
+
+The ``configure.zcml`` file contains ``view`` declarations which serve
+to map URLs (via :term:`traversal`) to view functions. You'll need to
+add five ``view`` declarations to ``configure.zcml``.
+
+#. Add a declaration which maps the "Wiki" class in our ``models.py``
+ file to the view named ``static_view`` in our ``views.py`` file with
+ the view name ``static``.
+
+#. Add a declaration which maps the "Wiki" class in our ``models.py``
+ file to the view named ``view_wiki`` in our ``views.py`` file with
+ no view name. This is the default view for a Wiki.
+
+#. Add a declaration which maps the "Page" class in our ``models.py``
+ file to the view named ``view_page`` in our ``views.py`` file with
+ no view name. This is the default view for a Page.
+
+#. Add a declaration which maps the "Wiki" class in our ``models.py``
+ file to the view named ``add_page`` in our ``views.py`` file with
+ the view name ``add_page``. This is the add view for a new Page.
+
+#. Add a declaration which maps the "Page" class in our ``models.py``
+ file to the view named ``edit_page`` in our ``views.py`` file with
+ the view name ``edit_page``. This is the edit view for a page.
+
+As a result of our edits, the ``configure.zcml`` file should look
+something like so:
+
+.. literalinclude:: src/views/tutorial/configure.zcml
+ :linenos:
+ :language: xml
+
+Examining ``tutorial.ini``
+==========================
+
+Let's take a look at our ``tutorial.ini`` file. The contents of the
+file are as follows:
+
+.. literalinclude:: src/models/tutorial.ini
+ :linenos:
+ :language: ini
+
+The WSGI Pipeline
+-----------------
+
+Within ``tutorial.ini``, note the existence of a ``[pipeline:main]``
+section which specifies our WSGI pipeline. This "pipeline" will be
+served up as our WSGI application. As far as the WSGI server is
+concerned the pipeline *is* our application. Simpler configurations
+don't use a pipeline: instead they expose a single WSGI application as
+"main". Our setup is more complicated, so we use a pipeline.
+
+"egg:repoze.zodbconn#closer" is at the "top" of the pipeline. This is
+a piece of middleware which closes the ZODB connection opened by the
+PersistentApplicationFinder at the end of the request.
+
+"egg:repoze.tm#tm" is the second piece of middleware in the pipeline.
+This commits a transaction near the end of the request unless there's
+an exception raised.
+
+Adding an Element to the Pipeline
+---------------------------------
+
+Let's add a piece of middleware to the WSGI pipeline.
+"egg:Paste#evalerror" middleware which displays debuggable errors in
+the browser while you're developing (not recommeded for deployment).
+Let's insert evalerror into the pipeline right below
+"egg:repoze.zodbconn#closer", making our resulting ``tutorial.ini``
+file look like so:
+
+.. literalinclude:: src/views/tutorial.ini
+ :linenos:
+ :language: ini
+
+Viewing the Application in a Browser
+====================================
+
+Once we've set up the WSGI pipeline properly, we can finally examine
+our application in a browser. The views we'll try are as follows:
+
+- Visiting `http://localhost:6543/ <http://localhost:6543/>`_ in a
+ browser invokes the ``view_wiki`` view. This always redirects to
+ the ``view_page`` view of the FrontPage page object.
+
+- Visiting `http://localhost:6543/FrontPage/
+ <http://localhost:6543/FrontPage/>`_ in a browser invokes the
+ ``view_page`` view of the front page page object. This is because
+ it's the *default view* (a view without a ``name``) for Page objects.
+
+- Visiting `http://localhost:6543/FrontPage/edit_page
+ <http://localhost:6543/FrontPage/edit_page>`_ in a browser invokes
+ the edit view for the front page object.
+
+- Visiting `http://localhost:6543/add_page/SomePageName
+ <http://localhost:6543/add_page/SomePageName>`_ in a browser invokes
+ the add view for a page.
+
+- To generate an error, do `http://localhost:6543/add_page
+ <http://localhost:6543/add_page>`_. IndexError for
+ ``request.subpath[0]``. You'll see an interactive traceback
+ facility provided by evalerror.
+
+
+
+
+