NAME
Jifty::DBI::Schema - Use a simple syntax to describe a Jifty table.
SYNOPSIS
package Wifty::Model::Page::Schema; use Jifty::DBI::Schema;
DESCRIPTION
Each Jifty Application::Model::Class module describes a record class for for a Jifty application. Each column statement sets out the name and attributes used to describe the column in a backend database, in user interfaces, and other contexts. For example:
column content =>
type is 'text',
label is 'Content',
render_as 'textarea';defines a column called "content" that is of type "text". It will be rendered with the label "Content" (note the capital) and as a "textarea" in a HTML form.
Jifty::DBI::Schema builds a Jifty::DBI::Column. That class defines other attributes for database structure that are not exposed directly here. One example of this is the "refers_to" method used to create associations between classes.
FUNCTIONS
All these functions are exported.
column
Set forth the description of a column in the data store.
Note: If the column uses 'refers_to' to reference another class then you should not name the column ending in '_id' as it has special meaning.
refers_to
Indicates that the column references an object or a collection of objects in another class. You may refer to either a class that inherits from Jifty::Record by a primary key in that class or to a class that inherits from Jifty::Collection.
Correct usage is refers_to Application::Model::OtherClass by 'column_name', where Application::Model::OtherClass is a valid Jifty model and 'column_name' is a column containing unique values in OtherClass. You can omit by 'column_name' and the column name 'id' will be used.
If you are referring to a Jifty::Collection then you must specify by 'column_name'.
When accessing the value in the column the actual object referenced will be returned for refernces to Jifty::Records and a reference to a Jifty::Collection will be returned for columns referring to Jifty::Collections.
For columns referring to Jifty::Records you can access the actual value of the column instead of the object reference by appending '_id' to the column name. As a result, you may not end any column name which uses 'refers_to' using '_id'.
type
type passed to our database abstraction layer, which should resolve it to a database-specific type. Correct usage is type is 'text'.
default
Give a default value for the column. Correct usage is default is 'foo'.
literal
Used for default values, to connote that they should not be quoted before being supplied as the default value for the column. Correct usage is default is literal 'now()'.
validator
Defines a subroutine which returns a true value only for valid values this column can have. Correct usage is validator is \&foo.
immutable
States that this column is not writable. This is useful for properties that are set at creation time but not modifiable thereafter, like 'created by'. Correct usage is is immutable.
unreadable
States that this column is not directly readable by the application using $record->column; this is useful for password columns and the like. The data is still accessible via $record->_value(''). Correct usage is is unreadable.
length
Sets a maximum length to store in the database; values longer than this are truncated before being inserted into the database, using Jifty::DBI::Filter::Truncate. Note that this is in bytes, not characters. Correct usage is length is 42.
mandatory
Mark as a required column. May be used for generating user interfaces. Correct usage is is mandatory.
not_null
Same as "mandatory". This is depricated. Currect usage would be is not_null.
distinct
Declares that a column should only have distinct values. This currently is implemented via database queries prior to updates and creates instead of constraints on the database columns themselves. This is because there is no support for distinct columns implemented in DBIx::DBSchema at this time. Correct usage is is distinct.
virtual
Declares that a column is not backed by an actual column in the database, but is instead computed on-the-fly.
sort_order
Declares an integer sort value for this column. By default, Jifty will sort columns in the order they are defined.
input_filters
Sets a list of input filters on the data. Correct usage is input_filters are 'Jifty::DBI::Filter::DateTime'. See Jifty::DBI::Filter.
output_filters
Sets a list of output filters on the data. Correct usage is output_filters are 'Jifty::DBI::Filter::DateTime'. See Jifty::DBI::Filter. You usually don't need to set this, as the output filters default to the input filters in reverse order.
filters
Sets a list of filters on the data. These are applied when reading and writing to the database. Correct usage is filters are 'Jifty::DBI::Filter::DateTime'. See Jifty::DBI::Filter. In actuality, this is the exact same as "input_filters", since output filters default to the input filters, reversed.
since
What application version this column was last changed. Correct usage is since '0.1.5'.
valid_values
A list of valid values for this column. Jifty will use this to autoconstruct a validator for you. This list may also be used to generate the user interface. Correct usage is valid_values are qw/foo bar baz/.
label
Designates a human-readable label for the column, for use in user interfaces. Correct usage is label is 'Your foo value'.
hints
A sentence or two to display in long-form user interfaces about what might go in this column. Correct usage is hints is 'Used by the frobnicator to to strange things'.
render_as
Used in user interface generation to know how to render the column.
The values for this attribute are the same as the names of the modules under Jifty::Web::Form::Field, i.e.
Button
Checkbox
Combobox
Date
Hidden
InlineButton
Password
Radio
Select
Textarea
Upload
Unrendered
You may also use the same names with the initial character in lowercase.
The "Unrendered" may seem counter-intuitive, but is there to allow for internal fields that should not actually be displayed.
If these don't meet your needs, you can write your own subclass of Jifty::Web::Form::Field. See the documentation for that module.
by
Helper method to improve readability.
is
Helper method to improve readability.
are
Helper method to improve readability.
on
Helper method to improve readability.
EXAMPLE
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COPYRIGHT & LICENSE
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.