Proof of Concepts

Well, it looks like I have to do a bit of a U-Turn on the form generator. I was having problems getting the validation and display to work easily using a procedural style. I was having to write alot of unneccessary code. So I am now opting to go with a more object oriented route for implementing different form elements.

I also think I am going to borrow a concept from pear that I will use to handle multiple input form elements. My plan now is to have two 'base classes'. One that can be extended to handle form elements. Then another that can be extended to handle form elements with more than one input. The base classes will contain all of the necessary protected functions to perform data validation and basic display (ie. labels, and what not). At that point I can then make a base set of elements to start out with. I don't think I will have to touch the actual Form Generator class, but we'll see.

I have been putting some more thought towards a form generation script. I have been working on initial class diagrams. Most of my work has been put towards how to easily add form field types. This I feel will be the hardest part of this project. The only other data that needs to be held is an id or name for the form, a url that the form goes to, and a url to go to if the user presses a cancel button (or if there even is a cancel button.)

One of our clients at work are wanting a sytem that will allow them to basically create, edit, or delete various forms from their website. To make a long story short the site they are wanting us to build is a directory. The directory also internally supports quote request. However, each different category in the directory has different questions that must be answered in order to provide an accurate quote.