Trying to Specify controller in layout xml for menu item

[Eric Fernance]

Folks,

I have been banging my head against a wall for hours now and could do with some enlightenment.

I am working on a component with multiple front end views and controllers.  I want to specify in the layout xml what the controller should be to pick it up at the component entry point.

I have been trying to cobble something together based on these two docs:

http://docs.joomla.org/Component_parameters

http://docs.joomla.org/Developing_a_Model-View-Controller_(MVC)_Component_for_Joomla!2.5_-_Part_03

So far the only way I seem to be able to get something that even remotely approaches what I am trying to achieve is using this in the layout xml:

<fields name="request">

<fieldset name="request">

<field

name="controller"

type="hidden"

default="entitlements">

</field>

</fieldset>

</fields>

It works, but it's very ugly popping a "Required Settings" pane on the right.  I actually don't need to be allowing the user to change it but I have no luck when I specify something like:

<url>

<param name="controller" type="hidden" default="entitlements"/>

</url>

Any hints?

Eric.

[elin]

"Required settings" is looking for the request variables.

Elin

[Eric Fernance]

Yeah that's what I thought.  But putting the controller into the <url> section of the layout XML doesn't seem to work, the only way I could get it to add was when I put it in the request section.

Eric.

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[elin]

I'm not sure what you mean by the url part of the file.

The request part is the url ... that is where you would put the elements making up the xxx=yy parts of the url, as in the example id=1 or id=2.

You would not normally have controller=xx as part of a url.  It's not necessary even to have request items--featured is an example that does not as is search (though search can optionally).  Are you thinking that you want a task? 

Can you explain why you would want controller=something in your url? 

Elin

Eric.

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[garyamort]

On Thursday, March 29, 2012 4:51:30 AM UTC-4, Eric Fernance wrote:

I just went through the same issue to specify a task, drop the fieldset name="request" - a fieldset tells Joomla! to display a settings tab.  Just drop it, ie:

<fields name="request">

<field

name="controller"

type="hidden"

value="entitlements">

</field>

</fields>

I believe that I had to surround it with either <site> or <config> in order to make it work.  I'll give my code a check when I can get my pc back from the kids.

Also note, see the content component for how the controller is currently being specified.  It seems that the task parameter is used to refer to a controller, while the view component is used to refer method to be called....though looking through it I see a lot of comments such as:

// TODO This is a bandaid, not a long term solution.

// if ($layout) {

// $append .= '&layout='.$layout;

// }

So it seems that the precise definition/usage for task/view/layout/tmpl is currently in flux.   

Also note, if you use JController's display method, which I find more convenient then adding 60% of that code into my own custom display method, there are a few assumptions JController makes which can cause problems.   No matter what you set the default model to before calling it, the base class goes and overrides the default based on the task parameter.   In the end, I gave up trying to make Joomla! use the default model I wanted since it kept going overwritten by other platform methods - and instead I just pulled my models manually.

IE instead of calling in the controller:

$model = $this->getModel('event');

$view = $this->getView();

$view->setModel($model,true);

And then later on in the view calling $model = $this->getModel();

I ended up doing:

$model = $this->getModel('event');

$view = $this->getView();

// setting default = true is useless, but I do it anyway because one day it should work

$view->setModel($model,true);

And then later on in the view calling 

$layout = $this->getLayout();

$model = $this->getModel($layout);  

It's not the end of the world, it's just not the way all the tutorials say to set do it.  In the end, it just re-enforces my dislike for counting on the 'default' behavior in an api and only specifying alternate behaviour - you just can't depend on the default behaviour to always be the default.

 

[elin]

@gary I think that's a pretty old example of code that should have been removed instead of being left commented, the point being that the bandaid is not needed anymore.

@Eric

Ok I think I see part of what is going on. You are mixing advice from a 2.5 document with advice from a 1.5 document.  Yes that would be frustrating. Forget <url></url>, that is what is now in the <fields name="request"></request>.

Can you confirm that the xml file you are working on is layout.xml that is found in the viewname/tmpl folder on the front end? Or are you trying to do something on the back end? 

Also, usually hidden fields would be something like the autoincremented id on create/edit.  If the user is not giving it to you and it's not absolutely necessary I don't think you should be taking this as input from a form, it's just taking unnecessary risks. You need to treat all user inputs as potentially attack and/or stupid vectors. Haven't we learned enough about Firebug recently? Give the database that yourself.  If it is a constant that always equals entitlements I'm not sure why you want to save it, knowing the name of the layout should, I would think, give you enough information, but I'm not clear exactly what you are doing so I could be wrong and I've seen adding a constant to the request this sometimes as a workaround in 1.5 and 1.0.

All you are doing in  default.xml or nondefaultlayoutname.xml is setting the request variables and the values of a bunch of options for rendering the page to be saved in the menu table. 

What is the name of your view? Is that also the name of your subcontroller? 

Elin

[Eric Fernance]

Thanks Elin,  Yes you are correct about the layout file it was the viewname/tmpl folder in the front end.  

Very true about security.  I will go back to basing the controller name on the view.  Thanks for clearing up the confusion on the 1.5 v 2.5 docs though!  I thought I was going crazy!

Eric.

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