[development] Implementing without nodes (Alessandro Feij?)

[Peter Wolanin]

FYI, I just cut-n-pasted (with a little editing) Larry's forms intro
into a handbook page in the module-developer's section:
http://drupal.org/node/202756

Hopefully having a page here will make it easier for new devs to get
started with the Forms API.

-Peter

>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Alessandro Feijó <patrao at legendas.feijo.info>
> To: <development at drupal.org>
> Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:11:30 -0200
> Subject: Re: [development] Implementing without nodes
> What a fantastic reply!! Thanks a lot, Garfield,
>
> I successfully set my form to work!!
>
>
> Feijó
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Larry Garfield" <larry at garfieldtech.com>
> To: <development at drupal.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 12:01 AM
> Subject: Re: [development] Implementing without nodes
>
>
> If you want a form that is detached from the node concept, you just define
> the
> form itself and call it from the menu handler directly.  You can use
> hook_forms() for it, but don't have to.  The form itself gets submitted as
> normal, and you have complete control over it.
>
> A bare skeleton might look like this:
>
> function example_menu($may_cache) {
>   $items = array();
>
>   if ($may_cache) {
>     $items[] = array(
>       'path' => 'example',
>       'callback' => 'drupal_get_form',
>       'callback arguments' => array('example_form'),
>   }
>
>   return $items;
> }
>
> function example_form() {
>   // define your $form here, reading from the DB as needed.
> }
>
> function example_form_validate($form_id, $form_values) {
>   // Do stuff with $form_values here and set errors if needed.
> }
>
> function example_form_submit($form_id, $form_values) {
>   // Do stuff with $form_values here and call DB queries if needed.
> }
>
> Now going to /example will display the form defined by example_form(), and
> when it's submitted it will first be validated by example_form_values() and,
> it passes, will get passed to example_form_submit() for whatever saving you
> want to do.
>
> For more information, see:
> http://api.drupal.org/api/file/forms_api.html/6
> http://api.drupal.org/api/file/forms_api_reference.html/6
>
> You can, of course, get ridiculously more complicated than that (especially
> when you start working with custom theming of forms, which is all sorts of
> exciting), but that should get you started.
>
> Cheers!
>
> On Tuesday 18 December 2007, Feijó Legendas wrote:
> > I'm trying to figure out how to implement several modules, that do not use
> > nodes at all
> >
> > I need to set lots of forms, this forms are used to edit, insert or search
> > my tables
> >
> > I'm having dificulty controling the data flow of my forms.  What hooks I
> > use? I try hook_form, but any code I set there isnt executed.
> >
> > Every site about hook_form, uses node! Can I do that without nodes?
> >
> >
> > TIA
> >
> > Feijó
>