DataGrid
Zend
Framework
–
Manual

Please keep in mind that the most updated version of this document can be found at

http://petala-azul.com/blog/datagrid-full-manual/
Index

DataGrid Zend Framework – Manual............................................................................................................................................1


Index .............................................................................................................................................................................................2


Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................................3


The DataGrid ................................................................................................................................................................................4


The basics ....................................................................................................................................................................................4


Specifying fields and defining options .......................................................................................................................................5


Titles ......................................................................................................................................................................................5


Sql Expressions .....................................................................................................................................................................5


Hiding a field. .........................................................................................................................................................................5


Horizontal Row ......................................................................................................................................................................6


Eval........................................................................................................................................................................................6


Class......................................................................................................................................................................................6


searchType............................................................................................................................................................................6


Format ...................................................................................................................................................................................6


Extra Fields............................................................................................................................................................................7


Joins..........................................................................................................................................................................................8


SQL Expressions ......................................................................................................................................................................8


Filters ........................................................................................................................................................................................9


Using Arrays, JSON, XML, CSV ...............................................................................................................................................9


Array ......................................................................................................................................................................................9


XML .....................................................................................................................................................................................10


CSV .....................................................................................................................................................................................10


JSON ...................................................................................................................................................................................11


Export......................................................................................................................................................................................11


CRUD ......................................................................................................................................................................................11


CRUD Operations................................................................................................................................................................12


Add columns to the form......................................................................................................................................................12


Templates ...............................................................................................................................................................................13


Cache ......................................................................................................................................................................................14


Internationalization ..................................................................................................................................................................14


Bugs & Restrictions .................................................................................................................................................................14




 Introduction


My name is Bento Vilas Boas and Iʼm from Portugal. Iʼm not a senior developer, so you will find some code that needs to be
optimized (thatʼs why itʼs open-source).

Iʼve done my first work with ZF about six months ago, and my first disappointment was the lack of a DataGrid.

Meanwhile Iʼve been working on a new CMS (that will probably be open-source, but itʼs in a early stage) and I started this
DataGrid.

This is a beta version. You will find bugs, there are more than 11.000 lines of code, and I personally can't test all situations.

My main principle is to keep things simple, but not too simple (itʼs a quote, not sure the author).

A junior developer will have no problems using this DataGrid and a senior will be capable to extend and maximize it to fit its
needs.
 The
DataGrid

The main file Datagrid.php will abstract the query result and return arrays corresponding to the parts that complete the
Datagrid (titles, sql expressions, filters, pagination, records, ....)

The
basics

You only need tree lines of code to deploy a DataGrid. You need to pass the db instance to the constructor.

$db = Zend_Registry::get("db");
$grid = new Bvb_Grid_Deploy_Table($db,'Document Title','temp/dir');
$grid->from('table');
$this->view->grid = $grid->deploy();

This piece of code will output something like the table we can see here http://petala-azul.com/grid/default/site/basic. It will
fetch all fields from the table and create a table with pagination, filters, order and exportation.

Of curse you can change this behavior. Let's imagine you have a table with 12 fields, but you only need 11, you don't want to
fetch the user's password. You can tell DataGrid to hide certain fields by just doing this:

$grid->hide(array('password'));

All others fields will be fetched, except the password one. You can also do other simple things like define the default order
with this code

$grid->order('id DESC');

You can also define the where clause like this

$grid->where("id>5");

If you wan to omit the filters just use this code

 $grid->noFilters (1);

And if you don't want to give user's the ability to order the results add the following code

$grid->noOrder(1);

There is one more thing you can do on a DataGrid. Defining the limit. But remember. If you use it, the system pagination will
be disabled.

$grid->limit(5);

Or

$grid->limit(array(4,10));

Specifying
fields
and
defining
options


There are two methods for add fields to the Datagrid. One is more simple, the other is more "object way".

The simple way:

You can specify each field you want to display by using the following method:

$grid->addColumn('username');
$grid->addColumn('email');

With the above code, only two fields will be fetched and presented to the user. Now, the good part.

Defining field's options.

Titles

The most obvious is setting the field title. That can be accomplished using

$grid->addColumn('username',array('title'=>"Username Title "));

With this code, the title will be " Username Title " (without the quotes).

Sql
Expressions

We may want to show the salaries average, the amount of money we make per year, etc.

$grid->addColumn('salary',array(sqlexp=>"AVG(salary)"));
$grid->groupBy('year');

Don't forget to define the groupBy, or you will get an error. You can find a result example here http://www.petala-
azul.com/grid/default/site/group

Hiding
a
field.


$grid->addColumn('id',array('hide'=>1));

But for what reason would I like to select a field and then not show him on the table? Good question that deserves a better
answer.

For this:
 $grid->addColumn('username',array('title'=>"Username",'decorator'=>'<a
href="http://example.com/user/id/{{id}}"> {{username}}</a>'));

When used the index decorator, in options array, the field value will be replaced by the decorator value. Did you noticed the
{{username}} and {{id}} stuff? Yes? Great. You can call the value of any field by putting is name within {{}}.

Horizontal
Row

One cool option that you could also use is the horizontal row. When activated the horizontal row will produce something like
this http://www.petala-azul.com/grid/default/site/hrow.

$grid->addColumn('username',array('hRow'=>1));

Please note the case sensitive index.

Eval

As most of you already figured out, this code will be passed trough the php function eval. Note that even here you can use the
field's values using {{id}}, or any other field

$grid->addColumn('username',array('eval'=>"ucfirst('{{username}}') "));

Class

As the name implies, this will pass to the template the CSS class name to be applied.

$grid->addColumn('username',array('class'=>"red"));

searchType

This is used to help filters knowing which expression they will apply when searching. By default the LIKE option is used, but
you may want to use the "=" or any other.

$grid->addColumn('username',array('searchType'=>"!="));

Options available:

DataGrid SQL
like LIKE '%value%'
equal =
= =
rlike LIKE 'value%'
llike LIKE '%value'
>= >=
> >
!= !=
<> <>
<= <=
< <


Format

This index will call a class that has been previously added to the DataGrid

$grid->addColumn('amount',array('format'=>"number"));

Optionally you can set the format index as an array to pass optional arguments to the class constructor

$grid->addColumn('amount',array(format=>array('number',array('arg'=>1,'arg'=>2))));
 The DataGrid will try to find a class with the name Bvb_Grid_Format_Number and with a method called 'format'

You can add your own formats by setting them after instantiate the grid

$grid = new Bvb_Grid_Deploy_Table();

$grid->addFormatterDir('Bvb/Grid/Formatter','Bvb_Grid_Formatter');

You can add as many as dir as you want. The DataGrid will try to find the class on reverse order. So, if you add this

$grid = new Bvb_Grid_Deploy_Table();

$grid->addFormatterDir('Bvb/Grid/Formatter','Bvb_Grid_Formatter');
$grid->addFormatterDir('My/Grid/Formatter','My_Grid_Formatter');

The system will look first for a class named My_Grid_Formatter_Number and then for other called
Bvb_Grid_Formatter_Number

If no match found, the field value will be returned.

The object way

$grid = $this->grid ( 'table' );# The constructor argument is the field name
$grid->from ( 'Country' )
->order ( 'Name' )
->setPagination ( 20 );

$cap = new Bvb_Grid_Column ( 'Name' );

$cap->title ( 'Country (Capital)' )
->decorator ( '<em>({{ Name}})</em>' );

$continent = new Bvb_Grid_Column ( 'Continent' );

$continent->title ( 'Continent' );

$population = new Bvb_Grid_Column ( 'Population' );

$population->title ( 'Population' )
->class ( 'width_80' );

$lifeExpectation = new Bvb_Grid_Column ( 'LifeExpectancy' );

$lifeExpectation->title ( 'Life E.' )
->class ( 'width_50' );

$grid->addColumns ( $cap, $continent, $population, $lifeExpectation);

Extra
Fields

You can add extra fields to the table on the left or on the right. Every extra field is an array. It looks something like this.

$right = new Bvb_Grid_ExtraColumns();

$right ->position('right')
->name('Right')
->decorator("<input class='input_p'type='text' value=\"{{LifeExpectancy}}\" size=\"3\"
name='number[]'>");
 $left = new Bvb_Grid_ExtraColumns();
$ left ->position('left')
->name('Left')
->decorator("<input type='checkbox' name='number[]'>");

$grid->addExtraColumns($right,$left);

The extra fields can't be filtered or ordered.

Joins


Working with joins isnʼt harder then working with simple tables.

But there are some aspects that need your attention.

$grid->from( "nr_users u INNER JOIN nr_user_visits v ON u.id = v.user_id");

And we MUST declare the tables in use

$grid->table(array('v'=>'nr_user_visits','u'=>'nr_users'));

And, obviously, when naming fields we need to prefix them width the table name.

$grid->addColumn('u.username',array('title'=>'Username'));
$grid->addColumn('u.email',array('title'=>'Email'));
$grid->addColumn('v.month',array('title'=>'Month'));
$grid->addColumn('v.year',array('title'=>'Year'));

Example:

When setting the order

$grid->order ("u.id");

When hiding

$grid->hide(array('u.id','v.user_id','u.password','u.id'));

etc, etc,

SQL
Expressions


The expression result will be presented before the pagination as a new table row (tr) and bellow to matching field

Using SQL expressions is as easy as this

$grid->sqlexp (array('id'=>'COUNT','total'=>'SUM','sales'=>'AVG'));

The output:

Count all records from id field

Sum all records from total field

 Calculate Average from sales field

Can be used all expressions like this

SELECT EXP(FIELD) FROM ….

Some examples:

SUM

MAX

AVG

Filters


Well, there isnʼt much to talk about filters, they are lonely people…

Be default filters are enable and to disable them we must use the following code (as stated before)

$grid->noFilters(1);

You can also create a dropdown menu with the values that user is allowed to filter

$filters = new Bvb_Grid_Filters();

$filters->addFilter('email')
->addFilter('username',array('values'=>$values));

$grid->addFilters($filters);

$values is the result of

$values = $db->fetchAll("SELECT username AS name, email AS value FROM users");

Important: The fields output names must be name and value.

We can also apply a style to the filter input form

$grid->filters=array('email'=>array('style'=>'width:75px;'),
'username'=>array('style'=>"width:175px; "));

A great option you can get is auto select the distinct values for every field on your table.

$grid->filters=array(u.username=>array('distinct'=>array('field'=>'u.id',
'name'=>'u.username')));

The previous code will fetch all distinct u.id values from the query and present them as a select menu. The value will be the
ʻfieldʼ index and the caption will be the name index.

Using
Arrays,
JSON,
XML,
CSV


Array

To create a datagrid using a array the array must have this format
 $array = array(
array('name'=>'Jonh','age'=>'20','country'=>'England'),
array('name'=>'Santos','age'=>'25','country'=>'England'),
array('name'=>'Martin','age'=>'40','country'=>'Spain')
);

And then the only thing you need to do is this

$grid->setDataFromArray($array);

The system will recognize the index's as titles, but you can change the name later.

How?

It's very easy.

$grid->addColumn('age',array('title'=>'My Age'));

The method addColumn will not erase the previous params, instead it will append them using the array_merge function.

Because of this, 3 new methods have been created

$grid->resetColumn('column_name'); #Will erase all params previously defined

$grid->removeColumn('column_name'); #The column will be removed from the set

$grid->removeColumns(array('age','name')); #Remove an array of columns from the set

These 3 new methods are very useful when using foreign content (XML, CSV, JSON)

XML

To create a grid using XML use this function

$grid->setDataFromXml($url, $loop, $columns = null);

//The first argument is the xml location, the second is the loop location and the third is the columns location

Lets suppose you want to fecth a RSS file from blogspot.

It will stay something like this

$grid->setDataFromXml( 'http://my_url.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss' ,
'channel, item');

//The first argument is the xml location, the second is the loop location and the third is the columns location (optional)

//The second argument is the path to the loop. The data we want to fetch is inside the channel and item array. (check the XML
structure for confirmation)

CSV

More easy its impossible.
 $grid->setDataFromCsv($file, $field = null, $separator = ',');

//The first param is the file location

//Set field to 'true' if first line if the file isn't the columns name

//Third param the columns separator

Most of the times you will be using something like this

$grid->setDataFromCsv('media/files/grid.csv');

JSON

It's also very easy to work with.

$grid->setDataFromJson($json, $file = false, $loop = null, $columns = null);

//1-the data

//2- set 'true' if the data is on a file or URL

//3- The root to the loop (similar when using XML files)

//4-Columns name (optional)

Example

$grid->setDataFromJson( 'http://services.sapo.pt/JobOffers/JSON', true, 'rss,channel,

item ' );

IMPORTANT: when using using Arrays, JSON, XML or CSV to create your datagrid, the filters, order and 90% of all other
methods still available. But there are some changes

When using filters and using distinct, you only need to do this

$filters = new Bvb_Grid_Filters ( );

$filters->addFilter ( 'Name')
->addFilter ( 'ID')
->addFilter ( 'CountryCode', array('distinct'))
->addFilter ( 'District', array('distinct'))
->addFilter ( 'Population' );
$grid->addFilters ( $filters );

You cannot use the where clause, and CRUD operations. Everything else is available for db and foreign datagrid creation



Export

To allow results exportation the only thing you need to do is this

$grid->export = array('pdf','word','wordx','excel','print','ods','odt'); # or just pdf and

word…

Or choose the formats you want.

CRUD

It's easier than ever to add record to a table

But before a little more how it's done

The way system treats records inserting

 If there are not defined fields the system will automatically hide the auto-increment field, and show all the others

If the field type is enum, the system will show a DropDown menu with the options set in the field and if the field is 'set' a multi
select will show up

The system will not validate or filter any data if not specified (except the one made by Zend_Db)

CRUD
Operations


Option Type Description

add 0|1 Gives user permission to add records to the table
delete 0|1 Gives user permission to delete records from the table
edit 0|1 Gives user permission to edit records from the table
button 0|1 This will place a small text before the form with a link to add a new record
double_tables 0|1 If you want to have the form and the grid on the same page, or if when you are adding or
editing results the datagrid is omitted
onAddForce array Insert values that are not part of the form. The most common example is when you want to
add the user id, the update date, etc.
Ex: $form-> onAddForce ( array ('date_added' => dat Ex: $fields->validators ( array
('EmailAddress' ) ) e ( 'Y-m-d H:i:s' ),'user_id'=>'1' ) );
onEditForce array The same that onAddForce
onDeleteAddWhere string This is used for security. Imagine that you only want to allow a user to remove is owns
records. You will have to do something like this:
Ex: $form-> onDeleteAddWhere(" user_id='1' ");
Instead of
DELETE FROM table WHERE id='34'
you will get
DELETE FROM table WHERE id='34' AND user_id='1'
onDeleteCascade array This option is used for delete records from another table that matches a value that is being
deleted from the table. Suppose you are removing a user from the users table. Probably
will also want to remove the user articles, images, etc, etc.
EX:$form-
>onDeleteCascade(array('table'=>articles,'parentField'=>'id','childField'=>user_id,
'operand'=>'='));
$form->onDeleteCascade(array('table'=>images,'parentField'=>'id','childField'=>user_id,
'operand'=>'='));
By default the parentField is the primary_key and the operand is =, so you can omit that
indexes

Example:

$form = new Bvb_Grid_Form ( );

$form->add ( 1 )
->button ( 1 )
->delete ( 1 )
-> onAddForce ( array ('date_added' => date ( 'Y-m-d H:i:s' ) ) )
->onEditForce ( array ('date_added' => date ( 'Y-m-d H:i:s' ) ) );

Add
columns
to
the
form


Option Type Description

title string The title for the field
description string The field description
validators array An array with validators for a given field
Ex: $fields->validators ( array ('EmailAddress' )
filters array An array with filters for a given field
Ex: $field->filters(array('StringToLower','Alpha','StringTrim'));
values array An array containing values that will appear on a select input

IMPORTANT: The datagrid will auto recognize the enum and set fields types, so you don't need to set any values, filters, or
validators for them, as the system will check itself. However, if you define the values they will override the ones set on the db field

Form example:
 $fAdd = new Bvb_Grid_Form_Column ( 'firstname' );
$fAdd->title ( 'First name' )
->validators ( array ('EmailAddress' ) )
->description ( 'Insert you email address' );

$lastName = new Bvb_Grid_Form_Column ( 'lastname' );

$lastName->title ( 'Last name' );

$country = new Bvb_Grid_Form_Column ( 'country' );

$country->title ( 'Country' )
->description ( 'Choose your Country' )
->values ( $country );

$country = $db->fetchCol ( "SELECT DISTINCT(Name) FROM Country ORDER BY Name

ASC " );

$lang = new Bvb_Grid_Form_Column ( 'language' );

$lang->title ( 'Language' )
->description ( 'Your language' )
->values ( $language );

$language = $db->fetchCol ( "SELECT DISTINCT(Language) FROM CountryLanguage

ORDER BY Language ASC" );

$form->addColumns ( $fAdd, $lastName, $country, $lang );

$grid->addForm ( $form );

Note: The default validators and filters are the ones that ship with Zend Framework. If you want to add your custom, you have
to define them after instantiate the datagrid

$grid->addElementDir ( 'My/Validate', 'My_Validate', 'validator' );

$grid->addElementDir ( 'My/Filter', 'My_Filter', 'filter' );

Templates


At this point only word, pdf and table templates are customizable.

The grid will have some default templates, but you may, and probably will, want to change them to fit your needs.

So, to add a new template we have to do this

$grid = new Bvb_Grid_Deploy_Table($db,'Document Title');

$grid->addTemplateDir('My/Template/Table','My_Template_Table','table')
$grid->addTemplateDir('My/Template/Print','My_Template_Print','print')
$grid->addTemplateDir('My/Template/Pdf','My_Template_Pdf');

And then assign the template

$grid->setTemplate('personal','table');
$grid->setTemplate('company','pdf');
 The Datagrid will look for a file called personal at My/Template/Table/Personal.php and will expect a class with the name
My_Template_Table_Personal

CRITICAL: All templates MUST extend the ones that ship with the grid. So in this case will be:

<?php
class My_Template_Table_Personal extends Bvb_Grid_Template_Table_Table
{
}

Important: You need to inform the complete url for the images that appear on the table (for exportation).

You can do that with the following code

$grid->imagesUrl = 'http://www.example.com/public/images/grid/';

There is no better explanation then look at the templates by you. They are pretty simple.

Cache


The cache use can be very useful, especially on large environments.

To use cache you only need the add the following line of code

$grid->cache = array('use'=>1,'instance'=>Zend_Registry::get('cache'),'tag'=>'grid');

When performing CRUD operations, the cache will be cleaned.

Internationalization



Fields titles, fields descriptions and a bunch of other strings are translatable. All you have to do for make it happen is registry
in the Zend_Registry a translator instance with the name Zend_Translate

Bugs
&
Restrictions


• Only tested with MySQL databases;

• Its only possible add, edit or delete records from a single table and if it has a primary key defined