Detailed reference of prototypes, properties and methods available in the
Javascript environment of your Helma web applications.

This class can be used to render forms and to validate and store user submits. Further types of form components can be added by subclassing jala.Form.Component.Input.
jala Form(name, dataObj)
Constructs a new Form instance
parameters
String name The name of the form
Object dataObj An optional object used to retrieve values to display in the form input fields contained in this Form instance.
methods
  • save(tracker, destObj)
properties
jala Form.Component(name)
The abstract base class for all components.
parameters
name
methods
  • save(destObj, val)
jala Form.Component.Fieldset(name)
Constructs a new Fieldset instance
parameters
String name The name of the fieldset
methods
  • save(tracker, destObj)
properties
jala Form.Component.Skin(name)
Subclass of jala.Form.Component that allows rendering a skin within a form.
parameters
String name The name of the component, used as the name of the skin
methods
jala Form.Component.Input(name)
Creates a new input component instance.
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html control.
methods
  • save(tracker, destObj)
jala Form.Component.Password(name)
Constructs a newly created Password component instance
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
jala Form.Component.Hidden(name)
Constructs a newly created Hidden component instance
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
jala Form.Component.Textarea(name)
Constructs a new Textarea component.
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
jala Form.Component.Date(name)
Constructs a new Date component instance
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
jala Form.Component.Select(name)
Constructs a new Select component instance
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
jala Form.Component.Radio(name)
Creates a new Radio component instance
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
jala Form.Component.Checkbox(name)
Creates a new Checkbox component instance
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
jala Form.Component.File(name)
Creates a new File component instance
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
jala Form.Component.Image(name)
Creates a new Image component instance
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
jala Form.Component.Button(name)
Creates a new Button component instance
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
  • render(attr, value, reqData)
jala Form.Component.Submit(name)
Creates a new Submit component instance
parameters
String name Name of the component, used as name of the html controls.
methods
jala Form.Tracker(reqData)
A generic container for error-messages and values
parameters
reqData
methods
properties
String jala.Form. name
Readonly reference to the name of the form
Skin jala.Form. componentSkin
Contains the default component skin
Object jala.Form. components
Contains a map of component objects.
helma.Html jala. Form.html
The HTML renderer used by jala.Form
String jala. Form.MINLENGTH
Constant used by require function to define that a component should not validate if userinput is shorter than a given length. Value: "minlength"
String jala. Form.MAXLENGTH
Constant used by require function to define that a component should not validate if userinput exceeds a maximum length. Value: "maxlength"
String jala. Form.REQUIRE
Constant used by require function to define that a component should validate only if the user did provide input. Value: "require"
String jala. Form.CHECKOPTIONS
Constant used by require function to define that a select or radio component should validate only if the user input is contained in the list of options provided. Value: "checkoptions"
String jala. Form.CONTENTTYPE
Constant used by require function to define that a file upload component should validate only if the file's content type is in the list of allowed content types provided. Value: "contenttype"
String jala. Form.MAXWIDTH
Constant used by require function to define that an image upload component should validate only if the image's width is less than the value provided. Value: "maxwidth"
String jala. Form.MINWIDTH
Constant used by require function to define that an image upload component should validate only if the image's width is more than the value provided. Value: "minwidth"
String jala. Form.MAXHEIGHT
Constant used by require function to define that an image upload component should validate only if the image's height is less than the value provided. Value: "maxheight"
String jala. Form.MINHEIGHT
Constant used by require function to define that an image upload component should validate only if the image's height is more than the value provided. Value: "min-height"
jala.Form.Component.Fieldset. components
Contains a map of all component objects of this fieldset
Object jala.Form.Tracker. reqData
A map containing input from request data
Object jala.Form.Tracker. values
A map containing parsed values (only for those fields that didn't fail during checkRequirements method).
Object jala.Form.Tracker. errors
A map containing error messages
Methods
jala.Form. setDataObject(dataObj)
Sets the data object which is being edited by this form. This object is used to get the default values when first printing the form and - if no other object is provided - receives the changed values in save.
parameters
Object dataObj The object which is being edited by this form.
see
jala.Form.save
jala.Form. getDataObject()
Returns the data object containing the values used for rendering the form.
returns
The data object of this jala.Form instance
jala.Form. setTracker(newTracker)
Sets the tracker object this form instance uses for collecting error messages and parsed values.
parameters
jala.Form.Tracker newTracker
jala.Form. getTracker()
Returns the tracker object this form instance uses for collecting error messages and parsed values.
returns
tracker object
jala.Form. listComponents()
Returns an array containing the components of this jala.Form instance.
returns
The components of this jala.Form instance.
jala.Form. addComponent(component)
Adds a component to this jala.Form instance
parameters
jala.Form.Component.Input component
jala.Form. containsFileUpload()
Returns true if this instance of jala.Form contains at least one component doing a file upload.
see
jala.Form.Component#containsFileUpload
jala.Form. getClassName()
Returns the class name set for this form instance.
returns
class name
jala.Form. setClassName(newClassName)
Sets an extra classname for this form instance
parameters
String newClassName new classname
jala.Form. getErrorMessage()
Returns the general error message printed above the form if any of the components didn't validate.
returns
error message
jala.Form. setErrorMessage(newErrorMessage)
Sets the general error message printed above the form if any of the components didn't validate.
parameters
String newErrorMessage error message
jala.Form. hasError()
Returns true if this instance of jala.Form holds a jala.Form.Tracker instance and at least one error has been set on this tracker.
returns
true if an error has been encountered.
jala.Form. countErrors()
If this instance of jala.Form holds a jala.Form.Tracker instance it returns the number of components that didn't validate.
returns
Number of components that didn't validate.
jala. Form.extend(subClass, superClass)
Utility to set up the prototype, constructor, superclass and superconstructor properties to support an inheritance strategy that can chain constructors and methods.
parameters
Function subClass the object which inherits superClass' functions
Function superClass the object to inherit
jala. Form.create(config)
Parses a plain javascript object tree and configures a new jala.Form instance according to the properties. Propertynames are matched with constants and setter-functions, the property "type" is used to create new component objects.
parameters
Object config object tree containing config
returns
A newly created jala.Form instance based on the config specified
jala. Form.isEmail(name, value, reqData, formObj)
Static validator function to test values for being a valid email address.
parameters
String name name of the property being validated.
String value value in form input
Object reqData the whole request-data-object, in case properties depend on each other
jala.Form formObj instance of jala.Form
returns
Error message or null
jala. Form.isUrl(name, value, reqData, formObj)
Static validator function to test values for being a valid url.
parameters
String name name of the property being validated.
String value value in form input
Object reqData the whole request-data-object, in case properties depend on each other
jala.Form formObj instance of jala.Form
returns
Error message or null
jala.Form. render()
Renders this form including all components to response.
jala.Form. renderAsString(param)
renders the form as a string
parameters
param
returns
rendered form
jala.Form. createDomId()
Creates a DOM identifier based on the arguments passed. The resulting Id will be prefixed with the name of the form. All arguments will be chained using camel casing.
returns
The DOM Id
jala.Form. validate(reqData)
Validates user input from a submitted form by calling each component's validate method.
parameters
Object reqData Optional submitted form data. If not specified req.data is used.
returns
tracker object with error fields set.
jala.Form. save(tracker, destObj)
Sets the parsed values on an object. By default the internally stored tracker and data objects are used, but those may be overridden here.
parameters
jala.Form.Tracker tracker (optional) tracker object holding parsed data from form input.
Object destObj (optional) object whose values will be changed. By default the dataObj passed to the constructor or to setDataObject is used.
jala.Form. handle(reqData, destObj)
Parses form input, applies check functions and stores the values if the form does validate. Otherwise this method returns false without saving so that the form can be reprinted with error messages.
parameters
Object reqData input from form
Object destObj object whose values should be chanegd
returns
False if one of the checks failed, true if the element was saved correctly.
jala.Form. render_macro()
Renders the whole form to response
jala.Form. id_macro()
Returns the id (equal to the name) of the form
returns
The id of this Form instance
jala.Form. name_macro()
Returns the name (equal to the id) of the form
returns
The name of this Form instance
jala.Form. class_macro()
Returns the class name of the form
returns
The class name of this Form instance
jala.Form. open_macro()
Writes the form opening tag to response
jala.Form. close_macro()
Writes the form closing tag to response
jala.Form.Component. getType()
Returns the type of component. This is the lowercase'd name of the constructor function.
jala.Form.Component. getClassName()
Returns the class name set for this component.
returns
class name
jala.Form.Component. setClassName(newClassName)
Sets an extra classname for this component
parameters
String newClassName new classname
jala.Form.Component. containsFileUpload()
Function defining wheter a component contains a file upload or not. This value is used to render a form tag with the attribute enctype=multipart/form-data. Subclasses of jala.Form.Component that use a file upload element, have to override this function and let it return true.
jala.Form.Component. createDomId(idPart)
Creates a DOM identifier based on the name of the form, the name of the component and an additional string. The items will be chained using camel casing.
parameters
String idPart Optional string appended to component's id.
returns
The DOM Id
jala.Form.Component. render()
Function to render a component. Subclasses of jala.Form.Component may override this function.
jala.Form.Component. validate(tracker)
Function to validate a component. Subclasses of jala.Form.Component may override this function.
parameters
jala.Form.Tracker tracker object tracking errors and holding parsed values and request data.
jala.Form.Component. save(destObj, val)
Function to save the data of a component. Subclasses of jala.Form.Component may override this function.
parameters
destObj
val
jala.Form.Component.Fieldset. listComponents()
Returns an array containing the components of this jala.Form.Component.Fieldset instance.
returns
The components of this jala.Form instance.
jala.Form.Component.Fieldset. addComponent(component)
Adds a component to this jala.Form.Component.Fieldset instance
parameters
jala.Form.Component.Input component
jala.Form.Component.Fieldset. containsFileUpload()
Returns true if this instance of jala.Form.Component.Fieldset contains at least one component doing a file upload.
see
jala.Form.Component#containsFileUpload
jala.Form.Component.Fieldset. getLegend()
Returns the legend of the fieldset.
returns
legend
jala.Form.Component.Fieldset. setLegend(newLegend)
Sets the legend text.
parameters
String newLegend legend to use when printing the fieldset.
jala.Form.Component.Fieldset. render()
Renders all components within the fieldset.
jala.Form.Component.Fieldset. validate(tracker)
Validates all components within the fieldset.
parameters
jala.Form.Tracker tracker
jala.Form.Component.Fieldset. save(tracker, destObj)
Saves all components within the fieldset.
parameters
jala.Form.Tracker tracker
Object destObj
jala.Form.Component.Skin. getHandler()
Returns the handler object for the skin.
jala.Form.Component.Skin. setHandler(newHandler)
Sets the handler to use when rendering the skin. By default, the form's data object is used a handler.
parameters
Object newHandler new skin handler object.
jala.Form.Component.Skin. render()
Renders the skin named by this component to the response.
jala.Form.Component.Input. require(key, val, msg)
Sets a requirement for this component. If function is called without arguments, jala.Form.REQUIRE is set to true.
parameters
String key String defining the type of requirement, constants in jala.Form may be used.
Object val Value of the requirement.
String msg Optional error message if requirement is not fulfilled.
jala.Form.Component.Input. getRequirement(key)
Returns the requirement value for a given key.
parameters
String key String defining the type of requirement, constants in jala.Form may be used.
jala.Form.Component.Input. setMessage(key, msg)
Sets a custom error message
parameters
String key String defining the type of requirement, constants in jala.Form may be used.
String msg Error message
jala.Form.Component.Input. getMessage(key, defaultMsg, args)
Returns a specific message for a config element.
parameters
String key The key of the message as defined by the constants in jala.Form.* (e.g. "require", "maxlength", "minlength" ...
String defaultMsg the message to use when no message was defined.
Object args One or more arguments passed to the gettext message processor which will replace {0}, {1} etc.
returns
rendered message
jala.Form.Component.Input. getLabel()
Returns the label set for this component.
returns
label
jala.Form.Component.Input. setLabel(newLabel)
Sets the label for this component
parameters
String newLabel new label
jala.Form.Component.Input. getHelp()
Returns the help text set for this component.
returns
help text
jala.Form.Component.Input. setHelp(newHelp)
Sets the help text for this component
parameters
String newHelp new help text
jala.Form.Component.Input. validate(tracker)
Validates the input provided to this component. First, checkRequirements is called. If no error occurs, the input is parsed using parseValue and passed on to the validator function.
parameters
jala.Form.Tracker tracker Tracker object collecting request data, error messages and parsed values.
see
jala.Form.Component.Input.checkRequirements
jala.Form.Component.Input.parseValue
jala.Form.Component.Input. save(tracker, destObj)
Saves the parsed value using setValue.
parameters
jala.Form.Tracker tracker Tracker object collecting request data, error messages and parsed values.
Object destObj (optional) object whose values will be changed.
see
jala.Form.Component.Input.setValue
jala.Form.Component.Input. getValue()
Retrieves the property which is edited by this component.
  • If no getter is given, the method returns the primitive property of the data object with the same name as the component.
  • If a getter function is defined, it is executed with the scope of the data object and the return value is used as default value. The name of the component is passed to the getter function as an argument.
returns
The value of the property
jala.Form.Component.Input. setValue(destObj, value)
Sets a property of the object passed as argument to the given value.
  • If no setter is set at the component, the primitive property of the data object is changed.
  • If a setter function is defined it is executed with the data object as scope and with the name and new value provided as arguments
  • If the setter is explicitly set to null, no changes are made at all.
    • parameters
    Object destObj (optional) object whose values will be changed.
    Object value The value to set the property to
    returns
    True in case the update was successful, false otherwise.
    see
    jala.Form#setter
    jala.Form.Component.Input. render()
    Renders this component including label, error and help messages directly to response.
    jala.Form.Component.Input. renderError()
    If the error tracker holds an error message for this component, it is wrapped in a div-tag and returned as a string.
    returns
    Rendered string
    jala.Form.Component.Input. renderLabel()
    Returns the rendered label of this component
    returns
    The rendered label of this component
    jala.Form.Component.Input. renderHelp()
    If this component contains a help message, it is wrapped in a div-tag and returned as a string.
    returns
    The rendered help message
    jala.Form.Component.Input. render_macro()
    Renders this component including label, error and help messages directly to response
    jala.Form.Component.Input. controls_macro()
    Renders the control(s) of this component
    jala.Form.Component.Input. error_macro()
    Renders this component's error message (if set) directly to response
    jala.Form.Component.Input. label_macro()
    Renders this component's label.
    jala.Form.Component.Input. help_macro()
    Renders this component's help text, if set.
    jala.Form.Component.Input. id_macro()
    Renders this component's id
    see
    jala.Form#createDomId
    jala.Form.Component.Input. name_macro()
    Renders this component's name
    jala.Form.Component.Input. type_macro()
    Renders this component's type
    jala.Form.Component.Input. class_macro()
    Renders this component's class name. Note that this is just the class name that has been explicitly assigned using setClassName.
    see
    jala.Form.Component.Input.setClassName
    jala.Form.Component.Input. getControlAttributes()
    Creates a new attribute object for this element.
    returns
    Object with properties id, name, class
    jala.Form.Component.Input. checkLength(reqData)
    Checks user input for maximum length, minimum length and require if the corresponding options have been set using the require method.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    returns
    String containing error message or null if everything is ok.
    see
    jala.Form.Component.Input.require
    jala.Form.Component.Input. checkRequirements(reqData)
    Checks user input against options set using the require method.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    returns
    String containing error message or null if everything is ok.
    see
    jala.Form.Component.Input.checkLength
    jala.Form.Component.Input.require
    jala.Form.Component.Input. parseValue(reqData)
    Parses the string input from the form and creates the datatype that is edited with this component. For the input component this method is not of much use, but subclasses that edit other datatypes may use it. For example, a date editor should convert the user input from string to a date object.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    returns
    parsed value
    jala.Form.Component.Input. renderControls(attr, value, reqData)
    Renders the html form elements to the response. This method shall be overridden by subclasses of input component.
    parameters
    Object attr Basic attributes for the html form elements.
    Object value Value to be used for rendering this element.
    Object reqData Request data for the whole form. This argument is passed only if the form is re-rendered after an error occured.
    jala.Form.Component.Password. renderControls(attr, value, reqData)
    Renders a password input tag to the response.
    parameters
    Object attr Basic attributes for this element.
    Object value Value to be used for rendering this element.
    Object reqData Request data for the whole form. This argument is passed only if the form is re-rendered after an error occured.
    jala.Form.Component.Hidden. render()
    Renders this component directly to response. For a hidden tag, this is just an input element, no div tag or anything.
    jala.Form.Component.Hidden. renderControls(attr, value, reqData)
    Renders a hidden input tag to the response.
    parameters
    Object attr Basic attributes for this element.
    Object value Value to be used for rendering this element.
    Object reqData Request data for the whole form. This argument is passed only if the form is re-rendered after an error occured.
    jala.Form.Component.Textarea. getRows()
    Returns the row numbers for this component.
    returns
    row numbers
    jala.Form.Component.Textarea. setRows(newRows)
    Sets the row numbers for this component.
    parameters
    String newRows new row numbers
    jala.Form.Component.Textarea. getCols()
    Returns the col numbers for this component.
    returns
    col numbers
    jala.Form.Component.Textarea. setCols(newCols)
    Sets the col numbers for this component.
    parameters
    String newCols new col numbers
    jala.Form.Component.Textarea. renderControls(attr, value, reqData)
    Renders a textarea input field to the response.
    parameters
    Object attr Basic attributes for this element.
    Object value Value to be used for rendering this element.
    Object reqData Request data for the whole form. This argument is passed only if the form is re-rendered after an error occured.
    jala.Form.Component.Date. getDateFormat()
    Returns the date format for this component.
    returns
    date format object
    jala.Form.Component.Date. setDateFormat(newDateFormat)
    Sets the date format for this component.
    parameters
    String newDateFormat new date format
    jala.Form.Component.Date. renderControls(attr, value, reqData)
    Renders a textarea tag to the response.
    parameters
    Object attr Basic attributes for this element.
    Object value Value to be used for rendering this element.
    Object reqData Request data for the whole form. This argument is passed only if the form is re-rendered after an error occured.
    jala.Form.Component.Date. checkRequirements(reqData)
    Validates user input from a date editor.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    returns
    null if everything is ok or string containing error message
    jala.Form.Component.Date. parseValue(reqData)
    Parses the string input from the form and converts it to a date object. Throws an error if the string cannot be parsed.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    returns
    parsed date value
    jala.Form.Component.Select. getOptions()
    Returns the option list for this component.
    jala.Form.Component.Select. setOptions(newOptions)
    Sets the option list for this component. The argument may either be an array that will be used as option list, or a function that is called when the option component is rendered and has to return an option array. For both arrays those formats are allowed:
  • Array of arrays [ [val, display], [val, display], .. ]
  • Array of objects [ {value:val, display:display}, .. ]
  • Array of strings [ display, display, .. ] In this case, the index position of the string will be the value.
    • parameters
    Array Function newOptions Array or function defining option list.
    jala.Form.Component.Select. getFirstOption()
    Returns the text that should be displayed if no value is selected.
    jala.Form.Component.Select. setFirstOption(newFirstOption)
    Sets the text that is displayed if no value is selected
    parameters
    String newFirstOption text to display as first option element.
    jala.Form.Component.Select. renderControls(attr, value, reqData)
    Renders a dropdown element to the response.
    parameters
    Object attr Basic attributes for this element.
    Object value Value to be used for rendering this element.
    Object reqData Request data for the whole form. This argument is passed only if the form is re-rendered after an error occured.
    jala.Form.Component.Select. checkRequirements(reqData)
    Validates user input from a dropdown element by making sure that the option value list contains the user input.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    returns
    string containing error message or null if everything is ok.
    see
    jala.Form.Component.Select#checkOptions
    jala.Form.Component.Select. parseOptions()
    Creates an array of options for a dropdown element or a group of radiobuttons. If options field of this element's config is an array, that array is returned. If options is a function, its return value is returned.
    returns
    array of options
    jala.Form.Component.Select. checkOptions(reqData)
    Checks user input for optiongroups: Unless require("checkoptions") has ben set to false, the user input must exist in the option array.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    returns
    null if everything is ok or string containing error message
    jala.Form.Component.Radio. renderControls(attr, value)
    Renders a set of radio buttons to the response.
    parameters
    Object attr Basic attributes for this element.
    Object value Value to be used for rendering this element.
    jala.Form.Component.Radio. checkRequirements(reqData)
    Validates user input from a set of radio buttons and makes sure that option value list contains the user input.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    returns
    null if everything is ok or string containing error message
    see
    jala.Form.Component.Select#checkOptions
    jala.Form.Component.Checkbox. renderControls(attr, value)
    Renders an checkbox to the response.
    parameters
    Object attr Basic attributes for this element.
    Object value Value to be used for rendering this element.
    jala.Form.Component.Checkbox. parseValue(reqData)
    Parses the string input from the form. For a checked box, the value is 1, for an unchecked box the value is 0.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    returns
    parsed value
    jala.Form.Component.Checkbox. checkRequirements(reqData)
    Validates user input from checkbox.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    returns
    null if everything is ok or string containing error message
    jala.Form.Component.File. renderControls(attr, value, reqData)
    Renders a file input tag to the response.
    parameters
    Object attr Basic attributes for this element.
    Object value Value to be used for rendering this element.
    Object reqData Request data for the whole form. This argument is passed only if the form is re-rendered after an error occured.
    jala.Form.Component.File. checkRequirements(reqData, tracker)
    Validates a file upload by making sure it's there (if REQUIRE is set), checking the file size, the content type and by trying to construct an image.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    jala.Form.Tracker tracker jala.Form.Tracker object storing possible error messages
    returns
    null if everything is ok or string containing error message
    jala.Form.Component.Image. checkRequirements(reqData)
    Validates an image upload by making sure it's there (if REQUIRE is set), checking the file size, the content type and by trying to construct an image. If the file is an image, width and height limitations set by require are checked.
    parameters
    Object reqData request data
    jala.Form.Component.Button. getValue()
    Returns the value set for this button.
    returns
    value
    jala.Form.Component.Button. setValue(newValue)
    Sets the value for this button.
    parameters
    String newValue new value
    jala.Form.Component.Button. render(attr, value, reqData)
    Renders a button to the response.
    parameters
    Object attr Basic attributes for this element.
    Object value Value to be used for rendering this element.
    Object reqData Request data for the whole form. This argument is passed only if the form is re-rendered after an error occured.
    jala.Form.Component.Button. renderControls(attr, value)
    Creates a new attribute object for this button.
    parameters
    attr
    value
    returns
    Object with all attributes set for this button.
    jala.Form.Component.Submit. renderControls(attr, value)
    Creates a new attribute object for this button.
    parameters
    attr
    value
    returns
    Object with all attributes set for this button.
    jala. Form.propertyGetter(name)
    static default getter function used to return a field from the data object.
    parameters
    String name Name of the property.
    jala. Form.propertySetter(name, value)
    static default setter function used to change a field of the data object.
    parameters
    String name Name of the property.
    Object value New value of the property.
    jala.Form.Tracker. hasError()
    Returns true if an error has been set for at least one component.
    returns
    true if form encountered an error.
    jala.Form.Tracker. countErrors()
    Returns the number of components for which this instance has tracked an error.
    returns
    Number of components that did not validate.
    Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:40:06 GMT.

    core framework

    optional modules

    java libraries

    properties files