Re: [Webmacro-devel] New features for 2.0?

[Eric R. <eb...@tc...>]

On Mar 8, 2004, at 5:47 PM, Keats wrote:

<snip>

> 2) FormTool
>
> Added the ability to set default values for all form elements and/or 
> for
> each form element, eg,
>
>    $Form.DefaultValue = null
>    $Form.Name.Default = "Guest"
>
> (The default DefaultValue is now the empty string.)

I really don't like the default value being the empty string.  Means 
one can no longer do this:
	#if($Form.SOME_PARAMETER) {
                   You sent me SOME_PARAMETER=$Form.SOME_PARAMETER
          }

> I deprecated "getPossibleForm" and added a new version called
> "getIgnoreCase", so:
>
>    $Form.IgnoreCase.NAME, will retrieve an element called "name", 
> "Name",
> "NAME" etc. (The first one it finds.)

I don't like this either.  :)  It goes against every web/cgi 
"framework" I've ever used... HTTP parameters are case sensitive.  I 
don't want to see WM promote non-standard usages for something so 
basic.


> I also added isExists(), so the following works regardless of the 
> default
> values:
>
>   #if ($Form.Exists.Name){ ...

You need this only because the default value changed.  :(

When I upgrade our product to WM 2.0, this change alone is going to 
make me about as upset as Tim is with Melati.  I can deal with all the 
FastWriter/api changes, but this one really bugs me.  :)  It means 
re-training my designers on something they've used for about 4 years 
now.

> 3) #try directive

<snip>

> I remember Eric saying he did this a while ago, but then Brian talked 
> him
> out of it.  I'd like to hear the reasoning.  I find it quite useful for
> validation and debugging.

Reason being that nothing you do in a template should actually throw an 
exception.  And if it does, you want it reported.  I see this as very 
similar to the "On Error Resume Next" construct of VisualBasic... very 
very bad.

eric