Fabrizio Balliano

P4A 2.99.4 is available for download, this is nothing more than a bugfix release, mainly due to the first production rollout for a pretty big project of one of our customers.

Here’s the changelog:

- a bug with quoted strings in P4A_Field::getAsSelect was solved
- a bug with P4A::getFocusedObjectId() method was solved
- P4A_Object::__call() method now uses trigger_error() instead of p4a_error() when a method is not found
- P4A_Object::_loadHelper() method now direcly call P4A_Error_Handler() instead of trigger_error,
so we can pass the error file/line and have a readable resulting error message
- a few modifications were done on P4A_DB_Source so now you can add joins without selecting
any column from the joined table
- P4A_DB::getDBType() method was added
- P4A_DB_Source::getRowPosition() mystical bug with MySQL (same query called 2 times returns 2 different results)
was found again and patched again
- a bug with P4A_ERROR_Handler() was solved
- P4A_Field was ported to trigger_error() instead of p4a_error
- P4A::raiseXMLresponse() method is now public
- P4A_Error_Handler was rewritten to be used in ajax calls too
- check_configuration library now also checks for PHP version
- P4A::executeExternalCommands() method was added
- all tasks dealing with external systems where moved from P4A::main() to P4A::executeExternalCommands()
- P4A::executeExternalCommands() is executed just after the session_start(), in the P4A::singleton() method
- P4A_Object::destroy() now checks if every object to destroy is a P4A_Object before calling destroy() recursively on it

Now you can Download P4A 2.99.4, please help us with translations and report us all the bugs you find! Thank you so much!

It’s time to release a new P4A 3 preview package! This mainly is a bugfix release, but we’ve a few interesting things out there, I started coding the new exception based error management and started porting some P4A components to it (or to “trigger_error” depending on the specific case). Zend Framework was updated to 1.0.4 and this raised a few issues I fixed (hope I found them all). Due to high demand I also worked on P4A_Sheet, supporting anchoring for text strings and re-creating the setFree method.

Here you have the full changelog:

- P4A_Toolbars code was refactored using P4A chainability
- a bug with P4A_Full_Toolbar and P4A_Simple_Toolbar about delete was solved
- a bug with P4A_DB_Source::deleteRow was solved
- P4A_Widget::requireConfirmation() now trigger an error if addAction wasn’t called before
- P4A_Exception class was added
- P4A_Exception_Handler now replaces PHP’s default exception handler
- a part of P4A_DB_Source error management was ported to the new error handlers
- Zend Framework was updated to 1.0.4
- P4A_DB_Source::load() now returns $this thus is chainable now
- P4A_DB_Source::_composeSelectCountQuery() now always encapsulate the complete select query (without order clause) in a second count query
- translations were synched with launchpad
- P4A_DB::query() method was added
- P4A_Mask error management was ported to exceptions
- p4a/libraries/standard.php was renamed p4a/functions.php
- P4A_DB_Select class was removed ’cause unused
- code reference was organized in packages
- P4A_Sheet was ported to the new error handling
- P4A_Mask::setFocus() method now checks if the passed object is an instance of P4A_Object, otherwise does nothing
- P4A::getFocusedObjectId() method now checks if the “active_mask” object exists, otherwise returns null
- P4A_Sheet::anchor() method now supports text strings and not only widgets
- P4A_Sheet::setFree() method was added

Now you can Download P4A 2.99.3, please help us with translations and report us all the bugs you find! Thank you so much!

Forum considerations:
You know P4A has a new fantastic spanish community, they created a new forum on google groups. I has a discussion with some users saying that sourceforge forums are ineffective because of the answers orders and few other things. We’ve to consider that, with P4A 3, 99% of the forum posts will become outdated, so the question is should we move P4A forums to google code or another service?

We always used SF forums because it’s one of the best ways to make the project activity rate raise and let P4A be one of the most active project all over SF. Moving the forum elsewhere will drop this positive effect. We also have to keep this is mind.

Please let me know your considerations!

Yesterday I saw a post by Daniel Carrero on P4A’s forums, talking about this new website:

http://p4aenespanol.blogspot.com/

A spanish blog talking about P4A. Isn’t it cool? I think it really is! Thank you Daniel!

Only 4 days after the 2nd P4A 3 preview release I’m here again for a new release, which is both a bugfix release and an API stabilization release.

Let’s go directly to the changelog which is not so long and complex:

- P4A_Mask::main() method is now called also within an AJAX call, if a full redesign is required
- a bug with search function within products_catalogue sample was fixed
- more chainability was added to the P4A main class
- a bug with P4A_DB_Source::createDataField() method was solved
- P4A_DB_Source::addJoin*() methods now supports null 3rd parameter (fields list)
- a bug with P4A_DB_Source::setFields() and aliases was solved
- README updated because P4A can’t handle db tables with numeric column names
- P4A_Validate class was added, it subclasses Zend_Validate and we need it to remove validators from a validator chain (ZF does not support that feature)
- P4A_Field::removeValidator() method was added
- P4A_Mask::unsetRequiredField() method was added
- P4A_Widget::removeCSSClass() method was added

Now you can Download P4A 2.99.2, please help us with translations and report us all the bugs you find! Thank you so much!

Click on the new logo to view the new splash page and access the old website.

This week I’ve been damn busy, we got so many feedback after the first P4A 3 preview release that I fixed some things and worked on some others.

Three important issues:

• with the full ajax implementation to boost the user experience we found a bug when you’ve to download a file within a mask, this has been solved creating some new methods to work with
• the README file was updated writing info about PDO, which was a FAQ in these days
• due to the high requests, P4A_Sheet was re-created from scratch with a P4A 3 design in mind

I think we all need a new preview to work on the most updated software, here you have the changelog:

- a bug with “preview” button within P4A_Field file upload was solved
- a bug with file download was fixed
- P4A::inAjaxCall() method was rewritten
- P4A_Redirect_To_File() global function was added
- a bug with images preview on ie/opera was solved
- README was updated
- P4A_Output_File() global function was added, it has to be used when you want to creare a file at run-time and make users download it
- Chainability support was added for P4A_Simple_Toolbar, P4A_Navigation_Toolbar, P4A_Full_Toolbar and P4A_Actions_Toolbar
- P4A_Tab_Pane padding was changed a bit
- P4A_Sheet was re-created

Now you can Download P4A 2.99.1, please help us with translations and report us all the bugs you find! Thank you so much!

It’s been a hard developing week, I had to do a close some big tasks before the preview release, there are 4 most important points since the last commit digest:

• chainability
• all the code and libraries which did not fit our new licenses was removed or rewritten from scratch. I removed getid3, phpthumb libraries and the jquery color picker but I had to write from scratch a thumbnail generator, it’s been easy and we’ve a good cache support and PHP5 code, light and fast.
• P4A now has a “P4A_Login_Mask”, you can use it for login operations (usage within the P4A’s bundled samples) and it’s the only mask that’s allowed to do not display the “download source code” link in the footer zone
• last but most important: this surely is the fastest release ever, all the client/server interaction was rewritten, javascript/css files will be loaded only one time by the browser, than every call we’ll be done via ajax. It’s lighting fast and it works flawlessly, believe me

Here you have the changelog for this digest:

- P4A_DB_Source::load() method now autodetect schema name
- P4A_DB::nextSequenceId now automatically creates sequences on oracle too
- jQuery color picker was removed
- getId3 was dropped, we went back to getimagesize() PHP function to extract images information but we can’t retrieve video files information anymore
- phpThumb was removed
- P4A_Thumbnail_Generator was added
- P4A_DB::nextSequenceId now automatically creates sequences on postgreSQL too
- P4A_DB_Source compose count query was changed a bit to support PostgreSQL syntax
- P4A_Field does not preview images if GD are not installed
- P4A_Login_Mask was added, it should be used if your application needs a login system, it does not display the “download application source” link in the footer zone
- products_catalogue sample now uses the P4A_Login_Mask to show how to use this new feature
- P4A_Object::implementMethod() method was renamed to implement()
- P4A::getBrowserOS() method was added
- default and popup templates now add to #p4a_body a new CSS class containing the browser platform (windows, linux etc…)
- P4A_Error was removed because outdated, it will be replaced by exception objects
- README was updated
- P4A_Tab_Pane::getActivePageName() method was refactored, if empty returns the first page name
- P4A_Tab_Pane::getAsString() method now calls getActivePageName() to avoid the possibility to render a tab pane without any active page
- P4A_Mask_Preview was renamed to P4A_Preview_Mask
- P4A_Mask_Error was renamed to P4A_Error_Mask
- P4A_Canvas now is rendered inside a container div to have id/class/properties/actions
- all P4A objects now support chainability
- P4A_Image::setSource() and getSource() methods were removed
- P4A_Mask::addTempCss(), dropTempCss(), clearTempCss(), addJavascript(), dropJavascript(), addTempJavascript(), dropTempJavascript(), clearTempJavascript(), addCSS(), dropCSS() were removed
- default and popup mask templates were broken in 3 files, now header and footer and manager by P4A and templates have only the body part
- P4A::getPopupMaskName() and getPopupMask() methods were removed
- P4A_Mask::getP4AJavascript() method was moved to P4A::getJavascriptInitializations()
- ajax manager was completely reworked and now, if you have ajax enabled, you won’t see no refreshes at all, every action will be managed by ajax call with automatic redesign

and now… right on time… do you want to try it? here you go:
DOWNLOAD P4A 3 PREVIEW

It’s been an hard work, something like 500 commits and most of the code rewritten, now we need your help, please:

• translate P4A in your language
• test everything you can and report bugs
• write us in forums, we need to know what you think

We kept this feature secret ’till now… let’s unveil the power of P4A 3 chainability:

This feature is already available for every P4A 3 component. It is inspired by the jQuery chainability and for the first time (AFAIK) comes to a PHP framework. I’m sure it will revolution the way everyone of us writes code, producing cleaner and much more readable code.

What did you say? Do you want a P4A 3 preview release? humm let me think… can you wait ’till monday? :-)

UPDATE: before writing this post I haven’t checked everyone of the 100,000 PHP frameworks out there thus I’m not sure P4A is the real first, the title is just a nice claim for a nice feature, nothing more. :)

The most of the work of this week was focused on the license switch (from GPL2 to AGPL3), that forced me to a mass commit today changing the header of all P4A files. Actually I was hoping to receive more feedback on the new license model post but anyway we feel that AGPL3 is the right choice for P4A.

Due to the new license we added a link in the footer zone: you’ve to set the target of the link using a new constant (P4A_APPLICATION_SOURCE_DOWNLOAD_URL).

The other big part of the work was rebuilding all the CSS from scratch, I changed all the class names and id to be more consistent and we’ve a new class added to the template’s body which identifies the browser thus to little tricks is now much more friendly. A great work was done on jQuery plugins too, removing some old ones and adding new and lighter ones.

I think that next week could be a nice goal to release the first 3.0 alpha, be sure to check it out!

Here you’ve the raw changelog:

- P4A_Field::setError() methods now fires a redesign event for the field
- jQuery::UI::datepicker was updated to 3.3
- jQuery::interface was removed
- jQuery::jqModal was removed
- a simple javascript trick was implemented to avoid concurrent clicks on the interface
- jQuery::bgiframe plugin was added and implemented (only for ie6) for tooltips and system messages
- P4A is now released under AFFERO GPL 3
- P4A_Label::setType(), getType(), setValue() and getValue() methods were removed ’cause unused
- P4A_Widget::addCSSClass() and getCSSClasses() methods were added
- tooltip HTML/javascript was rewritten to be simpler
- P4A_Box::setHTML() and getHTML() methods were added
- P4A_Box::setValue() and getValue() methods were marked as deprecated
- all widgets now use the composeStringClass() method, which now use the getCSSClasses() method
- CSS hacks for internet explorer were removed cause not needed anymore
- jQuery was updated to 1.2.3
- P4A_Table has no more container div thus can be styled much more efficently
- P4A_Field::setDefaultVisualizationProperties() method was removed
- P4A_Field::getVisualizedDataType() method was added and called during getAsString(), used to generate the data_type CSS class
- masks and widgets templates were renamed to “.php”
- P4A::isAjaxEnabled() method was removed
- P4A::isGecko(), isOpera, isSafari() and getBrowser() methods were added
- masks templates now add a class to the body (p4a_browser_ie, p4a_browser_gecko, p4a_browser_opera, p4a_browser_safari, p4a_browser_handheld) depending on brower
- P4A_Navigation_Bar buttons names were changed to be a bit better
- handheld CSS/Javascript management was changed, now we outputs all CSS/Javascript plus a basic handheld CSS
- P4A_Table’s action cols CSS now handles images much better
- thumbnails cache was enabled (stored in P4A_UPLOADS_TMP_DIR with “cache_” prefix)
- P4A_APPLICATION_SOURCE_DOWNLOAD_URL constant was added, you’ve to set it for every project, it must point to somewhere users can download the source code of the application
- default template now has a “download source code” link in the footer
- if P4A_APPLICATION_SOURCE_DOWNLOAD_URL is not set, the “download source” link on the default template will take user to an error page showing the right to receive the source code

This is one on the biggest commit ever done in the world :-) There are a lot of changes “under the hood”, please read the changelog because it’s really important for you to know what is changed.

I’m really in hurry thus this digest is not as beautiful as I would but…

One of the most important thing is the new field validation infrastructure, you can simply do a $field->addValidator(new P4A_Validate_GreaterThan(5)) and you’ll know that your field won’t be valid until its value won’t be greater than 5. We’ve a lot of validators ’cause we subclass every Zend_Validate class (we need to subclass because Zend_Validate doesn’t support translatable error messages). P4A_Mask::saveRow() now automatically validates every field highlights the errors on the mask.

Another important point is that I rewrote the popup management, now we don’t have 2 masks opened at the same time (this has a few engineering problems) and opening a popup will cause a complete redesign of the mask (solving some other jquery related bugs we had). Wait, popup management is not complete, we already have new ideas to bring the ajax experience to a new level but I need time to write code…

oh how I would need time…

Here’s the changelog:

- PEAR::Net_Useragent_Detect was updated to 2.4.0
- P4A_Object, P4A_Widget and P4A_Data_Source are now declared as abstract
- the “eval” call within P4A_Object::actionHandler() method was changed to a call_user_func_array which seems to be faster
- all “function &function_name” declarations were changed to “function function_name”, removing the & symbol
- many ‘&’ symbols were removed cause of the new PHP5 reference management
- P4A_Table and P4A_DB_Navigator were php5ized
- P4A_Table_Col::setFormatted() and unsetFormatted() methods were removed, use isFormatted(null/true/false) instead
- P4A_Table_Col::setFormat() and unsetFormat() methods were removed
- P4A_Table_Col now has the “onformat” event that can be triggered to do custom format operations (same as P4A_Field)
- P4A_DB_Source::getFieldName() method was removed
- P4A_Data_Field::getSchemaTableField() method was added, it will return “schema.table.field”
- P4A_Data_Field::setReadOnly() method was removed, use isReadOnly(null/true/false)
- P4A_Quote_SQL_Value() global function was added
- a bug with P4A_DB was fixed to allow sqlite to work the right way with sequences
- PEAR repository was removed
- PEAR::validate module was renamed to pear_validate.php and moved to p4a/libraries/ directory
- PEAR::Net_Useragent_Detect module was renamed to pear_net_useragent_detect.php and moved to p4a/libraries/ directory
- P4A_Mkdir_Recursive() global function was added to P4A standard library
- All System::mkdir calls were changed to use the new P4A_Mkdir_Recursive() function
- a bunch of unuseful referenced were removed from core helpers
- GetId3 library was updated to 2.0.0b4 (which is php5 only), helper apps for windows servers were removed, they’ve to be installed in the system path thus we cannot ship them with p4a package ’cause they would be unuseful
- P4A_Field::setType(’image’) now causes a fatal error, image is not a recognized type anymore, always use file, it will render images/video/audio preview if it’s possible
- P4A_DEFAULT_ERROR_REPORTING, P4A_EXTENDED_ERROR_REPORTING, P4A_MINIMAL_ERROR_REPORTING constants were added
- P4A now sets error_reporting to P4A_MINIMAL_ERROR_REPORTING before using getid3() and then restore the error_reporting to the previous value
- P4A_Validate and PEAR::Validate classes were removed
- P4A_Field::addValidator() method was added, you can pass it Zend_Validate_* obejects
- P4A_Field::isValid() method was added to check if the validators chain is respected or not
- P4A_Base_Mask::setRequiredField() method now relies on Zend_Validator_NotEmpty
- P4A_Base_Mask::checkRequiredFields() method was renamed to validateFields() and now checks all validators chains for all fields and not only required fields
- all javascripts were refactored
- javascript/css popup management was reworked
- P4A_Base_Mask::setRequiredField(), validateFields(), warning(), error() and info() methods were moved to P4A_Mask
- P4A_Validate_Alnum, P4A_Validate_Alpha, P4A_Validate_Between, P4A_Validate_Ccnum, P4A_Validate_Date, P4A_Validate_Digits, P4A_Validate_EmailAddress, P4A_Validate_Float, P4A_Validate_GreaterThan, P4A_Validate_Hex,
P4A_Validate_Hostname, P4A_Validate_InArray, P4A_Validate_Int, P4A_Validate_Ip, P4A_Validate_LessThan, P4A_Validate_NotEmpty, P4A_Validate_Regex and P4A_Validate_StringLength classes were added.
These classes rely on Zend_Validate_* classes but we need them to allow translation of error messages
- P4A::isPopupOpened() and getFocusedObjectId() methods are now marked as deprecated
- popup system was completely rewritten
- when generating image thumbnails now we pass by the application’s index file instead of directly linking phpthumb
- phpThumb was updated to 1.7.8
- jQuery::form was updated to 2.0.3
- ajax upload was enabled again
- a bug with getID3 was solved, now we catch the exception triggered when file is not recognized and simply go on
- YAHOO YUI CSS reset was added
- P4A_Mask::validateFields() method is now automatically called by P4A_Mask::saveRow()
- P4A_Table::setTitle() and getTitle() methods were removed, use setLabel() and getLabel() instead