doc(form): updated to reflect the latest changes

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Vojta Jina 2012-03-12 18:23:35 -07:00
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@name Developer Guide: Forms
@description
Forms and form controls (`input`, `select`, `textarea`) are user's gateway to your application -
that's how your application accepts input from the user.
Controls (`input`, `select`, `textarea`) are a way for user to enter data.
Form is a collection of controls for the purpose of grouping related controls together.
In order to provide good user experience while gathering user input, it is important to validate
this input and give the user hints on how to correct errors. Angular provides several mechanisms
that make this easier, but keep in mind that while client-side validation plays an important role in
providing good user experience, it can be easily circumvented and thus a server-side validation is
still necessary.
Form and controls provide validation services, so that the user can be notified of invalid input.
This provides a better user experience, because the user gets instant feedback on how to correct the error.
Keep in mind that while client-side validation plays an important role in providing good user experience, it can easily be circumvented and thus can not be trusted.
Server-side validation is still necessary for a secure application.
# Simple form
The most important directive is {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng:model ng-model},
which tells Angular to do two-way data binding. That means, the value in the form control is
synchronized in both directions with the bound model (specified as value of `ng-model` attribute).
The key directive in understanding two-way data-binding is {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model ng-model}.
The `ng-model` provides the two-way data-binding by synchronizing the model to the view, as well as view to the model.
In addition it provides {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model.NgModelController API} for other directives to augment its behavior.
<doc:example>
<doc:source>
@ -29,8 +27,6 @@ synchronized in both directions with the bound model (specified as value of `ng-
<button ng-click="reset()">RESET</button>
<button ng-click="update(user)">SAVE</button>
</form>
<!-- reading these values outside <form> scope is possible only because we defined these objects
on the parent scope, and ng-model only change properties of this object -->
<pre>form = {{user | json}}</pre>
<pre>master = {{master | json}}</pre>
</div>
@ -54,47 +50,33 @@ synchronized in both directions with the bound model (specified as value of `ng-
</doc:example>
Note, that the `user.name` is updated immediately - that's because of
{@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvide.directive.ng:model-instant ng-model-instant}.
Note that:
Note, that we use `novalidate` to disable browser's native form validation.
* the {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model-instant ng-model-instant} causes the `user.name` to be updated immediately.
## Scoping issues
Angular sets the model value onto current scope. However it can be confusing where are the scope
borders - in other words, which directives create new scope.
It's crucial to understand how prototypical inheritance works as well as
{@link dev_guide.scopes.internals Angular's scopes}.
In this example, there are actually two directives, that create new scope (`ng-controller` and `form`).
Angular sets the value onto the current scope, so the first input sets value to `scope.user.name`,
where `scope` is the scope on `form` element. Therefore you would not be able to read the value
outside the `form`, because that's a parent scope. That's why we defined the `$scope.user` object
on the parent scope (on `div` element), because `ng-model` access this object through prototypical
inheritance and bind to this object (defined on the parent scope) and we can access it even on
parent scope.
* `novalidate` is used to disable browser's native form validation.
# Using CSS classes
Angular puts some basic css classes onto the form element as well as individual form control
elements, to allow you to style them differently, depending on their state. These css classes are:
To allow styling of form as well as controls, `ng-model` add these CSS classes:
- `ng-valid`
- `ng-invalid`
- `ng-pristine`
- `ng-dirty`
Here is the same example with some very basic css, displaying validity of each form control.
Both `user.name` and `user.email` are required, but we display the red background only when they
are dirty, which means the user has already interacted with them.
Following example uses the CSS to display validity of each form control.
In the example both `user.name` and `user.email` are required, but are rendered with red background only when they are dirty.
This ensures that the user is not distracted with an error until after interacting with the control, and failing to satisfy its validity.
<doc:example>
<doc:source>
<div ng-controller="Controller">
<form novalidate class="css-form">
Name: <input type="text" ng-model="user.name" ng-model-instant required /><br />
Name:
<input type="text" ng-model="user.name" ng-model-instant required /><br />
E-mail: <input type="email" ng-model="user.email" required /><br />
Gender: <input type="radio" ng-model="user.gender" value="male" />male
<input type="radio" ng-model="user.gender" value="female" />female<br />
@ -133,24 +115,15 @@ are dirty, which means the user has already interacted with them.
# Binding to form / form control state
# Binding to form and control state
Each form has an object, that keeps the state of the whole form. This object is an instance of
{@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvide.directive.form.FormController FormController}.
In a similar way, each form control with `ng-model` directive has an object, that keeps the state of
the form control. This object is an instance of
{@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvide.directive.form.NgModelController NgModelController}.
A form is in instance of {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.form.FormController FormController}.
The form instance can optionally be published into the scope using the `name` attribute.
Similarly control is an instance of {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model.NgModelController NgModelController}.
The control instance can similarly be published into the form instance using the `name` attribute.
This implies that the internal state of both the form and the control is available for binding in the view using the standard binding primitives.
The css classes used in the previous example are nothing else than just a reflection of these objects.
But using css classes is not flexible enough - we need to do more. So this example shows, how to
access these state objects and how to bind to them.
Note, we added `name` attribute to the form element as well as to the form controls, so that we have access
these objects. When a form has `name` attribute, its `FormController` is published onto the scope.
In a similar way, if a form control has `name` attribute, a reference to its `NgModelController` is
stored on the `FormController`.
**Some changes to notice:**
This allows us to extend the above example with these features:
- RESET button is enabled only if form has some changes
- SAVE button is enabled only if form has some changes and is valid
@ -160,22 +133,26 @@ stored on the `FormController`.
<doc:source>
<div ng-controller="Controller">
<form name="form" class="css-form" novalidate>
Name: <input type="text" ng-model="user.name" name="userName" required /><br />
E-mail: <input type="email" ng-model="user.email" name="userEmail" required/><br />
<span ng-show="form.userEmail.$dirty && form.userEmail.$invalid">Invalid:
<span ng-show="form.userEmail.$error.REQUIRED">Please tell us your email.</span>
<span ng-show="form.userEmail.$error.EMAIL">This is not a valid email.</span><br />
</span>
Name:
<input type="text" ng-model="user.name" name="uName" required /><br />
E-mail:
<input type="email" ng-model="user.email" name="uEmail" required/><br />
<div ng-show="form.uEmail.$dirty && form.uEmail.$invalid">Invalid:
<span ng-show="form.uEmail.$error.REQUIRED">Tell us your email.</span>
<span ng-show="form.uEmail.$error.EMAIL">This is not a valid email.</span>
</div>
Gender: <input type="radio" ng-model="user.gender" value="male" />male
<input type="radio" ng-model="user.gender" value="female" />female<br />
<input type="checkbox" ng-model="user.agree" name="userAgree" required />I agree:
<input ng-show="user.agree" type="text" ng-model="user.agreeSign" ng-model-instant required /><br />
<input type="checkbox" ng-model="user.agree" name="userAgree" required />
I agree: <input ng-show="user.agree" type="text" ng-model="user.agreeSign"
ng-model-instant required /><br />
<div ng-show="!user.agree || !user.agreeSign">Please agree and sign.</div>
<button ng-click="reset()" disabled="{{isUnchanged(user)}}">RESET</button>
<button ng-click="update(user)" disabled="{{form.$invalid || isUnchanged(user)}}">SAVE</button>
<button ng-click="update(user)"
disabled="{{form.$invalid || isUnchanged(user)}}">SAVE</button>
</form>
</div>
@ -203,25 +180,32 @@ stored on the `FormController`.
# Advanced / custom validation
# Custom Validation
Angular provides basic implementation for most common html5 {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input input}
types ({@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.text text}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.number number}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.url url}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.email email}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.radio radio}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.checkbox checkbox}), as well as some directives for validation (`required`, `pattern`, `minlength`, `maxlength`, `min`, `max`).
types: ({@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.text text}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.number number}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.url url}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.email email}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.radio radio}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input.checkbox checkbox}), as well as some directives for validation (`required`, `pattern`, `minlength`, `maxlength`, `min`, `max`).
However, when this is not enough for your application, you can simply define a custom directive.
This directive can require `ngModel`, which means it can't exist without `ng-model` and its linking
function gets fourth argument - an instance of `NgModelController`, which is a communication channel
to `ng-model`, that allows you to hook into the validation process.
Defining your own validator can be done by defining your own directive which adds a custom validation function to the `ng-model` {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model.NgModelController controller}.
To get a hold of the controller the directive specifies a dependency as shown in the example below.
The validation can occur in two places:
## Model to View update
Whenever the bound model changes, all functions in {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng:model.NgModelController#formatters NgModelController#formatters} array are pipe-lined, so that each of these functions has an opportunity to format the value and change validity state of the form control through {@link api/angualar.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng:model.NgModelController#$setValidity NgModelController#$setValidity}.
* **Model to View update** -
Whenever the bound model changes, all functions in {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model.NgModelController#$formatters NgModelController#$formatters} array are pipe-lined, so that each of these functions has an opportunity to format the value and change validity state of the form control through {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model.NgModelController#$setValidity NgModelController#$setValidity}.
## View to Model update
In a similar way, whenever a form control calls {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng:model.NgModelController#setViewValue NgModelController#setViewValue}, all functions in {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng:model.NgModelController#parsers NgModelController#parsers} array are pipe-lined, so that each of these functions has an opportunity to correct/convert the value and change validity state of the form control through {@link api/angualar.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng:model.NgModelController#setValidity NgModelController#$setValidity}.
* **View to Model update** -
In a similar way, whenever a user interacts with a control, the controll calls {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model.NgModelController#$setViewValue NgModelController#$setViewValue}.
This in turn pipelines all functions in {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model.NgModelController#$parsers NgModelController#$parsers} array, so that each of these functions has an opportunity to convert the value and change validity state of the form control through {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model.NgModelController#$setValidity NgModelController#$setValidity}.
In this example we create two simple directives. The first one is `integer` and it validates whether the input is valid integer, so for example `1.23` is an invalid value. Note, that we unshift the array instead of pushing - that's because we want to get a string value, so we need to execute the validation function before a conversion to number happens.
In the following example we create two directives.
The second directive is `smart-float`. It parses both `1.2` and `1,2` into a valid float number `1.2`. Note, we can't use input type `number` here - browser would not allow user to type invalid number such as `1,2`.
* The first one is `integer` and it validates whether the input is a valid integer.
For example `1.23` is an invalid value, since it contains a fraction.
Note, that we unshift the array instead of pushing.
This is because we want to be first parser and consume the control string value, as we need to execute the validation function before a conversion to number occurs.
* The second directive is a `smart-float`.
It parses both `1.2` and `1,2` into a valid float number `1.2`.
Note that, we can't use input type `number` here as HTML5 browsers would not allow the user to type what it would consider an invalid number such as `1,2`.
<doc:example module="form-example1">
@ -229,13 +213,18 @@ The second directive is `smart-float`. It parses both `1.2` and `1,2` into a val
<div ng-controller="Controller">
<form name="form" class="css-form" novalidate>
<div>
Size (integer 0 - 10): <input type="number" ng-model="size" name="size" min="0" max="10" integer />{{size}}<br />
Size (integer 0 - 10):
<input type="number" ng-model="size" name="size"
min="0" max="10" integer />{{size}}<br />
<span ng-show="form.size.$error.INTEGER">This is not valid integer!</span>
<span ng-show="form.size.$error.MIN || form.size.$error.MAX">The value must be in range 0 to 10!</span>
<span ng-show="form.size.$error.MIN || form.size.$error.MAX">
The value must be in range 0 to 10!</span>
</div>
<div>
Length (float): <input type="text" ng-model="length" name="length" smart-float />{{length}}<br />
Length (float):
<input type="text" ng-model="length" name="length" smart-float />
{{length}}<br />
<span ng-show="form.length.$error.FLOAT">This is not valid number!</span>
</div>
</form>
@ -287,16 +276,17 @@ The second directive is `smart-float`. It parses both `1.2` and `1,2` into a val
# Implementing custom form control (using ng-model)
Angular has all the basic form controls implemented ({@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input input}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.select select}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.textarea textarea}), so most of the time you should be just fine with them. However, if you need more flexibility, you can write your own form control - it's gonna be a directive again.
Angular implements all of the basic HTML form controls ({@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.input input}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.select select}, {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.textarea textarea}), which should be sufficient for most cases.
However, if you need more flexibility, you can write your own form control as a directive.
You basically need to do two things to get it working together with `ng-model` binding:
In order for custom control to work with `ng-model` and to achieve two-way data-binding it needs to:
- implement `render` method, that knows how to reflect value change to view,
- call `setViewValue` method, whenever the view value changes - that's usually inside DOM Event listener.
- implement `render` method, which is responsible for rendering the data after it passed the {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive.ng-model.NgModelController#$formatters NgModelController#$formatters},
- call `$setViewValue` method, whenever the user interacts with the control and model needs to be updated. This is usually done inside a DOM Event listener.
See {@link api/angular.module.ng.$compileProvider.directive $compileProvider.directive} for more info.
This example shows how easy it is to add a support for binding contentEditable elements.
The following example shows how to add two-way data-binding to contentEditable elements.
<doc:example module="form-example2">
<doc:source>