Really Rapid Admin Application Development

How many ways can you generate a CakePHP Admin interface? A summary of the available methods, as well as an intro to CakeAdmin, a class-based admin generation tool.

Transcript

1. REALLY RAPID ADMIN APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
2. ~WHOAMI • Jose Diaz-Gonzalez • Resident IRC Troll (savant) • Rants at http://josediazgonzalez.com • Harasses as @savant • Codes as josegonzalez on github • Works at @seatgeek ➘ me ➘ not me
3. WHO IS THIS TALK FOR? • Anyone building CMS’ for a living • Those needing quick, extensible CRUD applications • Anyone looking for a boring challenge
4. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? • var $scaffold = true; • ../cake/console/cake bake • cake bake skeletons • admin generation
5. SCAFFOLD
6. SCAFFOLDING • Generic application auto-generation • In CakePHP, introspects the Model::schema() and relationships to pull in data • Dumb, never recommended for production, not easy to manipulate
7. <?php class  IssuesController  extends  AppController  {   var  $scaffold; } var $scaffold
8. EXTENDING THIS? • Introspects model; add callbacks/validation rules/behaviors • _*Scaffold() Callbacks • Custom app/controller/scaffold.php class • Customize app/views/scaffolds/* views • 2.0 gets cooler scaffold
9. FIN
10. SCAFFOLD DRAWBACKS • Little to no usage documentation • Hard to customize • Easier to add generic methods in AppController
11. GENERIC METHODS
12. GENERIC METHODS • Create index()/view()/add()/edit()/delete() methods in your AppController • Have callbacks to disable in specific Controllers • Able to override in child Controllers
13. /**  *  Handles  index  requests.  *  *  @return  void  *  @access  public  */ public  function  index()  {        //  Only  do  this  work  if  our  concrete  controller  has  not.        if  (!isset($this-­‐>viewVars[Inflector::pluralize($this-­‐>modelClass)]))  {                $this-­‐>set(array(                        Inflector::pluralize($this-­‐>modelClass)  =>  $this-­‐>paginate(                                $this-­‐>modelClass,                                /**                                  *  Here  we  toss  in  any  conditions  that  were  found  as  named                                  *  parameters  and  which  match  up  to  a  column  in  the  model                                  *  schema.                                  */                                array_intersect_key(                                        $this-­‐>params['named'],                                        $this-­‐>{$this-­‐>modelClass}-­‐>schema()                                )                        )                ));        } } From https://github.com/joebeeson/crumbs/blob/develop/app_controller.php
14. class  PostsController  extends  AppController  {        protected  $disabledActions  =  array('index',  'add',  'edit',  'changelog');        public  function  beforeFilter()  {                if  (in_array($this-­‐>params['action'],  $this-­‐>disabledActions))  {                        $this-­‐>cakeError('404');                }        } } disabling mocked methods
15. CAVEATS • Has to be generic enough to use across controllers • Only portable if built as a plugin library (ie. LazyModel) • Must remember to build disabling code
16. BAKE
17. CAKE BAKE • You can now view the generated code and modify at will • Have to re-bake constantly • Everyone uses it; No one customizes it • Same issues as Scaffold • NOT === var $scaffold
18. BAD CAKE BAKE • Lets use Model::scaffold = -­‐1 please • Generated view() can result in an empty page • Generated delete() lets crawlers potentially auto-delete site • Model::read() usage is evil • Asks too many questions; Can’t I just answer once and rebake?
20. EXTENDING THIS? • Templates: app/vendors/shells/templates • Models are simple to access in templates • Do you follow “conventions” or allow configuration? • May need custom shell for extra configuration
21. CAKE SKELETONS • ../cake/console/cake bake project • Multiple skeletons available • Application Bootstrap • More or less portable
22. CAKE SKELETONS • Can’t use in existing applications • Assume you’ll always follow the same conventions • Hard to upgrade bootstrapped apps in automated fashion • Good for “chop-shops” and freelancers on new apps
23. EXTENDING THIS? • Copy cake/console/templates/skel to app/ vendors/templates/skeletor • Add plugins, create migrations/schema files • Generate generic models/controllers/views • Customize the HTML/CSS • GITHUB
24. EXISTING CAKE BAKE SKELETONS • Andy Dawson’s Skel • Jon Bradley’s cake-skel • Dean Soffer’s BakingPlate • Jose Gonzalez’s AppSkellington
25. IS THAT ALL?
26. RAILS GENERATORS
27. ESSENTIALLY CAKE BAKE+SKELETONS • Generators generate generators • Scaffolding similar to bake • Heavy community use • http://railswizard.org/ ^ Someone make this for CakePHP ^
28. RAILS ADMIN
29. • Port of MerbAdmin • Ruby DSL Configuration • Similar to var $scaffold • Works with existing applications • Actively Developed, Unofficial https://github.com/sferik/rails_admin
30. SYMFONY ADMIN
31. http://chetzit.com/uploads/images/00/00/04/2010/09/10/4ef9840c2e.png • var $scaffold on crack • supports custom fields • weird templating language • Symfony win? PROGRESSIVE ENHANCEMENT
32. YAML YAML YAML
33. NO GENERATION STEP save and go
34. DJANGO ADMIN
35. DJANGO PONY • Very customizable • Lots of available plugins • Lots of “themes” • Official Support
36. CAKE ADMIN
37. WHY • Need custom admin interface on top of phpmyadmin • Can’t use Croogo/Infinitas/etc. • Need to replicate similar admin interfaces across projects • Let less technical developers create their own interfaces
38. THE GOOD
39. CLASS BASED //  Access  via  /admin/posts class  PostCakeAdmin  extends  CakeAdmin  { }
40. PHP-BASED CONFIGURATION class  CategoryCakeAdmin  extends  CakeAdmin  { /**  *  Where  do  I  “scaffold”  this?  *  *  @var  string  */        public  $plugin                  =  'dashboard'; }
41. LOOKS EFFIN AMAZING
42. BETTER BASE METHODS public  function  delete($id  =  null)  {        if  (!empty($this-­‐>data['Category']['id']))  {                if  ($this-­‐>Category-­‐>delete($this-­‐>data['Category']['id']))  {                        $this-­‐>Session-­‐>setFlash(__d('admin',  'Category  deleted',  true),  'flash/success');                        $this-­‐>redirect(array('action'  =>  'index'));                }                $this-­‐>Session-­‐>setFlash(__d('admin',  'Category  was  not  deleted',  true),  'flash/error');                $id  =  $this-­‐>data['Category']['id'];        }        $this-­‐>data  =  $this-­‐>Category-­‐>find('delete',  compact('id'));        if  (!$this-­‐>data)  {                $this-­‐>Session-­‐>setFlash(__d('admin',  'Category  unspecified',  true),  'flash/error');                $this-­‐>redirect(array('action'  =>  'index'));        } }
43. THE BAD
44. NO TESTS
45. HIGH LEARNING CURVE
46. AND THE REST
47. CREATING NEW ACTIONS • Needs an *ActionConfig class • Templates for Controller/View - Model optional • Similar to Cake Bake Templates • Access to a model and the Admin class config
48. WHATS IN AN ACTION <?php class  CakeAdminIndexConfig  extends  CakeAdminActionConfig  {        //  Guess        var  $defaults  =  array(  /*  some  options  */);        //  Should  we  enable  this  by  default        var  $enabled  =  true;        //  Plugin  where  the  templates  for  this  action  are  located        var  $plugin  =  'cake_admin';        //  Action  type        var  $type  =  'index';        //  How  do  we  "link"  to  this  method        var  $linkable  =  'List  {{modelname}}';        //  Custom  model  methods  (find,  related)        var  $methods  =  array('find');        //  How  do  we  merge  our  defaults  and  configuration?        function  mergeVars($admin,  $configuration  =  array())  {        } }
49. CAKE ADMIN GENERATE
50. TODO • More actions (galleries, TreeBehavior) • Ajax and other UI enhancements • Web interface for customization • Scaffold-like interface in 2.0
51. LINKS • CakeAdmin: http://github.com/josegonzalez/cake_admin • Baking Master Class: http://www.neilcrookes.com/2009/07/11/baking-master-class-cakefest-jul-09/ • AppSkellington: http://github.com/josegonzalez/app_skellington • Skel: http://github.com/ad7six/skel • Cake-Skel: https://github.com/jonbradley/cake-skel • BakingPlate: http://github.com/proloser/bakingplate • RailsAdmin: http://github.com/sferik/rails_admin • DjangoAdmin: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.3/ref/contrib/admin/