Re: Favorite form controls for multivalues

On Jan 15, 10:21 pm, Tony Gravagno
<address.is.in.po...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
dawn wrote:
On Jan 14, 12:11 pm, Tony Gravagno wrote:
Dawn, I think the control/metaphor that's used on a form has less to
do with the structure of the data source but more to do with the
context of the application. I recommend divorcing yourself from the
notion of a best one size fits all method,

I suspect I didn't state clearly my objectives, as there are
multiple. I'm working on the interface between the MV data (in
Cache') and the AJAX front-end. The examples from the vendor show a
<return>-delimited string returned when reading a multivalued field
into the UI world. This is a reasonable model for backing a textarea
control, but needs to be parsed again for a table. Given that there
can be at most one default behavior, with others as alternatives, I'm
thinking the default might better be to have multivalues flow into a
data model that backs an enhanced table control, rather than a
textarea. However, if a lot of people say that they use textareas all
the time for maintaining multivalues in a browser UI, then perhaps I'm
not thining right on this and the delimited string would be a good
default.

Multivalues can be used for several purposes:
1) Related multivalues in different attributes can be corresponding.
The metaphor for this would be a grid with attributes as columns and
each value set as a row. That is:
1,1 2,1 3,1
1,2 2,2 3,2

yup, so we could say that for single-valued attributes, the default
control is an input element for text (with deviations, such as when we
identify the type as "date", for example), and, as you have
identified, a reasonable default control for associated multivalues is
a table control

2) A single attribute can contain multiple values representing
different rows of text. This is the default (and seemingly the only
option allowed) in Zen.

It is actually neither the default behavior nor the only behavior
allowed. That's one issue I'm addressing with my question -- there is
no default behavior for multivalued fields. I was thinking we should
select a more complex control than an input textarea as a viable
production-quality control for maintaining multivalues, even if only
appropriate for mocking up a first pass at the functionality of a page
70% of the time and for production delivery 10% (I suspect it will be
higher than that).

Right now, each time we want to maintain a multivalued field, transfer
of the data backing whatever control is selected (examples show a
textarea) must be hand-coded, so I want to abstract that behavior.
But, of course, there are different data structures backing different
controls, so if we abstract the behavior, we might want to choose one
of these as the default data structure.

3) Combining the two, you can have a grid where subvalues do the text
line delimiting. This allows a single value to occupy a cell, and
still have multiple lines to be edited with a text area.

There is no one-size fits-all solution for the use of values any more
than there is for various browser controls. I know you know this but
I think that knowledge is getting confused with all of this right in
front of you.

I'm looking for just one viable production-quality option that could
be used for maintaining any multivalued list. If you have ever use
MODIFY (for some reason the word ENTRO pops to mind too -- does that
mean anything to anyone?), there is a character interface that can be
used to maintain any multivalue, clumsy as it would be for a browser
UI.

Maintain a single-valued field: Default control is <input
type="text"... with alternatives of calendar controls, textarea,
putting this input within a table, dropdown selection

Maintain a SQL-92 compatible relation or resultset: Typical default
control is made up of <input> fields within a <table>

Maintain an associated multivalue without sub-values: This matches a
SQL-92 compatible relation/resultset so a table with inputs makes
sense, again, only as the default behavior. That default need not be
in tool, but it is good to have a design concept from which to deviate
too.

Maintain a single multivalued field: Default control is ??

I would like to have something for the ?? above. Requirements include
that it needs to be capable of being used to maintain all aspects of
any text-based multivalued field, including insert, delete, change,
and reordering of rows.

At this point I have the following in mind:

A table with a single column of <input> elements for the values
A column with an X to delete a row
A plus somewhere to add a row at the end
A column with a ^ to move a row up
A column with a v to move a row down

While the textarea approach covers the requirements as simply as
possible, this approach covers the requirements with a production-
quality control, perhaps as simply as possible. Enhancing it with an
ability to insert anywhere in the table would be a good feature to
have as well (as you indicated was the purpose of the > column in
DesignBAIS).

As you can perhaps see, I'm asking a question regarding the toolset,
not the application. You are, of course, right that when it comes to
any specific app, the UI surely needs to be designed differently than
just slapping a default in there, but I think it is important to at
least have something in mind from which to deviate (something a notch
above the textarea with delimited data).

Make sense? --dawn

<rest snipped just to keep it short enough>
.

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