Now I think that a single script with run-modes provide
the best framework to develop CGI.
My code usually looks like this:
my %dispatch_table = ( list => \&list, search_form => \&search_form, help => \&help, # And so on... ); my $mode = $query->param( 'mode' ); print $query->header, $query->start_html(); &{$dispatch_table{$mode}}; print $query->end_html;
Then I write a procedure for every run-mode I need. Using Template module I need also a template file for every type of page that my CGI application will generate (that often corresponds to a single run mode) so that I could add functionality to my application just adding a new term in my %dispatch_table and writing a proper new procedure. I fell very comfortable with this developing process. But I'm sure I didn't say anything new for most part of you.
Unfortunately designing a CGI application often drives to more complicated situations, where a run-mode implies another run-mode and so on, asking the developer to pass parameter through the application, just because a run-mode has to pass them to the run-mode that will actually need them. I'll explain this situation with an example.
Let's suppose we are developing a web-based forum. So there will be a list run-mode that displays every message in the forum, allowing the user to reply to a particular message. Also, there will be a form run-mode that will provide... a form to let the user insert the reply. In this form there will be a submit button that will invoke insert_message run-mode. This mode contains DBI stuff to actually insert the new message in the forum, reporting success or error to the user.
Here a schematization:
list mode | -> | form mode | -> | insert_message mode |
We are passing info about the message we're replying to. form mode does not need this infos, but we need to pass them to insert_message mode. | Eventually we pass informations to insert-message mode, that will use them, e.g., to store the message in the same thread of its parent. |
What does it means? form run-mode fetches proper parameter, will pass it to the template that will probably add a hidden field to pass this parameter to insert_message mode. I think this approach is too complicated and makes the application difficult to scale. The linear process of adding new procedures and entries in the %dispatch_table breaks when the functionality provided by the application is formed by several dipendent screens.
What can be done to cope with such situations? I thought to a couple of solutions, but I'm not sure of their effectiveness.
- Treating complex functionalities in complex procedures, using another dispatch table. In the example I was talking about, we could unify form and insert_message run-modes in a single reply run-mode, that will have its own dispatch table with form and insert_message modes. I don't like this approach too much because it takes off the possibility to use a procedure in multiple situations (e.g.: we could use form and insert_message modes to insert in the forum messages that are not replies.
- CPAN :) There are CGI::Application (that, as far as I know, does not introduce new functionality to the tecniques I've described above), CGI::Screen and CGI::FormMagick. I haven't tried the last two. Does anyone?