.. -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
=============
LAX Tutorial
=============
Introduction
------------
LAX is a web framework on top of the Google AppEngine datastore.
features: schema/data-model at core of app, selection/view mechanism,
reuseable components, very fast development
Since we are french, let us develop an example application that deals
with wine and will allow any wine enthusiast to track the content of
its cellar and share his tasting experiences.
Schema
------
With LAX, the core of the application is the schema/datamodel.
laxctl newapp ? XXX
We will start by something simple and define three entities: WineMaker,
Wine and Bottle.
::
class WineMaker(EntityType):
name = String(maxsize=50, required=True)
class Wine(EntityType):
name = String(required=True, maxsize=100, fulltextindexed=True)
vintage = Int(required=True, constraints=[IntervalBoundConstraint(1850,2100)])
grown_by = SubjectRelation('WineMaker', cardinality='?*',
description=_('Winemaker who grew the wine'))
class Bottle(EntityType):
buy_date = Date(description=_('Date when the bottle was bought.'),
default='TODAY')
bottle_of = SubjectRelation('Wine', cardinality='?*')
A WineMaker only has a name which is a string that is required and
must be less than 50 characters.
A Wine has a name, which is a string that is required, must be less
than 100 characters and will be indexed in the full-text index XXX
fulltextindex marche pas encore. A Wine
also has a vintage year which is an integer that is required and must
be between 1850 and 2100. A Wine also has a relationship ``grown_by``
that link it to a WineMaker. Cardinality ``?*`` means that a Wine can
have zero or one WineMaker (``?`` means `zero or one`) and that a
WineMaker can have any number of Wine entities (``*`` means `any number
including zero`).
A Bottle has a buy_date attribute, which is a date with a default
value of TODAY, meaning that when a new bottle is created, it will
have its creation date as buy_date unless the user changes it to some
other date. A Bottle also has a relationship ``bottle_of`` that link
it to a Wine. The cardinality of that relationship implies that a
Bottle can be linked to zero or one Wine and that a Wine can by linked
to any number of Bottle entities.
Defining this simple schema is enough to get us started, launch the
application with the command::
laxctl start Winopedia
and point your browser at localhost:8080
You will see the home page of your application. It lists the entity
types: WineMaker, Wine, Bottle.
Let us create a few of these. Click on the [+] at the right of the
link WineMaker. Call this new WineMaker ``Domaine du château`` and
validate the form by clicking on ``button_ok``.
Click on the logo at top left to get back to the home page, then
follow the WineMaker link. You should be seeing a list with a single
item ``Domaine du château``. Clicking on this item will get you to
its detailed description except that in this case, there is not much
to display besides the name.
Now get back to the home page by clicking on the top-left logo, then
create a new WineMaker called ``Vallon de la Dame`` and get back to the
home page again to follow the WineMaker link for the second time. The
list now has two items.
Get back to the home page and click on [+] at the right of the link
Wine. Call this new wine ``Cuvée du Roi`` and enter 2008 as vintage,
then click on ``button_ok``. You added a new wine without saying who
made it. There is a box on the left entitled "actions", click on the
menu item `modify`. You are back to the form to edit the wine entity
you just created, except that the form now has another section with a
combobox titled "add a relationship". Chose "grown_by" in this
menu and a second combobox appears where you pick ``Domaine du
château``. Validate the changes by clicking ``button_ok``. The entity
Wine that is displayed now includes a link to the entity WineMaker
named ``Domaine du château``.
Exercise
~~~~~~~~
Create new entities Wine and Bottle.
What we learned
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Creating a simple schema was enough to set up a new application that
can store WineMaker, Wine, Bottle.
What is next ?
--------------
Althought the application is fully functionnal, its look is very
basic. We will now improve how information is displayed by writing
views.
Views
======
...
Defining views with selection/views
implementing interfaces, calendar for bottles bought and for tasting.
calendar with export icalput attribute drink_date on bottle
add attribute wine color
create view "bottle table" with color, buy_date, drink_date.
in view wine, select Wine.bottles and apply view "bottle table"
demo ajax with filter on bottle table
Components
===========
...
customize MainTemplate
rss channel of new bottles or wines
use URLRewriting for nice urls
talk about security access rights
talk about rql