1 :tocdepth: 2
3 ===================
4 Customising Roundup
5 ===================
7 .. This document borrows from the ZopeBook section on ZPT. The original is at:
8 http://www.zope.org/Documentation/Books/ZopeBook/current/ZPT.stx
10 .. contents::
11 :depth: 1
13 What You Can Do
14 ===============
16 Before you get too far, it's probably worth having a quick read of the Roundup
17 `design documentation`_.
19 Customisation of Roundup can take one of six forms:
21 1. `tracker configuration`_ changes
22 2. database, or `tracker schema`_ changes
23 3. "definition" class `database content`_ changes
24 4. behavioural changes, through detectors_
25 5. `security / access controls`_
26 6. change the `web interface`_
28 The third case is special because it takes two distinctly different forms
29 depending upon whether the tracker has been initialised or not. The other two
30 may be done at any time, before or after tracker initialisation. Yes, this
31 includes adding or removing properties from classes.
34 Trackers in a Nutshell
35 ======================
37 Trackers have the following structure:
39 =================== ========================================================
40 Tracker File Description
41 =================== ========================================================
42 config.ini Holds the basic `tracker configuration`_
43 schema.py Holds the `tracker schema`_
44 initial_data.py Holds any data to be entered into the database when the
45 tracker is initialised.
46 db/ Holds the tracker's database
47 db/files/ Holds the tracker's upload files and messages
48 db/backend_name Names the database back-end for the tracker
49 detectors/ Auditors and reactors for this tracker
50 extensions/ Additional web actions and templating utilities.
51 html/ Web interface templates, images and style sheets
52 lib/ optional common imports for detectors and extensions
53 =================== ========================================================
56 Tracker Configuration
57 =====================
59 The ``config.ini`` located in your tracker home contains the basic
60 configuration for the web and e-mail components of roundup's interfaces.
62 Changes to the data captured by your tracker is controlled by the `tracker
63 schema`_. Some configuration is also performed using permissions - see the
64 `security / access controls`_ section. For example, to allow users to
65 automatically register through the email interface, you must grant the
66 "Anonymous" Role the "Email Access" Permission.
68 The following is taken from the `Python Library Reference`__ (May 20, 2004)
69 section "ConfigParser -- Configuration file parser":
71 The configuration file consists of sections, led by a "[section]" header
72 and followed by "name = value" entries, with line continuations on a
73 newline with leading whitespace. Note that leading whitespace is removed
74 from values. The optional values can contain format strings which
75 refer to other values in the same section. Lines beginning with "#" or ";"
76 are ignored and may be used to provide comments.
78 For example::
80 [My Section]
81 foodir = %(dir)s/whatever
82 dir = frob
84 would resolve the "%(dir)s" to the value of "dir" ("frob" in this case)
85 resulting in "foodir" being "frob/whatever".
87 __ http://docs.python.org/lib/module-ConfigParser.html
89 Section **main**
90 database -- ``db``
91 Database directory path. The path may be either absolute or relative
92 to the directory containig this config file.
94 templates -- ``html``
95 Path to the HTML templates directory. The path may be either absolute
96 or relative to the directory containig this config file.
98 static_files -- default *blank*
99 Path to directory holding additional static files available via Web
100 UI. This directory may contain sitewide images, CSS stylesheets etc.
101 and is searched for these files prior to the TEMPLATES directory
102 specified above. If this option is not set, all static files are
103 taken from the TEMPLATES directory The path may be either absolute or
104 relative to the directory containig this config file.
106 admin_email -- ``roundup-admin``
107 Email address that roundup will complain to if it runs into trouble. If
108 the email address doesn't contain an ``@`` part, the MAIL_DOMAIN defined
109 below is used.
111 dispatcher_email -- ``roundup-admin``
112 The 'dispatcher' is a role that can get notified of new items to the
113 database. It is used by the ERROR_MESSAGES_TO config setting. If the
114 email address doesn't contain an ``@`` part, the MAIL_DOMAIN defined
115 below is used.
117 email_from_tag -- default *blank*
118 Additional text to include in the "name" part of the From: address used
119 in nosy messages. If the sending user is "Foo Bar", the From: line
120 is usually: ``"Foo Bar" <issue_tracker@tracker.example>``
121 the EMAIL_FROM_TAG goes inside the "Foo Bar" quotes like so:
122 ``"Foo Bar EMAIL_FROM_TAG" <issue_tracker@tracker.example>``
124 new_web_user_roles -- ``User``
125 Roles that a user gets when they register with Web User Interface.
126 This is a comma-separated list of role names (e.g. ``Admin,User``).
128 new_email_user_roles -- ``User``
129 Roles that a user gets when they register with Email Gateway.
130 This is a comma-separated string of role names (e.g. ``Admin,User``).
132 error_messages_to -- ``user``
133 Send error message emails to the ``dispatcher``, ``user``, or ``both``?
134 The dispatcher is configured using the DISPATCHER_EMAIL setting.
135 Allowed values: ``dispatcher``, ``user``, or ``both``
137 html_version -- ``html4``
138 HTML version to generate. The templates are ``html4`` by default.
139 If you wish to make them xhtml, then you'll need to change this
140 var to ``xhtml`` too so all auto-generated HTML is compliant.
141 Allowed values: ``html4``, ``xhtml``
143 timezone -- ``0``
144 Numeric timezone offset used when users do not choose their own
145 in their settings.
147 instant_registration -- ``yes``
148 Register new users instantly, or require confirmation via
149 email?
150 Allowed values: ``yes``, ``no``
152 email_registration_confirmation -- ``yes``
153 Offer registration confirmation by email or only through the web?
154 Allowed values: ``yes``, ``no``
156 indexer_stopwords -- default *blank*
157 Additional stop-words for the full-text indexer specific to
158 your tracker. See the indexer source for the default list of
159 stop-words (e.g. ``A,AND,ARE,AS,AT,BE,BUT,BY, ...``).
161 umask -- ``02``
162 Defines the file creation mode mask.
164 Section **tracker**
165 name -- ``Roundup issue tracker``
166 A descriptive name for your roundup instance.
168 web -- ``http://host.example/demo/``
169 The web address that the tracker is viewable at.
170 This will be included in information sent to users of the tracker.
171 The URL MUST include the cgi-bin part or anything else
172 that is required to get to the home page of the tracker.
173 You MUST include a trailing '/' in the URL.
175 email -- ``issue_tracker``
176 Email address that mail to roundup should go to.
178 language -- default *blank*
179 Default locale name for this tracker. If this option is not set, the
180 language is determined by the environment variable LANGUAGE, LC_ALL,
181 LC_MESSAGES, or LANG, in that order of preference.
183 Section **web**
184 allow_html_file -- ``no``
185 Setting this option enables Roundup to serve uploaded HTML
186 file content *as HTML*. This is a potential security risk
187 and is therefore disabled by default. Set to 'yes' if you
188 trust *all* users uploading content to your tracker.
190 http_auth -- ``yes``
191 Whether to use HTTP Basic Authentication, if present.
192 Roundup will use either the REMOTE_USER or HTTP_AUTHORIZATION
193 variables supplied by your web server (in that order).
194 Set this option to 'no' if you do not wish to use HTTP Basic
195 Authentication in your web interface.
197 use_browser_language -- ``yes``
198 Whether to use HTTP Accept-Language, if present.
199 Browsers send a language-region preference list.
200 It's usually set in the client's browser or in their
201 Operating System.
202 Set this option to 'no' if you want to ignore it.
204 debug -- ``no``
205 Setting this option makes Roundup display error tracebacks
206 in the user's browser rather than emailing them to the
207 tracker admin."),
209 Section **rdbms**
210 Settings in this section are used by Postgresql and MySQL backends only
212 name -- ``roundup``
213 Name of the database to use.
215 host -- ``localhost``
216 Database server host.
218 port -- default *blank*
219 TCP port number of the database server. Postgresql usually resides on
220 port 5432 (if any), for MySQL default port number is 3306. Leave this
221 option empty to use backend default.
223 user -- ``roundup``
224 Database user name that Roundup should use.
226 password -- ``roundup``
227 Database user password.
229 read_default_file -- ``~/.my.cnf``
230 Name of the MySQL defaults file. Only used in MySQL connections.
232 read_default_group -- ``roundup``
233 Name of the group to use in the MySQL defaults file. Only used in
234 MySQL connections.
236 Section **logging**
237 config -- default *blank*
238 Path to configuration file for standard Python logging module. If this
239 option is set, logging configuration is loaded from specified file;
240 options 'filename' and 'level' in this section are ignored. The path may
241 be either absolute or relative to the directory containig this config file.
243 filename -- default *blank*
244 Log file name for minimal logging facility built into Roundup. If no file
245 name specified, log messages are written on stderr. If above 'config'
246 option is set, this option has no effect. The path may be either absolute
247 or relative to the directory containig this config file.
249 level -- ``ERROR``
250 Minimal severity level of messages written to log file. If above 'config'
251 option is set, this option has no effect.
252 Allowed values: ``DEBUG``, ``INFO``, ``WARNING``, ``ERROR``
254 Section **mail**
255 Outgoing email options. Used for nosy messages, password reset and
256 registration approval requests.
258 domain -- ``localhost``
259 Domain name used for email addresses.
261 host -- default *blank*
262 SMTP mail host that roundup will use to send mail
264 username -- default *blank*
265 SMTP login name. Set this if your mail host requires authenticated access.
266 If username is not empty, password (below) MUST be set!
268 password -- default *blank*
269 SMTP login password.
270 Set this if your mail host requires authenticated access.
272 port -- default *25*
273 SMTP port on mail host.
274 Set this if your mail host runs on a different port.
276 local_hostname -- default *blank*
277 The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) to use during SMTP sessions. If left
278 blank, the underlying SMTP library will attempt to detect your FQDN. If your
279 mail host requires something specific, specify the FQDN to use.
281 tls -- ``no``
282 If your SMTP mail host provides or requires TLS (Transport Layer Security)
283 then you may set this option to 'yes'.
284 Allowed values: ``yes``, ``no``
286 tls_keyfile -- default *blank*
287 If TLS is used, you may set this option to the name of a PEM formatted
288 file that contains your private key. The path may be either absolute or
289 relative to the directory containig this config file.
291 tls_certfile -- default *blank*
292 If TLS is used, you may set this option to the name of a PEM formatted
293 certificate chain file. The path may be either absolute or relative
294 to the directory containig this config file.
296 charset -- utf-8
297 Character set to encode email headers with. We use utf-8 by default, as
298 it's the most flexible. Some mail readers (eg. Eudora) can't cope with
299 that, so you might need to specify a more limited character set
300 (eg. iso-8859-1).
302 debug -- default *blank*
303 Setting this option makes Roundup to write all outgoing email messages
304 to this file *instead* of sending them. This option has the same effect
305 as environment variable SENDMAILDEBUG. Environment variable takes
306 precedence. The path may be either absolute or relative to the directory
307 containig this config file.
309 add_authorinfo -- ``yes``
310 Add a line with author information at top of all messages send by
311 roundup.
313 add_authoremail -- ``yes``
314 Add the mail address of the author to the author information at the
315 top of all messages. If this is false but add_authorinfo is true,
316 only the name of the actor is added which protects the mail address
317 of the actor from being exposed at mail archives, etc.
319 Section **mailgw**
320 Roundup Mail Gateway options
322 keep_quoted_text -- ``yes``
323 Keep email citations when accepting messages. Setting this to ``no`` strips
324 out "quoted" text from the message. Signatures are also stripped.
325 Allowed values: ``yes``, ``no``
327 leave_body_unchanged -- ``no``
328 Preserve the email body as is - that is, keep the citations *and*
329 signatures.
330 Allowed values: ``yes``, ``no``
332 default_class -- ``issue``
333 Default class to use in the mailgw if one isn't supplied in email subjects.
334 To disable, leave the value blank.
336 language -- default *blank*
337 Default locale name for the tracker mail gateway. If this option is
338 not set, mail gateway will use the language of the tracker instance.
340 subject_prefix_parsing -- ``strict``
341 Controls the parsing of the [prefix] on subject lines in incoming emails.
342 ``strict`` will return an error to the sender if the [prefix] is not
343 recognised. ``loose`` will attempt to parse the [prefix] but just
344 pass it through as part of the issue title if not recognised. ``none``
345 will always pass any [prefix] through as part of the issue title.
347 subject_suffix_parsing -- ``strict``
348 Controls the parsing of the [suffix] on subject lines in incoming emails.
349 ``strict`` will return an error to the sender if the [suffix] is not
350 recognised. ``loose`` will attempt to parse the [suffix] but just
351 pass it through as part of the issue title if not recognised. ``none``
352 will always pass any [suffix] through as part of the issue title.
354 subject_suffix_delimiters -- ``[]``
355 Defines the brackets used for delimiting the commands suffix in a subject
356 line.
358 subject_content_match -- ``always``
359 Controls matching of the incoming email subject line against issue titles
360 in the case where there is no designator [prefix]. ``never`` turns off
361 matching. ``creation + interval`` or ``activity + interval`` will match
362 an issue for the interval after the issue's creation or last activity.
363 The interval is a standard Roundup interval.
365 refwd_re -- ``(\s*\W?\s*(fw|fwd|re|aw|sv|ang)\W)+``
366 Regular expression matching a single reply or forward prefix
367 prepended by the mailer. This is explicitly stripped from the
368 subject during parsing. Value is Python Regular Expression
369 (UTF8-encoded).
371 origmsg_re -- `` ^[>|\s]*-----\s?Original Message\s?-----$``
372 Regular expression matching start of an original message if quoted
373 the in body. Value is Python Regular Expression (UTF8-encoded).
375 sign_re -- ``^[>|\s]*-- ?$``
376 Regular expression matching the start of a signature in the message
377 body. Value is Python Regular Expression (UTF8-encoded).
379 eol_re -- ``[\r\n]+``
380 Regular expression matching end of line. Value is Python Regular
381 Expression (UTF8-encoded).
383 blankline_re -- ``[\r\n]+\s*[\r\n]+``
384 Regular expression matching a blank line. Value is Python Regular
385 Expression (UTF8-encoded).
387 Section **pgp**
388 OpenPGP mail processing options
390 enable -- ``no``
391 Enable PGP processing. Requires pyme.
393 roles -- default *blank*
394 If specified, a comma-separated list of roles to perform PGP
395 processing on. If not specified, it happens for all users.
397 homedir -- default *blank*
398 Location of PGP directory. Defaults to $HOME/.gnupg if not
399 specified.
401 Section **nosy**
402 Nosy messages sending
404 messages_to_author -- ``no``
405 Send nosy messages to the author of the message.
406 Allowed values: ``yes``, ``no``, ``new``
408 signature_position -- ``bottom``
409 Where to place the email signature.
410 Allowed values: ``top``, ``bottom``, ``none``
412 add_author -- ``new``
413 Does the author of a message get placed on the nosy list automatically?
414 If ``new`` is used, then the author will only be added when a message
415 creates a new issue. If ``yes``, then the author will be added on
416 followups too. If ``no``, they're never added to the nosy.
417 Allowed values: ``yes``, ``no``, ``new``
419 add_recipients -- ``new``
420 Do the recipients (``To:``, ``Cc:``) of a message get placed on the nosy
421 list? If ``new`` is used, then the recipients will only be added when a
422 message creates a new issue. If ``yes``, then the recipients will be added
423 on followups too. If ``no``, they're never added to the nosy.
424 Allowed values: ``yes``, ``no``, ``new``
426 email_sending -- ``single``
427 Controls the email sending from the nosy reactor. If ``multiple`` then
428 a separate email is sent to each recipient. If ``single`` then a single
429 email is sent with each recipient as a CC address.
431 max_attachment_size -- ``2147483647``
432 Attachments larger than the given number of bytes won't be attached
433 to nosy mails. They will be replaced by a link to the tracker's
434 download page for the file.
437 You may generate a new default config file using the ``roundup-admin
438 genconfig`` command.
440 Configuration variables may be referred to in lower or upper case. In code,
441 variables not in the "main" section are referred to using their section and
442 name, so "domain" in the section "mail" becomes MAIL_DOMAIN. The
443 configuration variables available are:
445 Extending the configuration file
446 --------------------------------
448 You can't add new variables to the config.ini file in the tracker home but
449 you can add two new config.ini files:
451 - a config.ini in the ``extensions`` directory will be loaded and attached
452 to the config variable as "ext".
453 - a config.ini in the ``detectors`` directory will be loaded and attached
454 to the config variable as "detectors".
456 For example, the following in ``detectors/config.ini``::
458 [main]
459 qa_recipients = email@example.com
461 is accessible as::
463 db.config.detectors['QA_RECIPIENTS']
465 Note that the name grouping applied to the main configuration file is
466 applied to the extension config files, so if you instead have::
468 [qa]
469 recipients = email@example.com
471 then the above ``db.config.detectors['QA_RECIPIENTS']`` will still work.
474 Tracker Schema
475 ==============
477 .. note::
478 if you modify the schema, you'll most likely need to edit the
479 `web interface`_ HTML template files and `detectors`_ to reflect
480 your changes.
482 A tracker schema defines what data is stored in the tracker's database.
483 Schemas are defined using Python code in the ``schema.py`` module of your
484 tracker.
486 The ``schema.py`` module
487 ------------------------
489 The ``schema.py`` module contains two functions:
491 **open**
492 This function defines what your tracker looks like on the inside, the
493 **schema** of the tracker. It defines the **Classes** and **properties**
494 on each class. It also defines the **security** for those Classes. The
495 next few sections describe how schemas work and what you can do with
496 them.
497 **init**
498 This function is responsible for setting up the initial state of your
499 tracker. It's called exactly once - but the ``roundup-admin initialise``
500 command. See the start of the section on `database content`_ for more
501 info about how this works.
504 The "classic" schema
505 --------------------
507 The "classic" schema looks like this (see section `setkey(property)`_
508 below for the meaning of ``'setkey'`` -- you may also want to look into
509 the sections `setlabelprop(property)`_ and `setorderprop(property)`_ for
510 specifying (default) labelling and ordering of classes.)::
512 pri = Class(db, "priority", name=String(), order=String())
513 pri.setkey("name")
515 stat = Class(db, "status", name=String(), order=String())
516 stat.setkey("name")
518 keyword = Class(db, "keyword", name=String())
519 keyword.setkey("name")
521 user = Class(db, "user", username=String(), organisation=String(),
522 password=String(), address=String(), realname=String(),
523 phone=String(), alternate_addresses=String(),
524 queries=Multilink('query'), roles=String(), timezone=String())
525 user.setkey("username")
527 msg = FileClass(db, "msg", author=Link("user"), summary=String(),
528 date=Date(), recipients=Multilink("user"),
529 files=Multilink("file"), messageid=String(), inreplyto=String())
531 file = FileClass(db, "file", name=String())
533 issue = IssueClass(db, "issue", keyword=Multilink("keyword"),
534 status=Link("status"), assignedto=Link("user"),
535 priority=Link("priority"))
536 issue.setkey('title')
539 What you can't do to the schema
540 -------------------------------
542 You must never:
544 **Remove the users class**
545 This class is the only *required* class in Roundup.
547 **Remove the "username", "address", "password" or "realname" user properties**
548 Various parts of Roundup require these properties. Don't remove them.
550 **Change the type of a property**
551 Property types must *never* be changed - the database simply doesn't take
552 this kind of action into account. Note that you can't just remove a
553 property and re-add it as a new type either. If you wanted to make the
554 assignedto property a Multilink, you'd need to create a new property
555 assignedto_list and remove the old assignedto property.
558 What you can do to the schema
559 -----------------------------
561 Your schema may be changed at any time before or after the tracker has been
562 initialised (or used). You may:
564 **Add new properties to classes, or add whole new classes**
565 This is painless and easy to do - there are generally no repurcussions
566 from adding new information to a tracker's schema.
568 **Remove properties**
569 Removing properties is a little more tricky - you need to make sure that
570 the property is no longer used in the `web interface`_ *or* by the
571 detectors_.
575 Classes and Properties - creating a new information store
576 ---------------------------------------------------------
578 In the tracker above, we've defined 7 classes of information:
580 priority
581 Defines the possible levels of urgency for issues.
583 status
584 Defines the possible states of processing the issue may be in.
586 keyword
587 Initially empty, will hold keywords useful for searching issues.
589 user
590 Initially holding the "admin" user, will eventually have an entry
591 for all users using roundup.
593 msg
594 Initially empty, will hold all e-mail messages sent to or
595 generated by roundup.
597 file
598 Initially empty, will hold all files attached to issues.
600 issue
601 Initially empty, this is where the issue information is stored.
603 We define the "priority" and "status" classes to allow two things:
604 reduction in the amount of information stored on the issue and more
605 powerful, accurate searching of issues by priority and status. By only
606 requiring a link on the issue (which is stored as a single number) we
607 reduce the chance that someone mis-types a priority or status - or
608 simply makes a new one up.
611 Class and Items
612 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
614 A Class defines a particular class (or type) of data that will be stored
615 in the database. A class comprises one or more properties, which gives
616 the information about the class items.
618 The actual data entered into the database, using ``class.create()``, are
619 called items. They have a special immutable property called ``'id'``. We
620 sometimes refer to this as the *itemid*.
623 Properties
624 ~~~~~~~~~~
626 A Class is comprised of one or more properties of the following types:
628 * String properties are for storing arbitrary-length strings.
629 * Password properties are for storing encoded arbitrary-length strings.
630 The default encoding is defined on the ``roundup.password.Password``
631 class.
632 * Date properties store date-and-time stamps. Their values are Timestamp
633 objects.
634 * Number properties store numeric values.
635 * Boolean properties store on/off, yes/no, true/false values.
636 * A Link property refers to a single other item selected from a
637 specified class. The class is part of the property; the value is an
638 integer, the id of the chosen item.
639 * A Multilink property refers to possibly many items in a specified
640 class. The value is a list of integers.
642 All Classes automatically have a number of properties by default:
644 *creator*
645 Link to the user that created the item.
646 *creation*
647 Date the item was created.
648 *actor*
649 Link to the user that last modified the item.
650 *activity*
651 Date the item was last modified.
654 FileClass
655 ~~~~~~~~~
657 FileClasses save their "content" attribute off in a separate file from
658 the rest of the database. This reduces the number of large entries in
659 the database, which generally makes databases more efficient, and also
660 allows us to use command-line tools to operate on the files. They are
661 stored in the files sub-directory of the ``'db'`` directory in your
662 tracker. FileClasses also have a "type" attribute to store the MIME
663 type of the file.
666 IssueClass
667 ~~~~~~~~~~
669 IssueClasses automatically include the "messages", "files", "nosy", and
670 "superseder" properties.
672 The messages and files properties list the links to the messages and
673 files related to the issue. The nosy property is a list of links to
674 users who wish to be informed of changes to the issue - they get "CC'ed"
675 e-mails when messages are sent to or generated by the issue. The nosy
676 reactor (in the ``'detectors'`` directory) handles this action. The
677 superseder link indicates an issue which has superseded this one.
679 They also have the dynamically generated "creation", "activity" and
680 "creator" properties.
682 The value of the "creation" property is the date when an item was
683 created, and the value of the "activity" property is the date when any
684 property on the item was last edited (equivalently, these are the dates
685 on the first and last records in the item's journal). The "creator"
686 property holds a link to the user that created the issue.
689 setkey(property)
690 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
692 Select a String property of the class to be the key property. The key
693 property must be unique, and allows references to the items in the class
694 by the content of the key property. That is, we can refer to users by
695 their username: for example, let's say that there's an issue in roundup,
696 issue 23. There's also a user, richard, who happens to be user 2. To
697 assign an issue to him, we could do either of::
699 roundup-admin set issue23 assignedto=2
701 or::
703 roundup-admin set issue23 assignedto=richard
705 Note, the same thing can be done in the web and e-mail interfaces.
707 setlabelprop(property)
708 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
710 Select a property of the class to be the label property. The label
711 property is used whereever an item should be uniquely identified, e.g.,
712 when displaying a link to an item. If setlabelprop is not specified for
713 a class, the following values are tried for the label:
715 * the key of the class (see the `setkey(property)`_ section above)
716 * the "name" property
717 * the "title" property
718 * the first property from the sorted property name list
720 So in most cases you can get away without specifying setlabelprop
721 explicitly.
723 setorderprop(property)
724 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
726 Select a property of the class to be the order property. The order
727 property is used whenever using a default sort order for the class,
728 e.g., when grouping or sorting class A by a link to class B in the user
729 interface, the order property of class B is used for sorting. If
730 setorderprop is not specified for a class, the following values are tried
731 for the order property:
733 * the property named "order"
734 * the label property (see `setlabelprop(property)`_ above)
736 So in most cases you can get away without specifying setorderprop
737 explicitly.
739 create(information)
740 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
742 Create an item in the database. This is generally used to create items
743 in the "definitional" classes like "priority" and "status".
746 A note about ordering
747 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
749 When we sort items in the hyperdb, we use one of a number of methods,
750 depending on the properties being sorted on:
752 1. If it's a String, Number, Date or Interval property, we just sort the
753 scalar value of the property. Strings are sorted case-sensitively.
754 2. If it's a Link property, we sort by either the linked item's "order"
755 property (if it has one) or the linked item's "id".
756 3. Mulitlinks sort similar to #2, but we start with the first Multilink
757 list item, and if they're the same, we sort by the second item, and
758 so on.
760 Note that if an "order" property is defined on a Class that is used for
761 sorting, all items of that Class *must* have a value against the "order"
762 property, or sorting will result in random ordering.
765 Examples of adding to your schema
766 ---------------------------------
768 The Roundup wiki has examples of how schemas can be customised to add
769 new functionality.
772 Detectors - adding behaviour to your tracker
773 ============================================
774 .. _detectors:
776 Detectors are initialised every time you open your tracker database, so
777 you're free to add and remove them any time, even after the database is
778 initialised via the ``roundup-admin initialise`` command.
780 The detectors in your tracker fire *before* (**auditors**) and *after*
781 (**reactors**) changes to the contents of your database. They are Python
782 modules that sit in your tracker's ``detectors`` directory. You will
783 have some installed by default - have a look. You can write new
784 detectors or modify the existing ones. The existing detectors installed
785 for you are:
787 **nosyreaction.py**
788 This provides the automatic nosy list maintenance and email sending.
789 The nosy reactor (``nosyreaction``) fires when new messages are added
790 to issues. The nosy auditor (``updatenosy``) fires when issues are
791 changed, and figures out what changes need to be made to the nosy list
792 (such as adding new authors, etc.)
793 **statusauditor.py**
794 This provides the ``chatty`` auditor which changes the issue status
795 from ``unread`` or ``closed`` to ``chatting`` if new messages appear.
796 It also provides the ``presetunread`` auditor which pre-sets the
797 status to ``unread`` on new items if the status isn't explicitly
798 defined.
799 **messagesummary.py**
800 Generates the ``summary`` property for new messages based on the message
801 content.
802 **userauditor.py**
803 Verifies the content of some of the user fields (email addresses and
804 roles lists).
806 If you don't want this default behaviour, you're completely free to change
807 or remove these detectors.
809 See the detectors section in the `design document`__ for details of the
810 interface for detectors.
812 __ design.html
815 Detector API
816 ------------
818 Auditors are called with the arguments::
820 audit(db, cl, itemid, newdata)
822 where ``db`` is the database, ``cl`` is an instance of Class or
823 IssueClass within the database, and ``newdata`` is a dictionary mapping
824 property names to values.
826 For a ``create()`` operation, the ``itemid`` argument is None and
827 newdata contains all of the initial property values with which the item
828 is about to be created.
830 For a ``set()`` operation, newdata contains only the names and values of
831 properties that are about to be changed.
833 For a ``retire()`` or ``restore()`` operation, newdata is None.
835 Reactors are called with the arguments::
837 react(db, cl, itemid, olddata)
839 where ``db`` is the database, ``cl`` is an instance of Class or
840 IssueClass within the database, and ``olddata`` is a dictionary mapping
841 property names to values.
843 For a ``create()`` operation, the ``itemid`` argument is the id of the
844 newly-created item and ``olddata`` is None.
846 For a ``set()`` operation, ``olddata`` contains the names and previous
847 values of properties that were changed.
849 For a ``retire()`` or ``restore()`` operation, ``itemid`` is the id of
850 the retired or restored item and ``olddata`` is None.
853 Additional Detectors Ready For Use
854 ----------------------------------
856 Sample additional detectors that have been found useful will appear in
857 the ``'detectors'`` directory of the Roundup distribution. If you want
858 to use one, copy it to the ``'detectors'`` of your tracker instance:
860 **newissuecopy.py**
861 This detector sends an email to a team address whenever a new issue is
862 created. The address is hard-coded into the detector, so edit it
863 before you use it (look for the text 'team@team.host') or you'll get
864 email errors!
865 **creator_resolution.py**
866 Catch attempts to set the status to "resolved" - if the assignedto
867 user isn't the creator, then set the status to "confirm-done". Note that
868 "classic" Roundup doesn't have that status, so you'll have to add it. If
869 you don't want to though, it'll just use "in-progress" instead.
870 **email_auditor.py**
871 If a file added to an issue is of type message/rfc822, we tack on the
872 extension .eml.
873 The reason for this is that Microsoft Internet Explorer will not open
874 things with a .eml attachment, as they deem it 'unsafe'. Worse yet,
875 they'll just give you an incomprehensible error message. For more
876 information, see the detector code - it has a length explanation.
879 Auditor or Reactor?
880 -------------------
882 Generally speaking, the following rules should be observed:
884 **Auditors**
885 Are used for `vetoing creation of or changes to items`_. They might
886 also make automatic changes to item properties.
887 **Reactors**
888 Detect changes in the database and react accordingly. They should avoid
889 making changes to the database where possible, as this could create
890 detector loops.
893 Vetoing creation of or changes to items
894 ---------------------------------------
896 Auditors may raise the ``Reject`` exception to prevent the creation of
897 or changes to items in the database. The mail gateway, for example, will
898 not attach files or messages to issues when the creation of those files or
899 messages are prevented through the ``Reject`` exception. It'll also not create
900 users if that creation is ``Reject``'ed too.
902 To use, simply add at the top of your auditor::
904 from roundup.exceptions import Reject
906 And then when your rejection criteria have been detected, simply::
908 raise Reject
911 Generating email from Roundup
912 -----------------------------
914 The module ``roundup.mailer`` contains most of the nuts-n-bolts required
915 to generate email messages from Roundup.
917 In addition, the ``IssueClass`` methods ``nosymessage()`` and
918 ``send_message()`` are used to generate nosy messages, and may generate
919 messages which only consist of a change note (ie. the message id parameter
920 is not required - this is referred to as a "System Message" because it
921 comes from "the system" and not a user).
924 Database Content
925 ================
927 .. note::
928 If you modify the content of definitional classes, you'll most
929 likely need to edit the tracker `detectors`_ to reflect your changes.
931 Customisation of the special "definitional" classes (eg. status,
932 priority, resolution, ...) may be done either before or after the
933 tracker is initialised. The actual method of doing so is completely
934 different in each case though, so be careful to use the right one.
936 **Changing content before tracker initialisation**
937 Edit the initial_data.py module in your tracker to alter the items
938 created using the ``create( ... )`` methods.
940 **Changing content after tracker initialisation**
941 As the "admin" user, click on the "class list" link in the web
942 interface to bring up a list of all database classes. Click on the
943 name of the class you wish to change the content of.
945 You may also use the ``roundup-admin`` interface's create, set and
946 retire methods to add, alter or remove items from the classes in
947 question.
949 See "`adding a new field to the classic schema`_" for an example that
950 requires database content changes.
953 Security / Access Controls
954 ==========================
956 A set of Permissions is built into the security module by default:
958 - Create (everything)
959 - Edit (everything)
960 - View (everything)
962 These are assigned to the "Admin" Role by default, and allow a user to do
963 anything. Every Class you define in your `tracker schema`_ also gets an
964 Create, Edit and View Permission of its own. The web and email interfaces
965 also define:
967 *Email Access*
968 If defined, the user may use the email interface. Used by default to deny
969 Anonymous users access to the email interface. When granted to the
970 Anonymous user, they will be automatically registered by the email
971 interface (see also the ``new_email_user_roles`` configuration option).
972 *Web Access*
973 If defined, the user may use the web interface. All users are able to see
974 the login form, regardless of this setting (thus enabling logging in).
975 *Web Roles*
976 Controls user access to editing the "roles" property of the "user" class.
977 TODO: deprecate in favour of a property-based control.
979 These are hooked into the default Roles:
981 - Admin (Create, Edit, View and everything; Web Roles)
982 - User (Web Access; Email Access)
983 - Anonymous (Web Access)
985 And finally, the "admin" user gets the "Admin" Role, and the "anonymous"
986 user gets "Anonymous" assigned when the tracker is installed.
988 For the "User" Role, the "classic" tracker defines:
990 - Create, Edit and View issue, file, msg, query, keyword
991 - View priority, status
992 - View user
993 - Edit their own user record
995 And the "Anonymous" Role is defined as:
997 - Web interface access
998 - Create user (for registration)
999 - View issue, file, msg, query, keyword, priority, status
1001 Put together, these settings appear in the tracker's ``schema.py`` file::
1003 #
1004 # TRACKER SECURITY SETTINGS
1005 #
1006 # See the configuration and customisation document for information
1007 # about security setup.
1009 #
1010 # REGULAR USERS
1011 #
1012 # Give the regular users access to the web and email interface
1013 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'Web Access')
1014 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'Email Access')
1016 # Assign the access and edit Permissions for issue, file and message
1017 # to regular users now
1018 for cl in 'issue', 'file', 'msg', 'query', 'keyword':
1019 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'View', cl)
1020 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'Edit', cl)
1021 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'Create', cl)
1022 for cl in 'priority', 'status':
1023 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'View', cl)
1025 # May users view other user information? Comment these lines out
1026 # if you don't want them to
1027 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'View', 'user')
1029 # Users should be able to edit their own details -- this permission
1030 # is limited to only the situation where the Viewed or Edited item
1031 # is their own.
1032 def own_record(db, userid, itemid):
1033 '''Determine whether the userid matches the item being accessed.'''
1034 return userid == itemid
1035 p = db.security.addPermission(name='View', klass='user', check=own_record,
1036 description="User is allowed to view their own user details")
1037 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', p)
1038 p = db.security.addPermission(name='Edit', klass='user', check=own_record,
1039 description="User is allowed to edit their own user details")
1040 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', p)
1042 #
1043 # ANONYMOUS USER PERMISSIONS
1044 #
1045 # Let anonymous users access the web interface. Note that almost all
1046 # trackers will need this Permission. The only situation where it's not
1047 # required is in a tracker that uses an HTTP Basic Authenticated front-end.
1048 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Anonymous', 'Web Access')
1050 # Let anonymous users access the email interface (note that this implies
1051 # that they will be registered automatically, hence they will need the
1052 # "Create" user Permission below)
1053 # This is disabled by default to stop spam from auto-registering users on
1054 # public trackers.
1055 #db.security.addPermissionToRole('Anonymous', 'Email Access')
1057 # Assign the appropriate permissions to the anonymous user's Anonymous
1058 # Role. Choices here are:
1059 # - Allow anonymous users to register
1060 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Anonymous', 'Create', 'user')
1062 # Allow anonymous users access to view issues (and the related, linked
1063 # information)
1064 for cl in 'issue', 'file', 'msg', 'keyword', 'priority', 'status':
1065 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Anonymous', 'View', cl)
1067 # [OPTIONAL]
1068 # Allow anonymous users access to create or edit "issue" items (and the
1069 # related file and message items)
1070 #for cl in 'issue', 'file', 'msg':
1071 # db.security.addPermissionToRole('Anonymous', 'Create', cl)
1072 # db.security.addPermissionToRole('Anonymous', 'Edit', cl)
1075 Automatic Permission Checks
1076 ---------------------------
1078 Permissions are automatically checked when information is rendered
1079 through the web. This includes:
1081 1. View checks for properties when being rendered via the ``plain()`` or
1082 similar methods. If the check fails, the text "[hidden]" will be
1083 displayed.
1084 2. Edit checks for properties when the edit field is being rendered via
1085 the ``field()`` or similar methods. If the check fails, the property
1086 will be rendered via the ``plain()`` method (see point 1. for subsequent
1087 checking performed)
1088 3. View checks are performed in index pages for each item being displayed
1089 such that if the user does not have permission, the row is not rendered.
1090 4. View checks are performed at the top of item pages for the Item being
1091 displayed. If the user does not have permission, the text "You are not
1092 allowed to view this page." will be displayed.
1093 5. View checks are performed at the top of index pages for the Class being
1094 displayed. If the user does not have permission, the text "You are not
1095 allowed to view this page." will be displayed.
1098 New User Roles
1099 --------------
1101 New users are assigned the Roles defined in the config file as:
1103 - NEW_WEB_USER_ROLES
1104 - NEW_EMAIL_USER_ROLES
1106 The `users may only edit their issues`_ example shows customisation of
1107 these parameters.
1110 Changing Access Controls
1111 ------------------------
1113 You may alter the configuration variables to change the Role that new
1114 web or email users get, for example to not give them access to the web
1115 interface if they register through email.
1117 You may use the ``roundup-admin`` "``security``" command to display the
1118 current Role and Permission configuration in your tracker.
1121 Adding a new Permission
1122 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1124 When adding a new Permission, you will need to:
1126 1. add it to your tracker's ``schema.py`` so it is created, using
1127 ``security.addPermission``, for example::
1129 self.security.addPermission(name="View", klass='frozzle',
1130 description="User is allowed to access frozzles")
1132 will set up a new "View" permission on the Class "frozzle".
1133 2. enable it for the Roles that should have it (verify with
1134 "``roundup-admin security``")
1135 3. add it to the relevant HTML interface templates
1136 4. add it to the appropriate xxxPermission methods on in your tracker
1137 interfaces module
1139 The ``addPermission`` method takes a couple of optional parameters:
1141 **properties**
1142 A sequence of property names that are the only properties to apply the
1143 new Permission to (eg. ``... klass='user', properties=('name',
1144 'email') ...``)
1145 **check**
1146 A function to be execute which returns boolean determining whether the
1147 Permission is allowed. The function has the signature ``check(db, userid,
1148 itemid)`` where ``db`` is a handle on the open database, ``userid`` is
1149 the user attempting access and ``itemid`` is the specific item being
1150 accessed.
1152 Example Scenarios
1153 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1155 See the `examples`_ section for longer examples of customisation.
1157 **anonymous access through the e-mail gateway**
1158 Give the "anonymous" user the "Email Access", ("Edit", "issue") and
1159 ("Create", "msg") Permissions but do not not give them the ("Create",
1160 "user") Permission. This means that when an unknown user sends email
1161 into the tracker, they're automatically logged in as "anonymous".
1162 Since they don't have the ("Create", "user") Permission, they won't
1163 be automatically registered, but since "anonymous" has permission to
1164 use the gateway, they'll still be able to submit issues. Note that
1165 the Sender information - their email address - will not be available
1166 - they're *anonymous*.
1168 **automatic registration of users in the e-mail gateway**
1169 By giving the "anonymous" user the ("Create", "user") Permission, any
1170 unidentified user will automatically be registered with the tracker
1171 (with no password, so they won't be able to log in through
1172 the web until an admin sets their password). By default new Roundup
1173 trackers don't allow this as it opens them up to spam. It may be enabled
1174 by uncommenting the appropriate addPermissionToRole in your tracker's
1175 ``schema.py`` file. The new user is given the Roles list defined in the
1176 "new_email_user_roles" config variable.
1178 **only developers may be assigned issues**
1179 Create a new Permission called "Fixer" for the "issue" class. Create a
1180 new Role "Developer" which has that Permission, and assign that to the
1181 appropriate users. Filter the list of users available in the assignedto
1182 list to include only those users. Enforce the Permission with an
1183 auditor. See the example
1184 `restricting the list of users that are assignable to a task`_.
1186 **only managers may sign off issues as complete**
1187 Create a new Permission called "Closer" for the "issue" class. Create a
1188 new Role "Manager" which has that Permission, and assign that to the
1189 appropriate users. In your web interface, only display the "resolved"
1190 issue state option when the user has the "Closer" Permissions. Enforce
1191 the Permission with an auditor. This is very similar to the previous
1192 example, except that the web interface check would look like::
1194 <option tal:condition="python:request.user.hasPermission('Closer')"
1195 value="resolved">Resolved</option>
1197 **don't give web access to users who register through email**
1198 Create a new Role called "Email User" which has all the Permissions of
1199 the normal "User" Role minus the "Web Access" Permission. This will
1200 allow users to send in emails to the tracker, but not access the web
1201 interface.
1203 **let some users edit the details of all users**
1204 Create a new Role called "User Admin" which has the Permission for
1205 editing users::
1207 db.security.addRole(name='User Admin', description='Managing users')
1208 p = db.security.getPermission('Edit', 'user')
1209 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User Admin', p)
1211 and assign the Role to the users who need the permission.
1214 Web Interface
1215 =============
1217 .. contents::
1218 :local:
1220 The web interface is provided by the ``roundup.cgi.client`` module and
1221 is used by ``roundup.cgi``, ``roundup-server`` and ``ZRoundup``
1222 (``ZRoundup`` is broken, until further notice). In all cases, we
1223 determine which tracker is being accessed (the first part of the URL
1224 path inside the scope of the CGI handler) and pass control on to the
1225 ``roundup.cgi.client.Client`` class - which handles the rest of the
1226 access through its ``main()`` method. This means that you can do pretty
1227 much anything you want as a web interface to your tracker.
1231 Repercussions of changing the tracker schema
1232 ---------------------------------------------
1234 If you choose to change the `tracker schema`_ you will need to ensure
1235 the web interface knows about it:
1237 1. Index, item and search pages for the relevant classes may need to
1238 have properties added or removed,
1239 2. The "page" template may require links to be changed, as might the
1240 "home" page's content arguments.
1243 How requests are processed
1244 --------------------------
1246 The basic processing of a web request proceeds as follows:
1248 1. figure out who we are, defaulting to the "anonymous" user
1249 2. figure out what the request is for - we call this the "context"
1250 3. handle any requested action (item edit, search, ...)
1251 4. render the template requested by the context, resulting in HTML
1252 output
1254 In some situations, exceptions occur:
1256 - HTTP Redirect (generally raised by an action)
1257 - SendFile (generally raised by ``determine_context``)
1258 here we serve up a FileClass "content" property
1259 - SendStaticFile (generally raised by ``determine_context``)
1260 here we serve up a file from the tracker "html" directory
1261 - Unauthorised (generally raised by an action)
1262 here the action is cancelled, the request is rendered and an error
1263 message is displayed indicating that permission was not granted for
1264 the action to take place
1265 - NotFound (raised wherever it needs to be)
1266 this exception percolates up to the CGI interface that called the
1267 client
1270 Determining web context
1271 -----------------------
1273 To determine the "context" of a request, we look at the URL and the
1274 special request variable ``@template``. The URL path after the tracker
1275 identifier is examined. Typical URL paths look like:
1277 1. ``/tracker/issue``
1278 2. ``/tracker/issue1``
1279 3. ``/tracker/@@file/style.css``
1280 4. ``/cgi-bin/roundup.cgi/tracker/file1``
1281 5. ``/cgi-bin/roundup.cgi/tracker/file1/kitten.png``
1283 where the "tracker identifier" is "tracker" in the above cases. That means
1284 we're looking at "issue", "issue1", "@@file/style.css", "file1" and
1285 "file1/kitten.png" in the cases above. The path is generally only one
1286 entry long - longer paths are handled differently.
1288 a. if there is no path, then we are in the "home" context. See `the "home"
1289 context`_ below for more information about how it may be used.
1290 b. if the path starts with "@@file" (as in example 3,
1291 "/tracker/@@file/style.css"), then the additional path entry,
1292 "style.css" specifies the filename of a static file we're to serve up
1293 from the tracker TEMPLATES (or STATIC_FILES, if configured) directory.
1294 This is usually the tracker's "html" directory. Raises a SendStaticFile
1295 exception.
1296 c. if there is something in the path (as in example 1, "issue"), it
1297 identifies the tracker class we're to display.
1298 d. if the path is an item designator (as in examples 2 and 4, "issue1"
1299 and "file1"), then we're to display a specific item.
1300 e. if the path starts with an item designator and is longer than one
1301 entry (as in example 5, "file1/kitten.png"), then we're assumed to be
1302 handling an item of a ``FileClass``, and the extra path information
1303 gives the filename that the client is going to label the download
1304 with (i.e. "file1/kitten.png" is nicer to download than "file1").
1305 This raises a ``SendFile`` exception.
1307 Both b. and e. stop before we bother to determine the template we're
1308 going to use. That's because they don't actually use templates.
1310 The template used is specified by the ``@template`` CGI variable, which
1311 defaults to:
1313 - only classname suplied: "index"
1314 - full item designator supplied: "item"
1317 The "home" Context
1318 ------------------
1320 The "home" context is special because it allows you to add templated
1321 pages to your tracker that don't rely on a class or item (ie. an issues
1322 list or specific issue).
1324 Let's say you wish to add frames to control the layout of your tracker's
1325 interface. You'd probably have:
1327 - A top-level frameset page. This page probably wouldn't be templated, so
1328 it could be served as a static file (see `serving static content`_)
1329 - A sidebar frame that is templated. Let's call this page
1330 "home.navigation.html" in your tracker's "html" directory. To load that
1331 page up, you use the URL:
1333 <tracker url>/home?@template=navigation
1336 Serving static content
1337 ----------------------
1339 See the previous section `determining web context`_ where it describes
1340 ``@@file`` paths.
1343 Performing actions in web requests
1344 ----------------------------------
1346 When a user requests a web page, they may optionally also request for an
1347 action to take place. As described in `how requests are processed`_, the
1348 action is performed before the requested page is generated. Actions are
1349 triggered by using a ``@action`` CGI variable, where the value is one
1350 of:
1352 **login**
1353 Attempt to log a user in.
1355 **logout**
1356 Log the user out - make them "anonymous".
1358 **register**
1359 Attempt to create a new user based on the contents of the form and then
1360 log them in.
1362 **edit**
1363 Perform an edit of an item in the database. There are some `special form
1364 variables`_ you may use.
1366 **new**
1367 Add a new item to the database. You may use the same `special form
1368 variables`_ as in the "edit" action.
1370 **retire**
1371 Retire the item in the database.
1373 **editCSV**
1374 Performs an edit of all of a class' items in one go. See also the
1375 *class*.csv templating method which generates the CSV data to be
1376 edited, and the ``'_generic.index'`` template which uses both of these
1377 features.
1379 **search**
1380 Mangle some of the form variables:
1382 - Set the form ":filter" variable based on the values of the filter
1383 variables - if they're set to anything other than "dontcare" then add
1384 them to :filter.
1386 - Also handle the ":queryname" variable and save off the query to the
1387 user's query list.
1389 Each of the actions is implemented by a corresponding ``*XxxAction*`` (where
1390 "Xxx" is the name of the action) class in the ``roundup.cgi.actions`` module.
1391 These classes are registered with ``roundup.cgi.client.Client``. If you need
1392 to define new actions, you may add them there (see `defining new
1393 web actions`_).
1395 Each action class also has a ``*permission*`` method which determines whether
1396 the action is permissible given the current user. The base permission checks
1397 for each action are:
1399 **login**
1400 Determine whether the user has the "Web Access" Permission.
1401 **logout**
1402 No permission checks are made.
1403 **register**
1404 Determine whether the user has the ("Create", "user") Permission.
1405 **edit**
1406 Determine whether the user has permission to edit this item. If we're
1407 editing the "user" class, users are allowed to edit their own details -
1408 unless they try to edit the "roles" property, which requires the
1409 special Permission "Web Roles".
1410 **new**
1411 Determine whether the user has permission to create this item. No
1412 additional property checks are made. Additionally, new user items may
1413 be created if the user has the ("Create", "user") Permission.
1414 **editCSV**
1415 Determine whether the user has permission to edit this class.
1416 **search**
1417 Determine whether the user has permission to view this class.
1420 Special form variables
1421 ----------------------
1423 Item properties and their values are edited with html FORM
1424 variables and their values. You can:
1426 - Change the value of some property of the current item.
1427 - Create a new item of any class, and edit the new item's
1428 properties,
1429 - Attach newly created items to a multilink property of the
1430 current item.
1431 - Remove items from a multilink property of the current item.
1432 - Specify that some properties are required for the edit
1433 operation to be successful.
1434 - Set up user interface locale.
1436 These operations will only take place if the form action (the
1437 ``@action`` variable) is "edit" or "new".
1439 In the following, <bracketed> values are variable, "@" may be
1440 either ":" or "@", and other text "required" is fixed.
1442 Two special form variables are used to specify user language preferences:
1444 ``@language``
1445 value may be locale name or ``none``. If this variable is set to
1446 locale name, web interface language is changed to given value
1447 (provided that appropriate translation is available), the value
1448 is stored in the browser cookie and will be used for all following
1449 requests. If value is ``none`` the cookie is removed and the
1450 language is changed to the tracker default, set up in the tracker
1451 configuration or OS environment.
1453 ``@charset``
1454 value may be character set name or ``none``. Character set name
1455 is stored in the browser cookie and sets output encoding for all
1456 HTML pages generated by Roundup. If value is ``none`` the cookie
1457 is removed and HTML output is reset to Roundup internal encoding
1458 (UTF-8).
1460 Most properties are specified as form variables:
1462 ``<propname>``
1463 property on the current context item
1465 ``<designator>"@"<propname>``
1466 property on the indicated item (for editing related information)
1468 Designators name a specific item of a class.
1470 ``<classname><N>``
1471 Name an existing item of class <classname>.
1473 ``<classname>"-"<N>``
1474 Name the <N>th new item of class <classname>. If the form
1475 submission is successful, a new item of <classname> is
1476 created. Within the submitted form, a particular
1477 designator of this form always refers to the same new
1478 item.
1480 Once we have determined the "propname", we look at it to see
1481 if it's special:
1483 ``@required``
1484 The associated form value is a comma-separated list of
1485 property names that must be specified when the form is
1486 submitted for the edit operation to succeed.
1488 When the <designator> is missing, the properties are
1489 for the current context item. When <designator> is
1490 present, they are for the item specified by
1491 <designator>.
1493 The "@required" specifier must come before any of the
1494 properties it refers to are assigned in the form.
1496 ``@remove@<propname>=id(s)`` or ``@add@<propname>=id(s)``
1497 The "@add@" and "@remove@" edit actions apply only to
1498 Multilink properties. The form value must be a
1499 comma-separate list of keys for the class specified by
1500 the simple form variable. The listed items are added
1501 to (respectively, removed from) the specified
1502 property.
1504 ``@link@<propname>=<designator>``
1505 If the edit action is "@link@", the simple form
1506 variable must specify a Link or Multilink property.
1507 The form value is a comma-separated list of
1508 designators. The item corresponding to each
1509 designator is linked to the property given by simple
1510 form variable.
1512 None of the above (ie. just a simple form value)
1513 The value of the form variable is converted
1514 appropriately, depending on the type of the property.
1516 For a Link('klass') property, the form value is a
1517 single key for 'klass', where the key field is
1518 specified in schema.py.
1520 For a Multilink('klass') property, the form value is a
1521 comma-separated list of keys for 'klass', where the
1522 key field is specified in schema.py.
1524 Note that for simple-form-variables specifiying Link
1525 and Multilink properties, the linked-to class must
1526 have a key field.
1528 For a String() property specifying a filename, the
1529 file named by the form value is uploaded. This means we
1530 try to set additional properties "filename" and "type" (if
1531 they are valid for the class). Otherwise, the property
1532 is set to the form value.
1534 For Date(), Interval(), Boolean(), and Number()
1535 properties, the form value is converted to the
1536 appropriate
1538 Any of the form variables may be prefixed with a classname or
1539 designator.
1541 Two special form values are supported for backwards compatibility:
1543 @note
1544 This is equivalent to::
1546 @link@messages=msg-1
1547 msg-1@content=value
1549 except that in addition, the "author" and "date" properties of
1550 "msg-1" are set to the userid of the submitter, and the current
1551 time, respectively.
1553 @file
1554 This is equivalent to::
1556 @link@files=file-1
1557 file-1@content=value
1559 The String content value is handled as described above for file
1560 uploads.
1562 If both the "@note" and "@file" form variables are
1563 specified, the action::
1565 @link@msg-1@files=file-1
1567 is also performed.
1569 We also check that FileClass items have a "content" property with
1570 actual content, otherwise we remove them from all_props before
1571 returning.
1574 Default templates
1575 -----------------
1577 The default templates are html4 compliant. If you wish to change them to be
1578 xhtml compliant, you'll need to change the ``html_version`` configuration
1579 variable in ``config.ini`` to ``'xhtml'`` instead of ``'html4'``.
1581 Most customisation of the web view can be done by modifying the
1582 templates in the tracker ``'html'`` directory. There are several types
1583 of files in there. The *minimal* template includes:
1585 **page.html**
1586 This template usually defines the overall look of your tracker. When
1587 you view an issue, it appears inside this template. When you view an
1588 index, it also appears inside this template. This template defines a
1589 macro called "icing" which is used by almost all other templates as a
1590 coating for their content, using its "content" slot. It also defines
1591 the "head_title" and "body_title" slots to allow setting of the page
1592 title.
1593 **home.html**
1594 the default page displayed when no other page is indicated by the user
1595 **home.classlist.html**
1596 a special version of the default page that lists the classes in the
1597 tracker
1598 **classname.item.html**
1599 displays an item of the *classname* class
1600 **classname.index.html**
1601 displays a list of *classname* items
1602 **classname.search.html**
1603 displays a search page for *classname* items
1604 **_generic.index.html**
1605 used to display a list of items where there is no
1606 ``*classname*.index`` available
1607 **_generic.help.html**
1608 used to display a "class help" page where there is no
1609 ``*classname*.help``
1610 **user.register.html**
1611 a special page just for the user class, that renders the registration
1612 page
1613 **style.css.html**
1614 a static file that is served up as-is
1616 The *classic* template has a number of additional templates.
1618 Remember that you can create any template extension you want to,
1619 so if you just want to play around with the templating for new issues,
1620 you can copy the current "issue.item" template to "issue.test", and then
1621 access the test template using the "@template" URL argument::
1623 http://your.tracker.example/tracker/issue?@template=test
1625 and it won't affect your users using the "issue.item" template.
1628 How the templates work
1629 ----------------------
1632 Basic Templating Actions
1633 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1635 Roundup's templates consist of special attributes on the HTML tags.
1636 These attributes form the `Template Attribute Language`_, or TAL.
1637 The basic TAL commands are:
1639 **tal:define="variable expression; variable expression; ..."**
1640 Define a new variable that is local to this tag and its contents. For
1641 example::
1643 <html tal:define="title request/description">
1644 <head><title tal:content="title"></title></head>
1645 </html>
1647 In this example, the variable "title" is defined as the result of the
1648 expression "request/description". The "tal:content" command inside the
1649 <html> tag may then use the "title" variable.
1651 **tal:condition="expression"**
1652 Only keep this tag and its contents if the expression is true. For
1653 example::
1655 <p tal:condition="python:request.user.hasPermission('View', 'issue')">
1656 Display some issue information.
1657 </p>
1659 In the example, the <p> tag and its contents are only displayed if
1660 the user has the "View" permission for issues. We consider the number
1661 zero, a blank string, an empty list, and the built-in variable
1662 nothing to be false values. Nearly every other value is true,
1663 including non-zero numbers, and strings with anything in them (even
1664 spaces!).
1666 **tal:repeat="variable expression"**
1667 Repeat this tag and its contents for each element of the sequence
1668 that the expression returns, defining a new local variable and a
1669 special "repeat" variable for each element. For example::
1671 <tr tal:repeat="u user/list">
1672 <td tal:content="u/id"></td>
1673 <td tal:content="u/username"></td>
1674 <td tal:content="u/realname"></td>
1675 </tr>
1677 The example would iterate over the sequence of users returned by
1678 "user/list" and define the local variable "u" for each entry. Using
1679 the repeat command creates a new variable called "repeat" which you
1680 may access to gather information about the iteration. See the section
1681 below on `the repeat variable`_.
1683 **tal:replace="expression"**
1684 Replace this tag with the result of the expression. For example::
1686 <span tal:replace="request/user/realname" />
1688 The example would replace the <span> tag and its contents with the
1689 user's realname. If the user's realname was "Bruce", then the
1690 resultant output would be "Bruce".
1692 **tal:content="expression"**
1693 Replace the contents of this tag with the result of the expression.
1694 For example::
1696 <span tal:content="request/user/realname">user's name appears here
1697 </span>
1699 The example would replace the contents of the <span> tag with the
1700 user's realname. If the user's realname was "Bruce" then the
1701 resultant output would be "<span>Bruce</span>".
1703 **tal:attributes="attribute expression; attribute expression; ..."**
1704 Set attributes on this tag to the results of expressions. For
1705 example::
1707 <a tal:attributes="href string:user${request/user/id}">My Details</a>
1709 In the example, the "href" attribute of the <a> tag is set to the
1710 value of the "string:user${request/user/id}" expression, which will
1711 be something like "user123".
1713 **tal:omit-tag="expression"**
1714 Remove this tag (but not its contents) if the expression is true. For
1715 example::
1717 <span tal:omit-tag="python:1">Hello, world!</span>
1719 would result in output of::
1721 Hello, world!
1723 Note that the commands on a given tag are evaulated in the order above,
1724 so *define* comes before *condition*, and so on.
1726 Additionally, you may include tags such as <tal:block>, which are
1727 removed from output. Its content is kept, but the tag itself is not (so
1728 don't go using any "tal:attributes" commands on it). This is useful for
1729 making arbitrary blocks of HTML conditional or repeatable (very handy
1730 for repeating multiple table rows, which would othewise require an
1731 illegal tag placement to effect the repeat).
1733 .. _TAL:
1734 .. _Template Attribute Language:
1735 http://dev.zope.org/Wikis/DevSite/Projects/ZPT/TAL%20Specification%201.4
1738 Templating Expressions
1739 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1741 Templating Expressions are covered by `Template Attribute Language
1742 Expression Syntax`_, or TALES. The expressions you may use in the
1743 attribute values may be one of the following forms:
1745 **Path Expressions** - eg. ``item/status/checklist``
1746 These are object attribute / item accesses. Roughly speaking, the
1747 path ``item/status/checklist`` is broken into parts ``item``,
1748 ``status`` and ``checklist``. The ``item`` part is the root of the
1749 expression. We then look for a ``status`` attribute on ``item``, or
1750 failing that, a ``status`` item (as in ``item['status']``). If that
1751 fails, the path expression fails. When we get to the end, the object
1752 we're left with is evaluated to get a string - if it is a method, it
1753 is called; if it is an object, it is stringified. Path expressions
1754 may have an optional ``path:`` prefix, but they are the default
1755 expression type, so it's not necessary.
1757 If an expression evaluates to ``default``, then the expression is
1758 "cancelled" - whatever HTML already exists in the template will
1759 remain (tag content in the case of ``tal:content``, attributes in the
1760 case of ``tal:attributes``).
1762 If an expression evaluates to ``nothing`` then the target of the
1763 expression is removed (tag content in the case of ``tal:content``,
1764 attributes in the case of ``tal:attributes`` and the tag itself in
1765 the case of ``tal:replace``).
1767 If an element in the path may not exist, then you can use the ``|``
1768 operator in the expression to provide an alternative. So, the
1769 expression ``request/form/foo/value | default`` would simply leave
1770 the current HTML in place if the "foo" form variable doesn't exist.
1772 You may use the python function ``path``, as in
1773 ``path("item/status")``, to embed path expressions in Python
1774 expressions.
1776 **String Expressions** - eg. ``string:hello ${user/name}``
1777 These expressions are simple string interpolations - though they can
1778 be just plain strings with no interpolation if you want. The
1779 expression in the ``${ ... }`` is just a path expression as above.
1781 **Python Expressions** - eg. ``python: 1+1``
1782 These expressions give the full power of Python. All the "root level"
1783 variables are available, so ``python:item.status.checklist()`` would
1784 be equivalent to ``item/status/checklist``, assuming that
1785 ``checklist`` is a method.
1787 Modifiers:
1789 **structure** - eg. ``structure python:msg.content.plain(hyperlink=1)``
1790 The result of expressions are normally *escaped* to be safe for HTML
1791 display (all "<", ">" and "&" are turned into special entities). The
1792 ``structure`` expression modifier turns off this escaping - the
1793 result of the expression is now assumed to be HTML, which is passed
1794 to the web browser for rendering.
1796 **not:** - eg. ``not:python:1=1``
1797 This simply inverts the logical true/false value of another
1798 expression.
1800 .. _TALES:
1801 .. _Template Attribute Language Expression Syntax:
1802 http://dev.zope.org/Wikis/DevSite/Projects/ZPT/TALES%20Specification%201.3
1805 Template Macros
1806 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1808 Macros are used in Roundup to save us from repeating the same common
1809 page stuctures over and over. The most common (and probably only) macro
1810 you'll use is the "icing" macro defined in the "page" template.
1812 Macros are generated and used inside your templates using special
1813 attributes similar to the `basic templating actions`_. In this case,
1814 though, the attributes belong to the `Macro Expansion Template
1815 Attribute Language`_, or METAL. The macro commands are:
1817 **metal:define-macro="macro name"**
1818 Define that the tag and its contents are now a macro that may be
1819 inserted into other templates using the *use-macro* command. For
1820 example::
1822 <html metal:define-macro="page">
1823 ...
1824 </html>
1826 defines a macro called "page" using the ``<html>`` tag and its
1827 contents. Once defined, macros are stored on the template they're
1828 defined on in the ``macros`` attribute. You can access them later on
1829 through the ``templates`` variable, eg. the most common
1830 ``templates/page/macros/icing`` to access the "page" macro of the
1831 "page" template.
1833 **metal:use-macro="path expression"**
1834 Use a macro, which is identified by the path expression (see above).
1835 This will replace the current tag with the identified macro contents.
1836 For example::
1838 <tal:block metal:use-macro="templates/page/macros/icing">
1839 ...
1840 </tal:block>
1842 will replace the tag and its contents with the "page" macro of the
1843 "page" template.
1845 **metal:define-slot="slot name"** and **metal:fill-slot="slot name"**
1846 To define *dynamic* parts of the macro, you define "slots" which may
1847 be filled when the macro is used with a *use-macro* command. For
1848 example, the ``templates/page/macros/icing`` macro defines a slot like
1849 so::
1851 <title metal:define-slot="head_title">title goes here</title>
1853 In your *use-macro* command, you may now use a *fill-slot* command
1854 like this::
1856 <title metal:fill-slot="head_title">My Title</title>
1858 where the tag that fills the slot completely replaces the one defined
1859 as the slot in the macro.
1861 Note that you may not mix `METAL`_ and `TAL`_ commands on the same tag, but
1862 TAL commands may be used freely inside METAL-using tags (so your
1863 *fill-slots* tags may have all manner of TAL inside them).
1865 .. _METAL:
1866 .. _Macro Expansion Template Attribute Language:
1867 http://dev.zope.org/Wikis/DevSite/Projects/ZPT/METAL%20Specification%201.0
1869 Information available to templates
1870 ----------------------------------
1872 This is implemented by ``roundup.cgi.templating.RoundupPageTemplate``
1874 The following variables are available to templates.
1876 **context**
1877 The current context. This is either None, a `hyperdb class wrapper`_
1878 or a `hyperdb item wrapper`_
1879 **request**
1880 Includes information about the current request, including:
1881 - the current index information (``filterspec``, ``filter`` args,
1882 ``properties``, etc) parsed out of the form.
1883 - methods for easy filterspec link generation
1884 - "form"
1885 The current CGI form information as a mapping of form argument name
1886 to value (specifically a cgi.FieldStorage)
1887 - "env" the CGI environment variables
1888 - "base" the base URL for this instance
1889 - "user" a HTMLItem instance for the current user
1890 - "language" as determined by the browser or config
1891 - "classname" the current classname (possibly None)
1892 - "template" the current template (suffix, also possibly None)
1893 **config**
1894 This variable holds all the values defined in the tracker config.ini
1895 file (eg. TRACKER_NAME, etc.)
1896 **db**
1897 The current database, used to access arbitrary database items.
1898 **templates**
1899 Access to all the tracker templates by name. Used mainly in
1900 *use-macro* commands.
1901 **utils**
1902 This variable makes available some utility functions like batching.
1903 **nothing**
1904 This is a special variable - if an expression evaluates to this, then
1905 the tag (in the case of a ``tal:replace``), its contents (in the case
1906 of ``tal:content``) or some attributes (in the case of
1907 ``tal:attributes``) will not appear in the the output. So, for
1908 example::
1910 <span tal:attributes="class nothing">Hello, World!</span>
1912 would result in::
1914 <span>Hello, World!</span>
1916 **default**
1917 Also a special variable - if an expression evaluates to this, then the
1918 existing HTML in the template will not be replaced or removed, it will
1919 remain. So::
1921 <span tal:replace="default">Hello, World!</span>
1923 would result in::
1925 <span>Hello, World!</span>
1927 **true**, **false**
1928 Boolean constants that may be used in `templating expressions`_
1929 instead of ``python:1`` and ``python:0``.
1930 **i18n**
1931 Internationalization service, providing two string translation methods:
1933 **gettext** (*message*)
1934 Return the localized translation of message
1935 **ngettext** (*singular*, *plural*, *number*)
1936 Like ``gettext()``, but consider plural forms. If a translation
1937 is found, apply the plural formula to *number*, and return the
1938 resulting message (some languages have more than two plural forms).
1939 If no translation is found, return singular if *number* is 1;
1940 return plural otherwise.
1942 This function requires python2.3; in earlier python versions
1943 may not work as expected.
1945 The context variable
1946 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1948 The *context* variable is one of three things based on the current
1949 context (see `determining web context`_ for how we figure this out):
1951 1. if we're looking at a "home" page, then it's None
1952 2. if we're looking at a specific hyperdb class, it's a
1953 `hyperdb class wrapper`_.
1954 3. if we're looking at a specific hyperdb item, it's a
1955 `hyperdb item wrapper`_.
1957 If the context is not None, we can access the properties of the class or
1958 item. The only real difference between cases 2 and 3 above are:
1960 1. the properties may have a real value behind them, and this will
1961 appear if the property is displayed through ``context/property`` or
1962 ``context/property/field``.
1963 2. the context's "id" property will be a false value in the second case,
1964 but a real, or true value in the third. Thus we can determine whether
1965 we're looking at a real item from the hyperdb by testing
1966 "context/id".
1968 Hyperdb class wrapper
1969 :::::::::::::::::::::
1971 This is implemented by the ``roundup.cgi.templating.HTMLClass``
1972 class.
1974 This wrapper object provides access to a hyperb class. It is used
1975 primarily in both index view and new item views, but it's also usable
1976 anywhere else that you wish to access information about a class, or the
1977 items of a class, when you don't have a specific item of that class in
1978 mind.
1980 We allow access to properties. There will be no "id" property. The value
1981 accessed through the property will be the current value of the same name
1982 from the CGI form.
1984 There are several methods available on these wrapper objects:
1986 =========== =============================================================
1987 Method Description
1988 =========== =============================================================
1989 properties return a `hyperdb property wrapper`_ for all of this class's
1990 properties.
1991 list lists all of the active (not retired) items in the class.
1992 csv return the items of this class as a chunk of CSV text.
1993 propnames lists the names of the properties of this class.
1994 filter lists of items from this class, filtered and sorted. Two
1995 options are avaible for sorting:
1997 1. by the current *request* filterspec/filter/sort/group args
1998 2. by the "filterspec", "sort" and "group" keyword args.
1999 "filterspec" is ``{propname: value(s)}``. "sort" and
2000 "group" are an optionally empty list ``[(dir, prop)]``
2001 where dir is '+', '-' or None
2002 and prop is a prop name or None.
2004 The propname in filterspec and prop in a sort/group spec
2005 may be transitive, i.e., it may contain properties of
2006 the form link.link.link.name.
2008 eg. All issues with a priority of "1" with messages added in
2009 the last week, sorted by activity date:
2010 ``issue.filter(filterspec={"priority": "1",
2011 'messages.creation' : '.-1w;'}, sort=[('activity', '+')])``
2013 filter_sql **Only in SQL backends**
2015 Lists the items that match the SQL provided. The SQL is a
2016 complete "select" statement.
2018 The SQL select must include the item id as the first column.
2020 This function **does not** filter out retired items, add
2021 on a where clause "__retired__ <> 1" if you don't want
2022 retired nodes.
2024 classhelp display a link to a javascript popup containing this class'
2025 "help" template.
2027 This generates a link to a popup window which displays the
2028 properties indicated by "properties" of the class named by
2029 "classname". The "properties" should be a comma-separated list
2030 (eg. 'id,name,description'). Properties defaults to all the
2031 properties of a class (excluding id, creator, created and
2032 activity).
2034 You may optionally override the "label" displayed, the "width",
2035 the "height", the number of items per page ("pagesize") and
2036 the field on which the list is sorted ("sort").
2038 With the "filter" arg it is possible to specify a filter for
2039 which items are supposed to be displayed. It has to be of
2040 the format "<field>=<values>;<field>=<values>;...".
2042 The popup window will be resizable and scrollable.
2044 If the "property" arg is given, it's passed through to the
2045 javascript help_window function. This allows updating of a
2046 property in the calling HTML page.
2048 If the "form" arg is given, it's passed through to the
2049 javascript help_window function - it's the name of the form
2050 the "property" belongs to.
2052 submit generate a submit button (and action hidden element)
2053 renderWith render this class with the given template.
2054 history returns 'New node - no history' :)
2055 is_edit_ok is the user allowed to Edit the current class?
2056 is_view_ok is the user allowed to View the current class?
2057 =========== =============================================================
2059 Note that if you have a property of the same name as one of the above
2060 methods, you'll need to access it using a python "item access"
2061 expression. For example::
2063 python:context['list']
2065 will access the "list" property, rather than the list method.
2068 Hyperdb item wrapper
2069 ::::::::::::::::::::
2071 This is implemented by the ``roundup.cgi.templating.HTMLItem``
2072 class.
2074 This wrapper object provides access to a hyperb item.
2076 We allow access to properties. There will be no "id" property. The value
2077 accessed through the property will be the current value of the same name
2078 from the CGI form.
2080 There are several methods available on these wrapper objects:
2082 =============== ========================================================
2083 Method Description
2084 =============== ========================================================
2085 submit generate a submit button (and action hidden element)
2086 journal return the journal of the current item (**not
2087 implemented**)
2088 history render the journal of the current item as HTML
2089 renderQueryForm specific to the "query" class - render the search form
2090 for the query
2091 hasPermission specific to the "user" class - determine whether the
2092 user has a Permission. The signature is::
2094 hasPermission(self, permission, [classname=],
2095 [property=], [itemid=])
2097 where the classname defaults to the current context.
2098 hasRole specific to the "user" class - determine whether the
2099 user has a Role. The signature is::
2101 hasRole(self, rolename)
2103 is_edit_ok is the user allowed to Edit the current item?
2104 is_view_ok is the user allowed to View the current item?
2105 is_retired is the item retired?
2106 download_url generate a url-quoted link for download of FileClass
2107 item contents (ie. file<id>/<name>)
2108 copy_url generate a url-quoted link for creating a copy
2109 of this item. By default, the copy will acquire
2110 all properties of the current item except for
2111 ``messages`` and ``files``. This can be overridden
2112 by passing ``exclude`` argument which contains a list
2113 (or any iterable) of property names that shall not be
2114 copied. Database-driven properties like ``id`` or
2115 ``activity`` cannot be copied.
2116 =============== ========================================================
2118 Note that if you have a property of the same name as one of the above
2119 methods, you'll need to access it using a python "item access"
2120 expression. For example::
2122 python:context['journal']
2124 will access the "journal" property, rather than the journal method.
2127 Hyperdb property wrapper
2128 ::::::::::::::::::::::::
2130 This is implemented by subclasses of the
2131 ``roundup.cgi.templating.HTMLProperty`` class (``HTMLStringProperty``,
2132 ``HTMLNumberProperty``, and so on).
2134 This wrapper object provides access to a single property of a class. Its
2135 value may be either:
2137 1. if accessed through a `hyperdb item wrapper`_, then it's a value from
2138 the hyperdb
2139 2. if access through a `hyperdb class wrapper`_, then it's a value from
2140 the CGI form
2143 The property wrapper has some useful attributes:
2145 =============== ========================================================
2146 Attribute Description
2147 =============== ========================================================
2148 _name the name of the property
2149 _value the value of the property if any - this is the actual
2150 value retrieved from the hyperdb for this property
2151 =============== ========================================================
2153 There are several methods available on these wrapper objects:
2155 =========== ================================================================
2156 Method Description
2157 =========== ================================================================
2158 plain render a "plain" representation of the property. This method
2159 may take two arguments:
2161 escape
2162 If true, escape the text so it is HTML safe (default: no). The
2163 reason this defaults to off is that text is usually escaped
2164 at a later stage by the TAL commands, unless the "structure"
2165 option is used in the template. The following ``tal:content``
2166 expressions are all equivalent::
2168 "structure python:msg.content.plain(escape=1)"
2169 "python:msg.content.plain()"
2170 "msg/content/plain"
2171 "msg/content"
2173 Usually you'll only want to use the escape option in a
2174 complex expression.
2176 hyperlink
2177 If true, turn URLs, email addresses and hyperdb item
2178 designators in the text into hyperlinks (default: no). Note
2179 that you'll need to use the "structure" TAL option if you
2180 want to use this ``tal:content`` expression::
2182 "structure python:msg.content.plain(hyperlink=1)"
2184 The text is automatically HTML-escaped before the hyperlinking
2185 transformation done in the plain() method.
2187 hyperlinked The same as msg.content.plain(hyperlink=1), but nicer::
2189 "structure msg/content/hyperlinked"
2191 field render an appropriate form edit field for the property - for
2192 most types this is a text entry box, but for Booleans it's a
2193 tri-state yes/no/neither selection. This method may take some
2194 arguments:
2196 size
2197 Sets the width in characters of the edit field
2199 format (Date properties only)
2200 Sets the format of the date in the field - uses the same
2201 format string argument as supplied to the ``pretty`` method
2202 below.
2204 popcal (Date properties only)
2205 Include the Javascript-based popup calendar for date
2206 selection. Defaults to on.
2208 stext only on String properties - render the value of the property
2209 as StructuredText (requires the StructureText module to be
2210 installed separately)
2211 multiline only on String properties - render a multiline form edit
2212 field for the property
2213 email only on String properties - render the value of the property
2214 as an obscured email address
2215 confirm only on Password properties - render a second form edit field
2216 for the property, used for confirmation that the user typed
2217 the password correctly. Generates a field with name
2218 "name:confirm".
2219 now only on Date properties - return the current date as a new
2220 property
2221 reldate only on Date properties - render the interval between the date
2222 and now
2223 local only on Date properties - return this date as a new property
2224 with some timezone offset, for example::
2226 python:context.creation.local(10)
2228 will render the date with a +10 hour offset.
2229 pretty Date properties - render the date as "dd Mon YYYY" (eg. "19
2230 Mar 2004"). Takes an optional format argument, for example::
2232 python:context.activity.pretty('%Y-%m-%d')
2234 Will format as "2004-03-19" instead.
2236 Interval properties - render the interval in a pretty
2237 format (eg. "yesterday"). The format arguments are those used
2238 in the standard ``strftime`` call (see the `Python Library
2239 Reference: time module`__)
2240 popcal Generate a link to a popup calendar which may be used to
2241 edit the date field, for example::
2243 <span tal:replace="structure context/due/popcal" />
2245 you still need to include the ``field`` for the property, so
2246 typically you'd have::
2248 <span tal:replace="structure context/due/field" />
2249 <span tal:replace="structure context/due/popcal" />
2251 menu only on Link and Multilink properties - render a form select
2252 list for this property. Takes a number of optional arguments
2254 size
2255 is used to limit the length of the list labels
2256 height
2257 is used to set the <select> tag's "size" attribute
2258 showid
2259 includes the item ids in the list labels
2260 additional
2261 lists properties which should be included in the label
2262 sort_on
2263 indicates the property to sort the list on as (direction,
2264 (direction, property) where direction is '+' or '-'. A
2265 single string with the direction prepended may be used.
2266 For example: ('-', 'order'), '+name'.
2267 value
2268 gives a default value to preselect in the menu
2270 The remaining keyword arguments are used as conditions for
2271 filtering the items in the list - they're passed as the
2272 "filterspec" argument to a Class.filter() call. For example::
2274 <span tal:replace="structure context/status/menu" />
2276 <span tal:replace="python:context.status.menu(order='+name",
2277 value='chatting',
2278 filterspec={'status': '1,2,3,4'}" />
2280 sorted only on Multilink properties - produce a list of the linked
2281 items sorted by some property, for example::
2283 python:context.files.sorted('creation')
2285 Will list the files by upload date.
2286 reverse only on Multilink properties - produce a list of the linked
2287 items in reverse order
2288 isset returns True if the property has been set to a value
2289 =========== ================================================================
2291 __ http://docs.python.org/lib/module-time.html
2293 All of the above functions perform checks for permissions required to
2294 display or edit the data they are manipulating. The simplest case is
2295 editing an issue title. Including the expression::
2297 context/title/field
2299 Will present the user with an edit field, if they have edit permission. If
2300 not, then they will be presented with a static display if they have view
2301 permission. If they don't even have view permission, then an error message
2302 is raised, preventing the display of the page, indicating that they don't
2303 have permission to view the information.
2306 The request variable
2307 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2309 This is implemented by the ``roundup.cgi.templating.HTMLRequest``
2310 class.
2312 The request variable is packed with information about the current
2313 request.
2315 .. taken from ``roundup.cgi.templating.HTMLRequest`` docstring
2317 =========== ============================================================
2318 Variable Holds
2319 =========== ============================================================
2320 form the CGI form as a cgi.FieldStorage
2321 env the CGI environment variables
2322 base the base URL for this tracker
2323 user a HTMLUser instance for this user
2324 classname the current classname (possibly None)
2325 template the current template (suffix, also possibly None)
2326 form the current CGI form variables in a FieldStorage
2327 =========== ============================================================
2329 **Index page specific variables (indexing arguments)**
2331 =========== ============================================================
2332 Variable Holds
2333 =========== ============================================================
2334 columns dictionary of the columns to display in an index page
2335 show a convenience access to columns - request/show/colname will
2336 be true if the columns should be displayed, false otherwise
2337 sort index sort columns [(direction, column name)]
2338 group index grouping properties [(direction, column name)]
2339 filter properties to filter the index on
2340 filterspec values to filter the index on (property=value, eg
2341 ``priority=1`` or ``messages.author=42``
2342 search_text text to perform a full-text search on for an index
2343 =========== ============================================================
2345 There are several methods available on the request variable:
2347 =============== ========================================================
2348 Method Description
2349 =============== ========================================================
2350 description render a description of the request - handle for the
2351 page title
2352 indexargs_form render the current index args as form elements
2353 indexargs_url render the current index args as a URL
2354 base_javascript render some javascript that is used by other components
2355 of the templating
2356 batch run the current index args through a filter and return a
2357 list of items (see `hyperdb item wrapper`_, and
2358 `batching`_)
2359 =============== ========================================================
2361 The form variable
2362 :::::::::::::::::
2364 The form variable is a bit special because it's actually a python
2365 FieldStorage object. That means that you have two ways to access its
2366 contents. For example, to look up the CGI form value for the variable
2367 "name", use the path expression::
2369 request/form/name/value
2371 or the python expression::
2373 python:request.form['name'].value
2375 Note the "item" access used in the python case, and also note the
2376 explicit "value" attribute we have to access. That's because the form
2377 variables are stored as MiniFieldStorages. If there's more than one
2378 "name" value in the form, then the above will break since
2379 ``request/form/name`` is actually a *list* of MiniFieldStorages. So it's
2380 best to know beforehand what you're dealing with.
2383 The db variable
2384 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2386 This is implemented by the ``roundup.cgi.templating.HTMLDatabase``
2387 class.
2389 Allows access to all hyperdb classes as attributes of this variable. If
2390 you want access to the "user" class, for example, you would use::
2392 db/user
2393 python:db.user
2395 Also, the current id of the current user is available as
2396 ``db.getuid()``. This isn't so useful in templates (where you have
2397 ``request/user``), but it can be useful in detectors or interfaces.
2399 The access results in a `hyperdb class wrapper`_.
2402 The templates variable
2403 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2405 This is implemented by the ``roundup.cgi.templating.Templates``
2406 class.
2408 This variable doesn't have any useful methods defined. It supports being
2409 used in expressions to access the templates, and consequently the
2410 template macros. You may access the templates using the following path
2411 expression::
2413 templates/name
2415 or the python expression::
2417 templates[name]
2419 where "name" is the name of the template you wish to access. The
2420 template has one useful attribute, namely "macros". To access a specific
2421 macro (called "macro_name"), use the path expression::
2423 templates/name/macros/macro_name
2425 or the python expression::
2427 templates[name].macros[macro_name]
2429 The repeat variable
2430 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2432 The repeat variable holds an entry for each active iteration. That is, if
2433 you have a ``tal:repeat="user db/users"`` command, then there will be a
2434 repeat variable entry called "user". This may be accessed as either::
2436 repeat/user
2437 python:repeat['user']
2439 The "user" entry has a number of methods available for information:
2441 =============== =========================================================
2442 Method Description
2443 =============== =========================================================
2444 first True if the current item is the first in the sequence.
2445 last True if the current item is the last in the sequence.
2446 even True if the current item is an even item in the sequence.
2447 odd True if the current item is an odd item in the sequence.
2448 number Current position in the sequence, starting from 1.
2449 letter Current position in the sequence as a letter, a through
2450 z, then aa through zz, and so on.
2451 Letter Same as letter(), except uppercase.
2452 roman Current position in the sequence as lowercase roman
2453 numerals.
2454 Roman Same as roman(), except uppercase.
2455 =============== =========================================================
2458 The utils variable
2459 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2461 This is implemented by the
2462 ``roundup.cgi.templating.TemplatingUtils`` class, but it may be extended
2463 as described below.
2465 =============== ========================================================
2466 Method Description
2467 =============== ========================================================
2468 Batch return a batch object using the supplied list
2469 url_quote quote some text as safe for a URL (ie. space, %, ...)
2470 html_quote quote some text as safe in HTML (ie. <, >, ...)
2471 html_calendar renders an HTML calendar used by the
2472 ``_generic.calendar.html`` template (itself invoked by
2473 the popupCalendar DateHTMLProperty method
2474 =============== ========================================================
2476 You may add additional utility methods by writing them in your tracker
2477 ``extensions`` directory and registering them with the templating system
2478 using ``instance.registerUtil`` (see `adding a time log to your issues`_ for
2479 an example of this).
2482 Batching
2483 ::::::::
2485 Use Batch to turn a list of items, or item ids of a given class, into a
2486 series of batches. Its usage is::
2488 python:utils.Batch(sequence, size, start, end=0, orphan=0,
2489 overlap=0)
2491 or, to get the current index batch::
2493 request/batch
2495 The parameters are:
2497 ========= ==============================================================
2498 Parameter Usage
2499 ========= ==============================================================
2500 sequence a list of HTMLItems
2501 size how big to make the sequence.
2502 start where to start (0-indexed) in the sequence.
2503 end where to end (0-indexed) in the sequence.
2504 orphan if the next batch would contain less items than this value,
2505 then it is combined with this batch
2506 overlap the number of items shared between adjacent batches
2507 ========= ==============================================================
2509 All of the parameters are assigned as attributes on the batch object. In
2510 addition, it has several more attributes:
2512 =============== ========================================================
2513 Attribute Description
2514 =============== ========================================================
2515 start indicates the start index of the batch. *Unlike
2516 the argument, is a 1-based index (I know, lame)*
2517 first indicates the start index of the batch *as a 0-based
2518 index*
2519 length the actual number of elements in the batch
2520 sequence_length the length of the original, unbatched, sequence.
2521 =============== ========================================================
2523 And several methods:
2525 =============== ========================================================
2526 Method Description
2527 =============== ========================================================
2528 previous returns a new Batch with the previous batch settings
2529 next returns a new Batch with the next batch settings
2530 propchanged detect if the named property changed on the current item
2531 when compared to the last item
2532 =============== ========================================================
2534 An example of batching::
2536 <table class="otherinfo">
2537 <tr><th colspan="4" class="header">Existing Keywords</th></tr>
2538 <tr tal:define="keywords db/keyword/list"
2539 tal:repeat="start python:range(0, len(keywords), 4)">
2540 <td tal:define="batch python:utils.Batch(keywords, 4, start)"
2541 tal:repeat="keyword batch" tal:content="keyword/name">
2542 keyword here</td>
2543 </tr>
2544 </table>
2546 ... which will produce a table with four columns containing the items of
2547 the "keyword" class (well, their "name" anyway).
2550 Displaying Properties
2551 ---------------------
2553 Properties appear in the user interface in three contexts: in indices,
2554 in editors, and as search arguments. For each type of property, there
2555 are several display possibilities. For example, in an index view, a
2556 string property may just be printed as a plain string, but in an editor
2557 view, that property may be displayed in an editable field.
2560 Index Views
2561 -----------
2563 This is one of the class context views. It is also the default view for
2564 classes. The template used is "*classname*.index".
2567 Index View Specifiers
2568 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2570 An index view specifier (URL fragment) looks like this (whitespace has
2571 been added for clarity)::
2573 /issue?status=unread,in-progress,resolved&
2574 keyword=security,ui&
2575 @group=priority,-status&
2576 @sort=-activity&
2577 @filters=status,keyword&
2578 @columns=title,status,fixer
2580 The index view is determined by two parts of the specifier: the layout
2581 part and the filter part. The layout part consists of the query
2582 parameters that begin with colons, and it determines the way that the
2583 properties of selected items are displayed. The filter part consists of
2584 all the other query parameters, and it determines the criteria by which
2585 items are selected for display. The filter part is interactively
2586 manipulated with the form widgets displayed in the filter section. The
2587 layout part is interactively manipulated by clicking on the column
2588 headings in the table.
2590 The filter part selects the union of the sets of items with values
2591 matching any specified Link properties and the intersection of the sets
2592 of items with values matching any specified Multilink properties.
2594 The example specifies an index of "issue" items. Only items with a
2595 "status" of either "unread" or "in-progress" or "resolved" are
2596 displayed, and only items with "keyword" values including both "security"
2597 and "ui" are displayed. The items are grouped by priority arranged in
2598 ascending order and in descending order by status; and within
2599 groups, sorted by activity, arranged in descending order. The filter
2600 section shows filters for the "status" and "keyword" properties, and the
2601 table includes columns for the "title", "status", and "fixer"
2602 properties.
2604 ============ =============================================================
2605 Argument Description
2606 ============ =============================================================
2607 @sort sort by prop name, optionally preceeded with '-' to give
2608 descending or nothing for ascending sorting. Several
2609 properties can be specified delimited with comma.
2610 Internally a search-page using several sort properties may
2611 use @sort0, @sort1 etc. with option @sortdir0, @sortdir1
2612 etc. for the direction of sorting (a non-empty value of
2613 sortdir0 specifies reverse order).
2614 @group group by prop name, optionally preceeded with '-' or to sort
2615 in descending or nothing for ascending order. Several
2616 properties can be specified delimited with comma.
2617 Internally a search-page using several grouping properties may
2618 use @group0, @group1 etc. with option @groupdir0, @groupdir1
2619 etc. for the direction of grouping (a non-empty value of
2620 groupdir0 specifies reverse order).
2621 @columns selects the columns that should be displayed. Default is
2622 all.
2623 @filter indicates which properties are being used in filtering.
2624 Default is none.
2625 propname selects the values the item properties given by propname must
2626 have (very basic search/filter).
2627 @search_text if supplied, performs a full-text search (message bodies,
2628 issue titles, etc)
2629 ============ =============================================================
2632 Searching Views
2633 ---------------
2635 .. note::
2636 if you add a new column to the ``@columns`` form variable potentials
2637 then you will need to add the column to the appropriate `index views`_
2638 template so that it is actually displayed.
2640 This is one of the class context views. The template used is typically
2641 "*classname*.search". The form on this page should have "search" as its
2642 ``@action`` variable. The "search" action:
2644 - sets up additional filtering, as well as performing indexed text
2645 searching
2646 - sets the ``@filter`` variable correctly
2647 - saves the query off if ``@query_name`` is set.
2649 The search page should lay out any fields that you wish to allow the
2650 user to search on. If your schema contains a large number of properties,
2651 you should be wary of making all of those properties available for
2652 searching, as this can cause confusion. If the additional properties are
2653 Strings, consider having their value indexed, and then they will be
2654 searchable using the full text indexed search. This is both faster, and
2655 more useful for the end user.
2657 If the search view does specify the "search" ``@action``, then it may also
2658 provide an additional argument:
2660 ============ =============================================================
2661 Argument Description
2662 ============ =============================================================
2663 @query_name if supplied, the index parameters (including @search_text)
2664 will be saved off as a the query item and registered against
2665 the user's queries property. Note that the *classic* template
2666 schema has this ability, but the *minimal* template schema
2667 does not.
2668 ============ =============================================================
2671 Item Views
2672 ----------
2674 The basic view of a hyperdb item is provided by the "*classname*.item"
2675 template. It generally has three sections; an "editor", a "spool" and a
2676 "history" section.
2679 Editor Section
2680 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2682 The editor section is used to manipulate the item - it may be a static
2683 display if the user doesn't have permission to edit the item.
2685 Here's an example of a basic editor template (this is the default
2686 "classic" template issue item edit form - from the "issue.item.html"
2687 template)::
2689 <table class="form">
2690 <tr>
2691 <th>Title</th>
2692 <td colspan="3" tal:content="structure python:context.title.field(size=60)">title</td>
2693 </tr>
2695 <tr>
2696 <th>Priority</th>
2697 <td tal:content="structure context/priority/menu">priority</td>
2698 <th>Status</th>
2699 <td tal:content="structure context/status/menu">status</td>
2700 </tr>
2702 <tr>
2703 <th>Superseder</th>
2704 <td>
2705 <span tal:replace="structure python:context.superseder.field(showid=1, size=20)" />
2706 <span tal:replace="structure python:db.issue.classhelp('id,title')" />
2707 <span tal:condition="context/superseder">
2708 <br>View: <span tal:replace="structure python:context.superseder.link(showid=1)" />
2709 </span>
2710 </td>
2711 <th>Nosy List</th>
2712 <td>
2713 <span tal:replace="structure context/nosy/field" />
2714 <span tal:replace="structure python:db.user.classhelp('username,realname,address,phone')" />
2715 </td>
2716 </tr>
2718 <tr>
2719 <th>Assigned To</th>
2720 <td tal:content="structure context/assignedto/menu">
2721 assignedto menu
2722 </td>
2723 <td> </td>
2724 <td> </td>
2725 </tr>
2727 <tr>
2728 <th>Change Note</th>
2729 <td colspan="3">
2730 <textarea name=":note" wrap="hard" rows="5" cols="60"></textarea>
2731 </td>
2732 </tr>
2734 <tr>
2735 <th>File</th>
2736 <td colspan="3"><input type="file" name=":file" size="40"></td>
2737 </tr>
2739 <tr>
2740 <td> </td>
2741 <td colspan="3" tal:content="structure context/submit">
2742 submit button will go here
2743 </td>
2744 </tr>
2745 </table>
2748 When a change is submitted, the system automatically generates a message
2749 describing the changed properties. As shown in the example, the editor
2750 template can use the ":note" and ":file" fields, which are added to the
2751 standard changenote message generated by Roundup.
2754 Form values
2755 :::::::::::
2757 We have a number of ways to pull properties out of the form in order to
2758 meet the various needs of:
2760 1. editing the current item (perhaps an issue item)
2761 2. editing information related to the current item (eg. messages or
2762 attached files)
2763 3. creating new information to be linked to the current item (eg. time
2764 spent on an issue)
2766 In the following, ``<bracketed>`` values are variable, ":" may be one of
2767 ":" or "@", and other text ("required") is fixed.
2769 Properties are specified as form variables:
2771 ``<propname>``
2772 property on the current context item
2774 ``<designator>:<propname>``
2775 property on the indicated item (for editing related information)
2777 ``<classname>-<N>:<propname>``
2778 property on the Nth new item of classname (generally for creating new
2779 items to attach to the current item)
2781 Once we have determined the "propname", we check to see if it is one of
2782 the special form values:
2784 ``@required``
2785 The named property values must be supplied or a ValueError will be
2786 raised.
2788 ``@remove@<propname>=id(s)``
2789 The ids will be removed from the multilink property.
2791 ``:add:<propname>=id(s)``
2792 The ids will be added to the multilink property.
2794 ``:link:<propname>=<designator>``
2795 Used to add a link to new items created during edit. These are
2796 collected and returned in ``all_links``. This will result in an
2797 additional linking operation (either Link set or Multilink append)
2798 after the edit/create is done using ``all_props`` in ``_editnodes``.
2799 The <propname> on the current item will be set/appended the id of the
2800 newly created item of class <designator> (where <designator> must be
2801 <classname>-<N>).
2803 Any of the form variables may be prefixed with a classname or
2804 designator.
2806 Two special form values are supported for backwards compatibility:
2808 ``:note``
2809 create a message (with content, author and date), linked to the
2810 context item. This is ALWAYS designated "msg-1".
2811 ``:file``
2812 create a file, attached to the current item and any message created by
2813 :note. This is ALWAYS designated "file-1".
2816 Spool Section
2817 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2819 The spool section lists related information like the messages and files
2820 of an issue.
2822 TODO
2825 History Section
2826 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2828 The final section displayed is the history of the item - its database
2829 journal. This is generally generated with the template::
2831 <tal:block tal:replace="structure context/history" />
2833 *To be done:*
2835 *The actual history entries of the item may be accessed for manual
2836 templating through the "journal" method of the item*::
2838 <tal:block tal:repeat="entry context/journal">
2839 a journal entry
2840 </tal:block>
2842 *where each journal entry is an HTMLJournalEntry.*
2845 Defining new web actions
2846 ------------------------
2848 You may define new actions to be triggered by the ``@action`` form variable.
2849 These are added to the tracker ``extensions`` directory and registered
2850 using ``instance.registerAction``.
2852 All the existing Actions are defined in ``roundup.cgi.actions``.
2854 Adding action classes takes three steps; first you `define the new
2855 action class`_, then you `register the action class`_ with the cgi
2856 interface so it may be triggered by the ``@action`` form variable.
2857 Finally you `use the new action`_ in your HTML form.
2859 See "`setting up a "wizard" (or "druid") for controlled adding of
2860 issues`_" for an example.
2863 Define the new action class
2864 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2866 Create a new action class in your tracker's ``extensions`` directory, for
2867 example ``myaction.py``::
2869 from roundup.cgi.actions import Action
2871 class MyAction(Action):
2872 def handle(self):
2873 ''' Perform some action. No return value is required.
2874 '''
2876 The *self.client* attribute is an instance of ``roundup.cgi.client.Client``.
2877 See the docstring of that class for details of what it can do.
2879 The method will typically check the ``self.form`` variable's contents.
2880 It may then:
2882 - add information to ``self.client.ok_message`` or ``self.client.error_message``
2883 - change the ``self.client.template`` variable to alter what the user will see
2884 next
2885 - raise Unauthorised, SendStaticFile, SendFile, NotFound or Redirect
2886 exceptions (import them from roundup.cgi.exceptions)
2889 Register the action class
2890 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2892 The class is now written, but isn't available to the user until you register
2893 it with the following code appended to your ``myaction.py`` file::
2895 def init(instance):
2896 instance.registerAction('myaction', myActionClass)
2898 This maps the action name "myaction" to the action class we defined.
2901 Use the new action
2902 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2904 In your HTML form, add a hidden form element like so::
2906 <input type="hidden" name="@action" value="myaction">
2908 where "myaction" is the name you registered in the previous step.
2910 Actions may return content to the user
2911 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2913 Actions generally perform some database manipulation and then pass control
2914 on to the rendering of a template in the current context (see `Determining
2915 web context`_ for how that works.) Some actions will want to generate the
2916 actual content returned to the user. Action methods may return their own
2917 content string to be displayed to the user, overriding the templating step.
2918 In this situation, we assume that the content is HTML by default. You may
2919 override the content type indicated to the user by calling ``setHeader``::
2921 self.client.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/csv')
2923 This example indicates that the value sent back to the user is actually
2924 comma-separated value content (eg. something to be loaded into a
2925 spreadsheet or database).
2928 8-bit character set support in Web interface
2929 --------------------------------------------
2931 The web interface uses UTF-8 default. It may be overridden in both forms
2932 and a browser cookie.
2934 - In forms, use the ``@charset`` variable.
2935 - To use the cookie override, have the ``roundup_charset`` cookie set.
2937 In both cases, the value is a valid charset name (eg. ``utf-8`` or
2938 ``kio8-r``).
2940 Inside Roundup, all strings are stored and processed in utf-8.
2941 Unfortunately, some older browsers do not work properly with
2942 utf-8-encoded pages (e.g. Netscape Navigator 4 displays wrong
2943 characters in form fields). This version allows one to change
2944 the character set for http transfers. To do so, you may add
2945 the following code to your ``page.html`` template::
2947 <tal:block define="uri string:${request/base}${request/env/PATH_INFO}">
2948 <a tal:attributes="href python:request.indexargs_url(uri,
2949 {'@charset':'utf-8'})">utf-8</a>
2950 <a tal:attributes="href python:request.indexargs_url(uri,
2951 {'@charset':'koi8-r'})">koi8-r</a>
2952 </tal:block>
2954 (substitute ``koi8-r`` with appropriate charset for your language).
2955 Charset preference is kept in the browser cookie ``roundup_charset``.
2957 ``meta http-equiv`` lines added to the tracker templates in version 0.6.0
2958 should be changed to include actual character set name::
2960 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
2961 tal:attributes="content string:text/html;; charset=${request/client/charset}"
2962 />
2964 The charset is also sent in the http header.
2967 Examples
2968 ========
2970 .. contents::
2971 :local:
2972 :depth: 2
2975 Changing what's stored in the database
2976 --------------------------------------
2978 The following examples illustrate ways to change the information stored in
2979 the database.
2982 Adding a new field to the classic schema
2983 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2985 This example shows how to add a simple field (a due date) to the default
2986 classic schema. It does not add any additional behaviour, such as enforcing
2987 the due date, or causing automatic actions to fire if the due date passes.
2989 You add new fields by editing the ``schema.py`` file in you tracker's home.
2990 Schema changes are automatically applied to the database on the next
2991 tracker access (note that roundup-server would need to be restarted as it
2992 caches the schema).
2994 1. Modify the ``schema.py``::
2996 issue = IssueClass(db, "issue",
2997 assignedto=Link("user"), keyword=Multilink("keyword"),
2998 priority=Link("priority"), status=Link("status"),
2999 due_date=Date())
3001 2. Add an edit field to the ``issue.item.html`` template::
3003 <tr>
3004 <th>Due Date</th>
3005 <td tal:content="structure context/due_date/field" />
3006 </tr>
3008 If you want to show only the date part of due_date then do this instead::
3010 <tr>
3011 <th>Due Date</th>
3012 <td tal:content="structure python:context.due_date.field(format='%Y-%m-%d')" />
3013 </tr>
3015 3. Add the property to the ``issue.index.html`` page::
3017 (in the heading row)
3018 <th tal:condition="request/show/due_date">Due Date</th>
3019 (in the data row)
3020 <td tal:condition="request/show/due_date"
3021 tal:content="i/due_date" />
3023 If you want format control of the display of the due date you can
3024 enter the following in the data row to show only the actual due date::
3026 <td tal:condition="request/show/due_date"
3027 tal:content="python:i.due_date.pretty('%Y-%m-%d')"> </td>
3029 4. Add the property to the ``issue.search.html`` page::
3031 <tr tal:define="name string:due_date">
3032 <th i18n:translate="">Due Date:</th>
3033 <td metal:use-macro="search_input"></td>
3034 <td metal:use-macro="column_input"></td>
3035 <td metal:use-macro="sort_input"></td>
3036 <td metal:use-macro="group_input"></td>
3037 </tr>
3039 5. If you wish for the due date to appear in the standard views listed
3040 in the sidebar of the web interface then you'll need to add "due_date"
3041 to the columns and columns_showall lists in your ``page.html``::
3043 columns string:id,activity,due_date,title,creator,status;
3044 columns_showall string:id,activity,due_date,title,creator,assignedto,status;
3046 Adding a new constrained field to the classic schema
3047 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3049 This example shows how to add a new constrained property (i.e. a
3050 selection of distinct values) to your tracker.
3053 Introduction
3054 ::::::::::::
3056 To make the classic schema of Roundup useful as a TODO tracking system
3057 for a group of systems administrators, it needs an extra data field per
3058 issue: a category.
3060 This would let sysadmins quickly list all TODOs in their particular area
3061 of interest without having to do complex queries, and without relying on
3062 the spelling capabilities of other sysadmins (a losing proposition at
3063 best).
3066 Adding a field to the database
3067 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
3069 This is the easiest part of the change. The category would just be a
3070 plain string, nothing fancy. To change what is in the database you need
3071 to add some lines to the ``schema.py`` file of your tracker instance.
3072 Under the comment::
3074 # add any additional database schema configuration here
3076 add::
3078 category = Class(db, "category", name=String())
3079 category.setkey("name")
3081 Here we are setting up a chunk of the database which we are calling
3082 "category". It contains a string, which we are refering to as "name" for
3083 lack of a more imaginative title. (Since "name" is one of the properties
3084 that Roundup looks for on items if you do not set a key for them, it's
3085 probably a good idea to stick with it for new classes if at all
3086 appropriate.) Then we are setting the key of this chunk of the database
3087 to be that "name". This is equivalent to an index for database types.
3088 This also means that there can only be one category with a given name.
3090 Adding the above lines allows us to create categories, but they're not
3091 tied to the issues that we are going to be creating. It's just a list of
3092 categories off on its own, which isn't much use. We need to link it in
3093 with the issues. To do that, find the lines
3094 in ``schema.py`` which set up the "issue" class, and then add a link to
3095 the category::
3097 issue = IssueClass(db, "issue", ... ,
3098 category=Multilink("category"), ... )
3100 The ``Multilink()`` means that each issue can have many categories. If
3101 you were adding something with a one-to-one relationship to issues (such
3102 as the "assignedto" property), use ``Link()`` instead.
3104 That is all you need to do to change the schema. The rest of the effort
3105 is fiddling around so you can actually use the new category.
3108 Populating the new category class
3109 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
3111 If you haven't initialised the database with the ``roundup-admin``
3112 "initialise" command, then you can add the following to the tracker
3113 ``initial_data.py`` under the comment::
3115 # add any additional database creation steps here - but only if you
3116 # haven't initialised the database with the admin "initialise" command
3118 Add::
3120 category = db.getclass('category')
3121 category.create(name="scipy")
3122 category.create(name="chaco")
3123 category.create(name="weave")
3125 If the database has already been initalised, then you need to use the
3126 ``roundup-admin`` tool::
3128 % roundup-admin -i <tracker home>
3129 Roundup <version> ready for input.
3130 Type "help" for help.
3131 roundup> create category name=scipy
3132 1
3133 roundup> create category name=chaco
3134 2
3135 roundup> create category name=weave
3136 3
3137 roundup> exit...
3138 There are unsaved changes. Commit them (y/N)? y
3141 Setting up security on the new objects
3142 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
3144 By default only the admin user can look at and change objects. This
3145 doesn't suit us, as we want any user to be able to create new categories
3146 as required, and obviously everyone needs to be able to view the
3147 categories of issues for it to be useful.
3149 We therefore need to change the security of the category objects. This
3150 is also done in ``schema.py``.
3152 There are currently two loops which set up permissions and then assign
3153 them to various roles. Simply add the new "category" to both lists::
3155 # Assign the access and edit permissions for issue, file and message
3156 # to regular users now
3157 for cl in 'issue', 'file', 'msg', 'category':
3158 p = db.security.getPermission('View', cl)
3159 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'View', cl)
3160 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'Edit', cl)
3161 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'Create', cl)
3163 These lines assign the "View" and "Edit" Permissions to the "User" role,
3164 so that normal users can view and edit "category" objects.
3166 This is all the work that needs to be done for the database. It will
3167 store categories, and let users view and edit them. Now on to the
3168 interface stuff.
3171 Changing the web left hand frame
3172 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
3174 We need to give the users the ability to create new categories, and the
3175 place to put the link to this functionality is in the left hand function
3176 bar, under the "Issues" area. The file that defines how this area looks
3177 is ``html/page.html``, which is what we are going to be editing next.
3179 If you look at this file you can see that it contains a lot of
3180 "classblock" sections which are chunks of HTML that will be included or
3181 excluded in the output depending on whether the condition in the
3182 classblock is met. We are going to add the category code at the end of
3183 the classblock for the *issue* class::
3185 <p class="classblock"
3186 tal:condition="python:request.user.hasPermission('View', 'category')">
3187 <b>Categories</b><br>
3188 <a tal:condition="python:request.user.hasPermission('Edit', 'category')"
3189 href="category?@template=item">New Category<br></a>
3190 </p>
3192 The first two lines is the classblock definition, which sets up a
3193 condition that only users who have "View" permission for the "category"
3194 object will have this section included in their output. Next comes a
3195 plain "Categories" header in bold. Everyone who can view categories will
3196 get that.
3198 Next comes the link to the editing area of categories. This link will
3199 only appear if the condition - that the user has "Edit" permissions for
3200 the "category" objects - is matched. If they do have permission then
3201 they will get a link to another page which will let the user add new
3202 categories.
3204 Note that if you have permission to *view* but not to *edit* categories,
3205 then all you will see is a "Categories" header with nothing underneath
3206 it. This is obviously not very good interface design, but will do for
3207 now. I just claim that it is so I can add more links in this section
3208 later on. However, to fix the problem you could change the condition in
3209 the classblock statement, so that only users with "Edit" permission
3210 would see the "Categories" stuff.
3213 Setting up a page to edit categories
3214 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
3216 We defined code in the previous section which let users with the
3217 appropriate permissions see a link to a page which would let them edit
3218 conditions. Now we have to write that page.
3220 The link was for the *item* template of the *category* object. This
3221 translates into Roundup looking for a file called ``category.item.html``
3222 in the ``html`` tracker directory. This is the file that we are going to
3223 write now.
3225 First, we add an info tag in a comment which doesn't affect the outcome
3226 of the code at all, but is useful for debugging. If you load a page in a
3227 browser and look at the page source, you can see which sections come
3228 from which files by looking for these comments::
3230 <!-- category.item -->
3232 Next we need to add in the METAL macro stuff so we get the normal page
3233 trappings::
3235 <tal:block metal:use-macro="templates/page/macros/icing">
3236 <title metal:fill-slot="head_title">Category editing</title>
3237 <td class="page-header-top" metal:fill-slot="body_title">
3238 <h2>Category editing</h2>
3239 </td>
3240 <td class="content" metal:fill-slot="content">
3242 Next we need to setup up a standard HTML form, which is the whole
3243 purpose of this file. We link to some handy javascript which sends the
3244 form through only once. This is to stop users hitting the send button
3245 multiple times when they are impatient and thus having the form sent
3246 multiple times::
3248 <form method="POST" onSubmit="return submit_once()"
3249 enctype="multipart/form-data">
3251 Next we define some code which sets up the minimum list of fields that
3252 we require the user to enter. There will be only one field - "name" - so
3253 they better put something in it, otherwise the whole form is pointless::
3255 <input type="hidden" name="@required" value="name">
3257 To get everything to line up properly we will put everything in a table,
3258 and put a nice big header on it so the user has an idea what is
3259 happening::
3261 <table class="form">
3262 <tr><th class="header" colspan="2">Category</th></tr>
3264 Next, we need the field into which the user is going to enter the new
3265 category. The ``context.name.field(size=60)`` bit tells Roundup to
3266 generate a normal HTML field of size 60, and the contents of that field
3267 will be the "name" variable of the current context (namely "category").
3268 The upshot of this is that when the user types something in
3269 to the form, a new category will be created with that name::
3271 <tr>
3272 <th>Name</th>
3273 <td tal:content="structure python:context.name.field(size=60)">
3274 name</td>
3275 </tr>
3277 Then a submit button so that the user can submit the new category::
3279 <tr>
3280 <td> </td>
3281 <td colspan="3" tal:content="structure context/submit">
3282 submit button will go here
3283 </td>
3284 </tr>
3286 Finally we finish off the tags we used at the start to do the METAL
3287 stuff::
3289 </td>
3290 </tal:block>
3292 So putting it all together, and closing the table and form we get::
3294 <!-- category.item -->
3295 <tal:block metal:use-macro="templates/page/macros/icing">
3296 <title metal:fill-slot="head_title">Category editing</title>
3297 <td class="page-header-top" metal:fill-slot="body_title">
3298 <h2>Category editing</h2>
3299 </td>
3300 <td class="content" metal:fill-slot="content">
3301 <form method="POST" onSubmit="return submit_once()"
3302 enctype="multipart/form-data">
3304 <table class="form">
3305 <tr><th class="header" colspan="2">Category</th></tr>
3307 <tr>
3308 <th>Name</th>
3309 <td tal:content="structure python:context.name.field(size=60)">
3310 name</td>
3311 </tr>
3313 <tr>
3314 <td>
3315
3316 <input type="hidden" name="@required" value="name">
3317 </td>
3318 <td colspan="3" tal:content="structure context/submit">
3319 submit button will go here
3320 </td>
3321 </tr>
3322 </table>
3323 </form>
3324 </td>
3325 </tal:block>
3327 This is quite a lot to just ask the user one simple question, but there
3328 is a lot of setup for basically one line (the form line) to do its work.
3329 To add another field to "category" would involve one more line (well,
3330 maybe a few extra to get the formatting correct).
3333 Adding the category to the issue
3334 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
3336 We now have the ability to create issues to our heart's content, but
3337 that is pointless unless we can assign categories to issues. Just like
3338 the ``html/category.item.html`` file was used to define how to add a new
3339 category, the ``html/issue.item.html`` is used to define how a new issue
3340 is created.
3342 Just like ``category.issue.html``, this file defines a form which has a
3343 table to lay things out. It doesn't matter where in the table we add new
3344 stuff, it is entirely up to your sense of aesthetics::
3346 <th>Category</th>
3347 <td>
3348 <span tal:replace="structure context/category/field" />
3349 <span tal:replace="structure python:db.category.classhelp('name',
3350 property='category', width='200')" />
3351 </td>
3353 First, we define a nice header so that the user knows what the next
3354 section is, then the middle line does what we are most interested in.
3355 This ``context/category/field`` gets replaced by a field which contains
3356 the category in the current context (the current context being the new
3357 issue).
3359 The classhelp lines generate a link (labelled "list") to a popup window
3360 which contains the list of currently known categories.
3363 Searching on categories
3364 :::::::::::::::::::::::
3366 Now we can add categories, and create issues with categories. The next
3367 obvious thing that we would like to be able to do, would be to search
3368 for issues based on their category, so that, for example, anyone working
3369 on the web server could look at all issues in the category "Web".
3371 If you look for "Search Issues" in the ``html/page.html`` file, you will
3372 find that it looks something like
3373 ``<a href="issue?@template=search">Search Issues</a>``. This shows us
3374 that when you click on "Search Issues" it will be looking for a
3375 ``issue.search.html`` file to display. So that is the file that we will
3376 change.
3378 If you look at this file it should begin to seem familiar, although it
3379 does use some new macros. You can add the new category search code anywhere you
3380 like within that form::
3382 <tr tal:define="name string:category;
3383 db_klass string:category;
3384 db_content string:name;">
3385 <th>Priority:</th>
3386 <td metal:use-macro="search_select"></td>
3387 <td metal:use-macro="column_input"></td>
3388 <td metal:use-macro="sort_input"></td>
3389 <td metal:use-macro="group_input"></td>
3390 </tr>
3392 The definitions in the ``<tr>`` opening tag are used by the macros:
3394 - ``search_select`` expands to a drop-down box with all categories using
3395 ``db_klass`` and ``db_content``.
3396 - ``column_input`` expands to a checkbox for selecting what columns
3397 should be displayed.
3398 - ``sort_input`` expands to a radio button for selecting what property
3399 should be sorted on.
3400 - ``group_input`` expands to a radio button for selecting what property
3401 should be grouped on.
3403 The category search code above would expand to the following::
3405 <tr>
3406 <th>Category:</th>
3407 <td>
3408 <select name="category">
3409 <option value="">don't care</option>
3410 <option value="">------------</option>
3411 <option value="1">scipy</option>
3412 <option value="2">chaco</option>
3413 <option value="3">weave</option>
3414 </select>
3415 </td>
3416 <td><input type="checkbox" name=":columns" value="category"></td>
3417 <td><input type="radio" name=":sort0" value="category"></td>
3418 <td><input type="radio" name=":group0" value="category"></td>
3419 </tr>
3421 Adding category to the default view
3422 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
3424 We can now add categories, add issues with categories, and search for
3425 issues based on categories. This is everything that we need to do;
3426 however, there is some more icing that we would like. I think the
3427 category of an issue is important enough that it should be displayed by
3428 default when listing all the issues.
3430 Unfortunately, this is a bit less obvious than the previous steps. The
3431 code defining how the issues look is in ``html/issue.index.html``. This
3432 is a large table with a form down at the bottom for redisplaying and so
3433 forth.
3435 Firstly we need to add an appropriate header to the start of the table::
3437 <th tal:condition="request/show/category">Category</th>
3439 The *condition* part of this statement is to avoid displaying the
3440 Category column if the user has selected not to see it.
3442 The rest of the table is a loop which will go through every issue that
3443 matches the display criteria. The loop variable is "i" - which means
3444 that every issue gets assigned to "i" in turn.
3446 The new part of code to display the category will look like this::
3448 <td tal:condition="request/show/category"
3449 tal:content="i/category"></td>
3451 The condition is the same as above: only display the condition when the
3452 user hasn't asked for it to be hidden. The next part is to set the
3453 content of the cell to be the category part of "i" - the current issue.
3455 Finally we have to edit ``html/page.html`` again. This time, we need to
3456 tell it that when the user clicks on "Unassigned Issues" or "All Issues",
3457 the category column should be included in the resulting list. If you
3458 scroll down the page file, you can see the links with lots of options.
3459 The option that we are interested in is the ``:columns=`` one which
3460 tells roundup which fields of the issue to display. Simply add
3461 "category" to that list and it all should work.
3463 Adding a time log to your issues
3464 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3466 We want to log the dates and amount of time spent working on issues, and
3467 be able to give a summary of the total time spent on a particular issue.
3469 1. Add a new class to your tracker ``schema.py``::
3471 # storage for time logging
3472 timelog = Class(db, "timelog", period=Interval())
3474 Note that we automatically get the date of the time log entry
3475 creation through the standard property "creation".
3477 You will need to grant "Creation" permission to the users who are
3478 allowed to add timelog entries. You may do this with::
3480 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'Create', 'timelog')
3481 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'View', 'timelog')
3483 If users are also able to *edit* timelog entries, then also include::
3485 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'Edit', 'timelog')
3487 2. Link to the new class from your issue class (again, in
3488 ``schema.py``)::
3490 issue = IssueClass(db, "issue",
3491 assignedto=Link("user"), keyword=Multilink("keyword"),
3492 priority=Link("priority"), status=Link("status"),
3493 times=Multilink("timelog"))
3495 the "times" property is the new link to the "timelog" class.
3497 3. We'll need to let people add in times to the issue, so in the web
3498 interface we'll have a new entry field. This is a special field
3499 because unlike the other fields in the ``issue.item`` template, it
3500 affects a different item (a timelog item) and not the template's
3501 item (an issue). We have a special syntax for form fields that affect
3502 items other than the template default item (see the cgi
3503 documentation on `special form variables`_). In particular, we add a
3504 field to capture a new timelog item's period::
3506 <tr>
3507 <th>Time Log</th>
3508 <td colspan=3><input type="text" name="timelog-1@period" />
3509 (enter as '3y 1m 4d 2:40:02' or parts thereof)
3510 </td>
3511 </tr>
3513 and another hidden field that links that new timelog item (new
3514 because it's marked as having id "-1") to the issue item. It looks
3515 like this::
3517 <input type="hidden" name="@link@times" value="timelog-1" />
3519 On submission, the "-1" timelog item will be created and assigned a
3520 real item id. The "times" property of the issue will have the new id
3521 added to it.
3523 The full entry will now look like this::
3525 <tr>
3526 <th>Time Log</th>
3527 <td colspan=3><input type="text" name="timelog-1@period" />
3528 (enter as '3y 1m 4d 2:40:02' or parts thereof)
3529 <input type="hidden" name="@link@times" value="timelog-1" />
3530 </td>
3531 </tr>
3534 4. We want to display a total of the timelog times that have been
3535 accumulated for an issue. To do this, we'll need to actually write
3536 some Python code, since it's beyond the scope of PageTemplates to
3537 perform such calculations. We do this by adding a module ``timespent.py``
3538 to the ``extensions`` directory in our tracker. The contents of this
3539 file is as follows::
3541 from roundup import date
3543 def totalTimeSpent(times):
3544 ''' Call me with a list of timelog items (which have an
3545 Interval "period" property)
3546 '''
3547 total = date.Interval('0d')
3548 for time in times:
3549 total += time.period._value
3550 return total
3552 def init(instance):
3553 instance.registerUtil('totalTimeSpent', totalTimeSpent)
3555 We will now be able to access the ``totalTimeSpent`` function via the
3556 ``utils`` variable in our templates, as shown in the next step.
3558 5. Display the timelog for an issue::
3560 <table class="otherinfo" tal:condition="context/times">
3561 <tr><th colspan="3" class="header">Time Log
3562 <tal:block
3563 tal:replace="python:utils.totalTimeSpent(context.times)" />
3564 </th></tr>
3565 <tr><th>Date</th><th>Period</th><th>Logged By</th></tr>
3566 <tr tal:repeat="time context/times">
3567 <td tal:content="time/creation"></td>
3568 <td tal:content="time/period"></td>
3569 <td tal:content="time/creator"></td>
3570 </tr>
3571 </table>
3573 I put this just above the Messages log in my issue display. Note our
3574 use of the ``totalTimeSpent`` method which will total up the times
3575 for the issue and return a new Interval. That will be automatically
3576 displayed in the template as text like "+ 1y 2:40" (1 year, 2 hours
3577 and 40 minutes).
3579 6. If you're using a persistent web server - ``roundup-server`` or
3580 ``mod_python`` for example - then you'll need to restart that to pick up
3581 the code changes. When that's done, you'll be able to use the new
3582 time logging interface.
3584 An extension of this modification attaches the timelog entries to any
3585 change message entered at the time of the timelog entry:
3587 A. Add a link to the timelog to the msg class in ``schema.py``:
3589 msg = FileClass(db, "msg",
3590 author=Link("user", do_journal='no'),
3591 recipients=Multilink("user", do_journal='no'),
3592 date=Date(),
3593 summary=String(),
3594 files=Multilink("file"),
3595 messageid=String(),
3596 inreplyto=String(),
3597 times=Multilink("timelog"))
3599 B. Add a new hidden field that links that new timelog item (new
3600 because it's marked as having id "-1") to the new message.
3601 The link is placed in ``issue.item.html`` in the same section that
3602 handles the timelog entry.
3604 It looks like this after this addition::
3606 <tr>
3607 <th>Time Log</th>
3608 <td colspan=3><input type="text" name="timelog-1@period" />
3609 (enter as '3y 1m 4d 2:40:02' or parts thereof)
3610 <input type="hidden" name="@link@times" value="timelog-1" />
3611 <input type="hidden" name="msg-1@link@times" value="timelog-1" />
3612 </td>
3613 </tr>
3615 The "times" property of the message will have the new id added to it.
3617 C. Add the timelog listing from step 5. to the ``msg.item.html`` template
3618 so that the timelog entry appears on the message view page. Note that
3619 the call to totalTimeSpent is not used here since there will only be one
3620 single timelog entry for each message.
3622 I placed it after the Date entry like this::
3624 <tr>
3625 <th i18n:translate="">Date:</th>
3626 <td tal:content="context/date"></td>
3627 </tr>
3628 </table>
3630 <table class="otherinfo" tal:condition="context/times">
3631 <tr><th colspan="3" class="header">Time Log</th></tr>
3632 <tr><th>Date</th><th>Period</th><th>Logged By</th></tr>
3633 <tr tal:repeat="time context/times">
3634 <td tal:content="time/creation"></td>
3635 <td tal:content="time/period"></td>
3636 <td tal:content="time/creator"></td>
3637 </tr>
3638 </table>
3640 <table class="messages">
3643 Tracking different types of issues
3644 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3646 Sometimes you will want to track different types of issues - developer,
3647 customer support, systems, sales leads, etc. A single Roundup tracker is
3648 able to support multiple types of issues. This example demonstrates adding
3649 a system support issue class to a tracker.
3651 1. Figure out what information you're going to want to capture. OK, so
3652 this is obvious, but sometimes it's better to actually sit down for a
3653 while and think about the schema you're going to implement.
3655 2. Add the new issue class to your tracker's ``schema.py``. Just after the
3656 "issue" class definition, add::
3658 # list our systems
3659 system = Class(db, "system", name=String(), order=Number())
3660 system.setkey("name")
3662 # store issues related to those systems
3663 support = IssueClass(db, "support",
3664 assignedto=Link("user"), keyword=Multilink("keyword"),
3665 status=Link("status"), deadline=Date(),
3666 affects=Multilink("system"))
3668 3. Copy the existing ``issue.*`` (item, search and index) templates in the
3669 tracker's ``html`` to ``support.*``. Edit them so they use the properties
3670 defined in the ``support`` class. Be sure to check for hidden form
3671 variables like "required" to make sure they have the correct set of
3672 required properties.
3674 4. Edit the modules in the ``detectors``, adding lines to their ``init``
3675 functions where appropriate. Look for ``audit`` and ``react`` registrations
3676 on the ``issue`` class, and duplicate them for ``support``.
3678 5. Create a new sidebar box for the new support class. Duplicate the
3679 existing issues one, changing the ``issue`` class name to ``support``.
3681 6. Re-start your tracker and start using the new ``support`` class.
3684 Optionally, you might want to restrict the users able to access this new
3685 class to just the users with a new "SysAdmin" Role. To do this, we add
3686 some security declarations::
3688 db.security.addPermissionToRole('SysAdmin', 'View', 'support')
3689 db.security.addPermissionToRole('SysAdmin', 'Create', 'support')
3690 db.security.addPermissionToRole('SysAdmin', 'Edit', 'support')
3692 You would then (as an "admin" user) edit the details of the appropriate
3693 users, and add "SysAdmin" to their Roles list.
3695 Alternatively, you might want to change the Edit/View permissions granted
3696 for the ``issue`` class so that it's only available to users with the "System"
3697 or "Developer" Role, and then the new class you're adding is available to
3698 all with the "User" Role.
3701 Using External User Databases
3702 -----------------------------
3704 Using an external password validation source
3705 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3707 .. note:: You will need to either have an "admin" user in your external
3708 password source *or* have one of your regular users have
3709 the Admin Role assigned. If you need to assign the Role *after*
3710 making the changes below, you may use the ``roundup-admin``
3711 program to edit a user's details.
3713 We have a centrally-managed password changing system for our users. This
3714 results in a UN*X passwd-style file that we use for verification of
3715 users. Entries in the file consist of ``name:password`` where the
3716 password is encrypted using the standard UN*X ``crypt()`` function (see
3717 the ``crypt`` module in your Python distribution). An example entry
3718 would be::
3720 admin:aamrgyQfDFSHw
3722 Each user of Roundup must still have their information stored in the Roundup
3723 database - we just use the passwd file to check their password. To do this, we
3724 need to override the standard ``verifyPassword`` method defined in
3725 ``roundup.cgi.actions.LoginAction`` and register the new class. The
3726 following is added as ``externalpassword.py`` in the tracker ``extensions``
3727 directory::
3729 import os, crypt
3730 from roundup.cgi.actions import LoginAction
3732 class ExternalPasswordLoginAction(LoginAction):
3733 def verifyPassword(self, userid, password):
3734 '''Look through the file, line by line, looking for a
3735 name that matches.
3736 '''
3737 # get the user's username
3738 username = self.db.user.get(userid, 'username')
3740 # the passwords are stored in the "passwd.txt" file in the
3741 # tracker home
3742 file = os.path.join(self.db.config.TRACKER_HOME, 'passwd.txt')
3744 # see if we can find a match
3745 for ent in [line.strip().split(':') for line in
3746 open(file).readlines()]:
3747 if ent[0] == username:
3748 return crypt.crypt(password, ent[1][:2]) == ent[1]
3750 # user doesn't exist in the file
3751 return 0
3753 def init(instance):
3754 instance.registerAction('login', ExternalPasswordLoginAction)
3756 You should also remove the redundant password fields from the ``user.item``
3757 template.
3760 Using a UN*X passwd file as the user database
3761 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3763 On some systems the primary store of users is the UN*X passwd file. It
3764 holds information on users such as their username, real name, password
3765 and primary user group.
3767 Roundup can use this store as its primary source of user information,
3768 but it needs additional information too - email address(es), roundup
3769 Roles, vacation flags, roundup hyperdb item ids, etc. Also, "retired"
3770 users must still exist in the user database, unlike some passwd files in
3771 which the users are removed when they no longer have access to a system.
3773 To make use of the passwd file, we therefore synchronise between the two
3774 user stores. We also use the passwd file to validate the user logins, as
3775 described in the previous example, `using an external password
3776 validation source`_. We keep the user lists in sync using a fairly
3777 simple script that runs once a day, or several times an hour if more
3778 immediate access is needed. In short, it:
3780 1. parses the passwd file, finding usernames, passwords and real names,
3781 2. compares that list to the current roundup user list:
3783 a. entries no longer in the passwd file are *retired*
3784 b. entries with mismatching real names are *updated*
3785 c. entries only exist in the passwd file are *created*
3787 3. send an email to administrators to let them know what's been done.
3789 The retiring and updating are simple operations, requiring only a call
3790 to ``retire()`` or ``set()``. The creation operation requires more
3791 information though - the user's email address and their Roundup Roles.
3792 We're going to assume that the user's email address is the same as their
3793 login name, so we just append the domain name to that. The Roles are
3794 determined using the passwd group identifier - mapping their UN*X group
3795 to an appropriate set of Roles.
3797 The script to perform all this, broken up into its main components, is
3798 as follows. Firstly, we import the necessary modules and open the
3799 tracker we're to work on::
3801 import sys, os, smtplib
3802 from roundup import instance, date
3804 # open the tracker
3805 tracker_home = sys.argv[1]
3806 tracker = instance.open(tracker_home)
3808 Next we read in the *passwd* file from the tracker home::
3810 # read in the users from the "passwd.txt" file
3811 file = os.path.join(tracker_home, 'passwd.txt')
3812 users = [x.strip().split(':') for x in open(file).readlines()]
3814 Handle special users (those to ignore in the file, and those who don't
3815 appear in the file)::
3817 # users to not keep ever, pre-load with the users I know aren't
3818 # "real" users
3819 ignore = ['ekmmon', 'bfast', 'csrmail']
3821 # users to keep - pre-load with the roundup-specific users
3822 keep = ['comment_pool', 'network_pool', 'admin', 'dev-team',
3823 'cs_pool', 'anonymous', 'system_pool', 'automated']
3825 Now we map the UN*X group numbers to the Roles that users should have::
3827 roles = {
3828 '501': 'User,Tech', # tech
3829 '502': 'User', # finance
3830 '503': 'User,CSR', # customer service reps
3831 '504': 'User', # sales
3832 '505': 'User', # marketing
3833 }
3835 Now we do all the work. Note that the body of the script (where we have
3836 the tracker database open) is wrapped in a ``try`` / ``finally`` clause,
3837 so that we always close the database cleanly when we're finished. So, we
3838 now do all the work::
3840 # open the database
3841 db = tracker.open('admin')
3842 try:
3843 # store away messages to send to the tracker admins
3844 msg = []
3846 # loop over the users list read in from the passwd file
3847 for user,passw,uid,gid,real,home,shell in users:
3848 if user in ignore:
3849 # this user shouldn't appear in our tracker
3850 continue
3851 keep.append(user)
3852 try:
3853 # see if the user exists in the tracker
3854 uid = db.user.lookup(user)
3856 # yes, they do - now check the real name for correctness
3857 if real != db.user.get(uid, 'realname'):
3858 db.user.set(uid, realname=real)
3859 msg.append('FIX %s - %s'%(user, real))
3860 except KeyError:
3861 # nope, the user doesn't exist
3862 db.user.create(username=user, realname=real,
3863 address='%s@ekit-inc.com'%user, roles=roles[gid])
3864 msg.append('ADD %s - %s (%s)'%(user, real, roles[gid]))
3866 # now check that all the users in the tracker are also in our
3867 # "keep" list - retire those who aren't
3868 for uid in db.user.list():
3869 user = db.user.get(uid, 'username')
3870 if user not in keep:
3871 db.user.retire(uid)
3872 msg.append('RET %s'%user)
3874 # if we did work, then send email to the tracker admins
3875 if msg:
3876 # create the email
3877 msg = '''Subject: %s user database maintenance
3879 %s
3880 '''%(db.config.TRACKER_NAME, '\n'.join(msg))
3882 # send the email
3883 smtp = smtplib.SMTP(db.config.MAILHOST)
3884 addr = db.config.ADMIN_EMAIL
3885 smtp.sendmail(addr, addr, msg)
3887 # now we're done - commit the changes
3888 db.commit()
3889 finally:
3890 # always close the database cleanly
3891 db.close()
3893 And that's it!
3896 Using an LDAP database for user information
3897 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3899 A script that reads users from an LDAP store using
3900 http://python-ldap.sf.net/ and then compares the list to the users in the
3901 roundup user database would be pretty easy to write. You'd then have it run
3902 once an hour / day (or on demand if you can work that into your LDAP store
3903 workflow). See the example `Using a UN*X passwd file as the user database`_
3904 for more information about doing this.
3906 To authenticate off the LDAP store (rather than using the passwords in the
3907 Roundup user database) you'd use the same python-ldap module inside an
3908 extension to the cgi interface. You'd do this by overriding the method called
3909 ``verifyPassword`` on the ``LoginAction`` class in your tracker's
3910 ``extensions`` directory (see `using an external password validation
3911 source`_). The method is implemented by default as::
3913 def verifyPassword(self, userid, password):
3914 ''' Verify the password that the user has supplied
3915 '''
3916 stored = self.db.user.get(self.userid, 'password')
3917 if password == stored:
3918 return 1
3919 if not password and not stored:
3920 return 1
3921 return 0
3923 So you could reimplement this as something like::
3925 def verifyPassword(self, userid, password):
3926 ''' Verify the password that the user has supplied
3927 '''
3928 # look up some unique LDAP information about the user
3929 username = self.db.user.get(self.userid, 'username')
3930 # now verify the password supplied against the LDAP store
3933 Changes to Tracker Behaviour
3934 ----------------------------
3936 Preventing SPAM
3937 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3939 The following detector code may be installed in your tracker's
3940 ``detectors`` directory. It will block any messages being created that
3941 have HTML attachments (a very common vector for spam and phishing)
3942 and any messages that have more than 2 HTTP URLs in them. Just copy
3943 the following into ``detectors/anti_spam.py`` in your tracker::
3945 from roundup.exceptions import Reject
3947 def reject_html(db, cl, nodeid, newvalues):
3948 if newvalues['type'] == 'text/html':
3949 raise Reject, 'not allowed'
3951 def reject_manylinks(db, cl, nodeid, newvalues):
3952 content = newvalues['content']
3953 if content.count('http://') > 2:
3954 raise Reject, 'not allowed'
3956 def init(db):
3957 db.file.audit('create', reject_html)
3958 db.msg.audit('create', reject_manylinks)
3960 You may also wish to block image attachments if your tracker does not
3961 need that ability::
3963 if newvalues['type'].startswith('image/'):
3964 raise Reject, 'not allowed'
3967 Stop "nosy" messages going to people on vacation
3968 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3970 When users go on vacation and set up vacation email bouncing, you'll
3971 start to see a lot of messages come back through Roundup "Fred is on
3972 vacation". Not very useful, and relatively easy to stop.
3974 1. add a "vacation" flag to your users::
3976 user = Class(db, "user",
3977 username=String(), password=Password(),
3978 address=String(), realname=String(),
3979 phone=String(), organisation=String(),
3980 alternate_addresses=String(),
3981 roles=String(), queries=Multilink("query"),
3982 vacation=Boolean())
3984 2. So that users may edit the vacation flags, add something like the
3985 following to your ``user.item`` template::
3987 <tr>
3988 <th>On Vacation</th>
3989 <td tal:content="structure context/vacation/field">vacation</td>
3990 </tr>
3992 3. edit your detector ``nosyreactor.py`` so that the ``nosyreaction()``
3993 consists of::
3995 def nosyreaction(db, cl, nodeid, oldvalues):
3996 users = db.user
3997 messages = db.msg
3998 # send a copy of all new messages to the nosy list
3999 for msgid in determineNewMessages(cl, nodeid, oldvalues):
4000 try:
4001 # figure the recipient ids
4002 sendto = []
4003 seen_message = {}
4004 recipients = messages.get(msgid, 'recipients')
4005 for recipid in messages.get(msgid, 'recipients'):
4006 seen_message[recipid] = 1
4008 # figure the author's id, and indicate they've received
4009 # the message
4010 authid = messages.get(msgid, 'author')
4012 # possibly send the message to the author, as long as
4013 # they aren't anonymous
4014 if (db.config.MESSAGES_TO_AUTHOR == 'yes' and
4015 users.get(authid, 'username') != 'anonymous'):
4016 sendto.append(authid)
4017 seen_message[authid] = 1
4019 # now figure the nosy people who weren't recipients
4020 nosy = cl.get(nodeid, 'nosy')
4021 for nosyid in nosy:
4022 # Don't send nosy mail to the anonymous user (that
4023 # user shouldn't appear in the nosy list, but just
4024 # in case they do...)
4025 if users.get(nosyid, 'username') == 'anonymous':
4026 continue
4027 # make sure they haven't seen the message already
4028 if not seen_message.has_key(nosyid):
4029 # send it to them
4030 sendto.append(nosyid)
4031 recipients.append(nosyid)
4033 # generate a change note
4034 if oldvalues:
4035 note = cl.generateChangeNote(nodeid, oldvalues)
4036 else:
4037 note = cl.generateCreateNote(nodeid)
4039 # we have new recipients
4040 if sendto:
4041 # filter out the people on vacation
4042 sendto = [i for i in sendto
4043 if not users.get(i, 'vacation', 0)]
4045 # map userids to addresses
4046 sendto = [users.get(i, 'address') for i in sendto]
4048 # update the message's recipients list
4049 messages.set(msgid, recipients=recipients)
4051 # send the message
4052 cl.send_message(nodeid, msgid, note, sendto)
4053 except roundupdb.MessageSendError, message:
4054 raise roundupdb.DetectorError, message
4056 Note that this is the standard nosy reaction code, with the small
4057 addition of::
4059 # filter out the people on vacation
4060 sendto = [i for i in sendto if not users.get(i, 'vacation', 0)]
4062 which filters out the users that have the vacation flag set to true.
4064 Adding in state transition control
4065 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4067 Sometimes tracker admins want to control the states to which users may
4068 move issues. You can do this by following these steps:
4070 1. make "status" a required variable. This is achieved by adding the
4071 following to the top of the form in the ``issue.item.html``
4072 template::
4074 <input type="hidden" name="@required" value="status">
4076 This will force users to select a status.
4078 2. add a Multilink property to the status class::
4080 stat = Class(db, "status", ... , transitions=Multilink('status'),
4081 ...)
4083 and then edit the statuses already created, either:
4085 a. through the web using the class list -> status class editor, or
4086 b. using the ``roundup-admin`` "set" command.
4088 3. add an auditor module ``checktransition.py`` in your tracker's
4089 ``detectors`` directory, for example::
4091 def checktransition(db, cl, nodeid, newvalues):
4092 ''' Check that the desired transition is valid for the "status"
4093 property.
4094 '''
4095 if not newvalues.has_key('status'):
4096 return
4097 current = cl.get(nodeid, 'status')
4098 new = newvalues['status']
4099 if new == current:
4100 return
4101 ok = db.status.get(current, 'transitions')
4102 if new not in ok:
4103 raise ValueError, 'Status not allowed to move from "%s" to "%s"'%(
4104 db.status.get(current, 'name'), db.status.get(new, 'name'))
4106 def init(db):
4107 db.issue.audit('set', checktransition)
4109 4. in the ``issue.item.html`` template, change the status editing bit
4110 from::
4112 <th>Status</th>
4113 <td tal:content="structure context/status/menu">status</td>
4115 to::
4117 <th>Status</th>
4118 <td>
4119 <select tal:condition="context/id" name="status">
4120 <tal:block tal:define="ok context/status/transitions"
4121 tal:repeat="state db/status/list">
4122 <option tal:condition="python:state.id in ok"
4123 tal:attributes="
4124 value state/id;
4125 selected python:state.id == context.status.id"
4126 tal:content="state/name"></option>
4127 </tal:block>
4128 </select>
4129 <tal:block tal:condition="not:context/id"
4130 tal:replace="structure context/status/menu" />
4131 </td>
4133 which displays only the allowed status to transition to.
4136 Blocking issues that depend on other issues
4137 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4139 We needed the ability to mark certain issues as "blockers" - that is,
4140 they can't be resolved until another issue (the blocker) they rely on is
4141 resolved. To achieve this:
4143 1. Create a new property on the ``issue`` class:
4144 ``blockers=Multilink("issue")``. To do this, edit the definition of
4145 this class in your tracker's ``schema.py`` file. Change this::
4147 issue = IssueClass(db, "issue",
4148 assignedto=Link("user"), keyword=Multilink("keyword"),
4149 priority=Link("priority"), status=Link("status"))
4151 to this, adding the blockers entry::
4153 issue = IssueClass(db, "issue",
4154 blockers=Multilink("issue"),
4155 assignedto=Link("user"), keyword=Multilink("keyword"),
4156 priority=Link("priority"), status=Link("status"))
4158 2. Add the new ``blockers`` property to the ``issue.item.html`` edit
4159 page, using something like::
4161 <th>Waiting On</th>
4162 <td>
4163 <span tal:replace="structure python:context.blockers.field(showid=1,
4164 size=20)" />
4165 <span tal:replace="structure python:db.issue.classhelp('id,title',
4166 property='blockers')" />
4167 <span tal:condition="context/blockers"
4168 tal:repeat="blk context/blockers">
4169 <br>View: <a tal:attributes="href string:issue${blk/id}"
4170 tal:content="blk/id"></a>
4171 </span>
4172 </td>
4174 You'll need to fiddle with your item page layout to find an
4175 appropriate place to put it - I'll leave that fun part up to you.
4176 Just make sure it appears in the first table, possibly somewhere near
4177 the "superseders" field.
4179 3. Create a new detector module (see below) which enforces the rules:
4181 - issues may not be resolved if they have blockers
4182 - when a blocker is resolved, it's removed from issues it blocks
4184 The contents of the detector should be something like this::
4187 def blockresolution(db, cl, nodeid, newvalues):
4188 ''' If the issue has blockers, don't allow it to be resolved.
4189 '''
4190 if nodeid is None:
4191 blockers = []
4192 else:
4193 blockers = cl.get(nodeid, 'blockers')
4194 blockers = newvalues.get('blockers', blockers)
4196 # don't do anything if there's no blockers or the status hasn't
4197 # changed
4198 if not blockers or not newvalues.has_key('status'):
4199 return
4201 # get the resolved state ID
4202 resolved_id = db.status.lookup('resolved')
4204 # format the info
4205 u = db.config.TRACKER_WEB
4206 s = ', '.join(['<a href="%sissue%s">%s</a>'%(
4207 u,id,id) for id in blockers])
4208 if len(blockers) == 1:
4209 s = 'issue %s is'%s
4210 else:
4211 s = 'issues %s are'%s
4213 # ok, see if we're trying to resolve
4214 if newvalues['status'] == resolved_id:
4215 raise ValueError, "This issue can't be resolved until %s resolved."%s
4218 def resolveblockers(db, cl, nodeid, oldvalues):
4219 ''' When we resolve an issue that's a blocker, remove it from the
4220 blockers list of the issue(s) it blocks.
4221 '''
4222 newstatus = cl.get(nodeid,'status')
4224 # no change?
4225 if oldvalues.get('status', None) == newstatus:
4226 return
4228 resolved_id = db.status.lookup('resolved')
4230 # interesting?
4231 if newstatus != resolved_id:
4232 return
4234 # yes - find all the blocked issues, if any, and remove me from
4235 # their blockers list
4236 issues = cl.find(blockers=nodeid)
4237 for issueid in issues:
4238 blockers = cl.get(issueid, 'blockers')
4239 if nodeid in blockers:
4240 blockers.remove(nodeid)
4241 cl.set(issueid, blockers=blockers)
4243 def init(db):
4244 # might, in an obscure situation, happen in a create
4245 db.issue.audit('create', blockresolution)
4246 db.issue.audit('set', blockresolution)
4248 # can only happen on a set
4249 db.issue.react('set', resolveblockers)
4251 Put the above code in a file called "blockers.py" in your tracker's
4252 "detectors" directory.
4254 4. Finally, and this is an optional step, modify the tracker web page
4255 URLs so they filter out issues with any blockers. You do this by
4256 adding an additional filter on "blockers" for the value "-1". For
4257 example, the existing "Show All" link in the "page" template (in the
4258 tracker's "html" directory) looks like this::
4260 <a href="#"
4261 tal:attributes="href python:request.indexargs_url('issue', {
4262 '@sort': '-activity',
4263 '@group': 'priority',
4264 '@filter': 'status',
4265 '@columns': columns_showall,
4266 '@search_text': '',
4267 'status': status_notresolved,
4268 '@dispname': i18n.gettext('Show All'),
4269 })"
4270 i18n:translate="">Show All</a><br>
4272 modify it to add the "blockers" info to the URL (note, both the
4273 "@filter" *and* "blockers" values must be specified)::
4275 <a href="#"
4276 tal:attributes="href python:request.indexargs_url('issue', {
4277 '@sort': '-activity',
4278 '@group': 'priority',
4279 '@filter': 'status,blockers',
4280 '@columns': columns_showall,
4281 '@search_text': '',
4282 'status': status_notresolved,
4283 'blockers': '-1',
4284 '@dispname': i18n.gettext('Show All'),
4285 })"
4286 i18n:translate="">Show All</a><br>
4288 The above examples are line-wrapped on the trailing & and should
4289 be unwrapped.
4291 That's it. You should now be able to set blockers on your issues. Note
4292 that if you want to know whether an issue has any other issues dependent
4293 on it (i.e. it's in their blockers list) you can look at the journal
4294 history at the bottom of the issue page - look for a "link" event to
4295 another issue's "blockers" property.
4297 Add users to the nosy list based on the keyword
4298 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4300 Let's say we need the ability to automatically add users to the nosy
4301 list based
4302 on the occurance of a keyword. Every user should be allowed to edit their
4303 own list of keywords for which they want to be added to the nosy list.
4305 Below, we'll show that this change can be done with minimal
4306 understanding of the Roundup system, using only copy and paste.
4308 This requires three changes to the tracker: a change in the database to
4309 allow per-user recording of the lists of keywords for which he wants to
4310 be put on the nosy list, a change in the user view allowing them to edit
4311 this list of keywords, and addition of an auditor which updates the nosy
4312 list when a keyword is set.
4314 Adding the nosy keyword list
4315 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
4317 The change to make in the database, is that for any user there should be a list
4318 of keywords for which he wants to be put on the nosy list. Adding a
4319 ``Multilink`` of ``keyword`` seems to fullfill this. As such, all that has to
4320 be done is to add a new field to the definition of ``user`` within the file
4321 ``schema.py``. We will call this new field ``nosy_keywords``, and the updated
4322 definition of user will be::
4324 user = Class(db, "user",
4325 username=String(), password=Password(),
4326 address=String(), realname=String(),
4327 phone=String(), organisation=String(),
4328 alternate_addresses=String(),
4329 queries=Multilink('query'), roles=String(),
4330 timezone=String(),
4331 nosy_keywords=Multilink('keyword'))
4333 Changing the user view to allow changing the nosy keyword list
4334 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
4336 We want any user to be able to change the list of keywords for which
4337 he will by default be added to the nosy list. We choose to add this
4338 to the user view, as is generated by the file ``html/user.item.html``.
4339 We can easily
4340 see that the keyword field in the issue view has very similar editing
4341 requirements as our nosy keywords, both being lists of keywords. As
4342 such, we look for Keywords in ``issue.item.html``, and extract the
4343 associated parts from there. We add this to ``user.item.html`` at the
4344 bottom of the list of viewed items (i.e. just below the 'Alternate
4345 E-mail addresses' in the classic template)::
4347 <tr>
4348 <th>Nosy Keywords</th>
4349 <td>
4350 <span tal:replace="structure context/nosy_keywords/field" />
4351 <span tal:replace="structure python:db.keyword.classhelp(property='nosy_keywords')" />
4352 </td>
4353 </tr>
4356 Addition of an auditor to update the nosy list
4357 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
4359 The more difficult part is the logic to add
4360 the users to the nosy list when required.
4361 We choose to perform this action whenever the keywords on an
4362 item are set (this includes the creation of items).
4363 Here we choose to start out with a copy of the
4364 ``detectors/nosyreaction.py`` detector, which we copy to the file
4365 ``detectors/nosy_keyword_reaction.py``.
4366 This looks like a good start as it also adds users
4367 to the nosy list. A look through the code reveals that the
4368 ``nosyreaction`` function actually sends the e-mail.
4369 We don't need this. Therefore, we can change the ``init`` function to::
4371 def init(db):
4372 db.issue.audit('create', update_kw_nosy)
4373 db.issue.audit('set', update_kw_nosy)
4375 After that, we rename the ``updatenosy`` function to ``update_kw_nosy``.
4376 The first two blocks of code in that function relate to setting
4377 ``current`` to a combination of the old and new nosy lists. This
4378 functionality is left in the new auditor. The following block of
4379 code, which handled adding the assignedto user(s) to the nosy list in
4380 ``updatenosy``, should be replaced by a block of code to add the
4381 interested users to the nosy list. We choose here to loop over all
4382 new keywords, than looping over all users,
4383 and assign the user to the nosy list when the keyword occurs in the user's
4384 ``nosy_keywords``. The next part in ``updatenosy`` -- adding the author
4385 and/or recipients of a message to the nosy list -- is obviously not
4386 relevant here and is thus deleted from the new auditor. The last
4387 part, copying the new nosy list to ``newvalues``, can stay as is.
4388 This results in the following function::
4390 def update_kw_nosy(db, cl, nodeid, newvalues):
4391 '''Update the nosy list for changes to the keywords
4392 '''
4393 # nodeid will be None if this is a new node
4394 current = {}
4395 if nodeid is None:
4396 ok = ('new', 'yes')
4397 else:
4398 ok = ('yes',)
4399 # old node, get the current values from the node if they haven't
4400 # changed
4401 if not newvalues.has_key('nosy'):
4402 nosy = cl.get(nodeid, 'nosy')
4403 for value in nosy:
4404 if not current.has_key(value):
4405 current[value] = 1
4407 # if the nosy list changed in this transaction, init from the new value
4408 if newvalues.has_key('nosy'):
4409 nosy = newvalues.get('nosy', [])
4410 for value in nosy:
4411 if not db.hasnode('user', value):
4412 continue
4413 if not current.has_key(value):
4414 current[value] = 1
4416 # add users with keyword in nosy_keywords to the nosy list
4417 if newvalues.has_key('keyword') and newvalues['keyword'] is not None:
4418 keyword_ids = newvalues['keyword']
4419 for keyword in keyword_ids:
4420 # loop over all users,
4421 # and assign user to nosy when keyword in nosy_keywords
4422 for user_id in db.user.list():
4423 nosy_kw = db.user.get(user_id, "nosy_keywords")
4424 found = 0
4425 for kw in nosy_kw:
4426 if kw == keyword:
4427 found = 1
4428 if found:
4429 current[user_id] = 1
4431 # that's it, save off the new nosy list
4432 newvalues['nosy'] = current.keys()
4434 These two function are the only ones needed in the file.
4436 TODO: update this example to use the ``find()`` Class method.
4438 Caveats
4439 :::::::
4441 A few problems with the design here can be noted:
4443 Multiple additions
4444 When a user, after automatic selection, is manually removed
4445 from the nosy list, he is added to the nosy list again when the
4446 keyword list of the issue is updated. A better design might be
4447 to only check which keywords are new compared to the old list
4448 of keywords, and only add users when they have indicated
4449 interest on a new keyword.
4451 The code could also be changed to only trigger on the ``create()``
4452 event, rather than also on the ``set()`` event, thus only setting
4453 the nosy list when the issue is created.
4455 Scalability
4456 In the auditor, there is a loop over all users. For a site with
4457 only few users this will pose no serious problem; however, with
4458 many users this will be a serious performance bottleneck.
4459 A way out would be to link from the keywords to the users who
4460 selected these keywords as nosy keywords. This will eliminate the
4461 loop over all users.
4463 Changes to Security and Permissions
4464 -----------------------------------
4466 Restricting the list of users that are assignable to a task
4467 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4469 1. In your tracker's ``schema.py``, create a new Role, say "Developer"::
4471 db.security.addRole(name='Developer', description='A developer')
4473 2. Just after that, create a new Permission, say "Fixer", specific to
4474 "issue"::
4476 p = db.security.addPermission(name='Fixer', klass='issue',
4477 description='User is allowed to be assigned to fix issues')
4479 3. Then assign the new Permission to your "Developer" Role::
4481 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Developer', p)
4483 4. In the issue item edit page (``html/issue.item.html`` in your tracker
4484 directory), use the new Permission in restricting the "assignedto"
4485 list::
4487 <select name="assignedto">
4488 <option value="-1">- no selection -</option>
4489 <tal:block tal:repeat="user db/user/list">
4490 <option tal:condition="python:user.hasPermission(
4491 'Fixer', context._classname)"
4492 tal:attributes="
4493 value user/id;
4494 selected python:user.id == context.assignedto"
4495 tal:content="user/realname"></option>
4496 </tal:block>
4497 </select>
4499 For extra security, you may wish to setup an auditor to enforce the
4500 Permission requirement (install this as ``assignedtoFixer.py`` in your
4501 tracker ``detectors`` directory)::
4503 def assignedtoMustBeFixer(db, cl, nodeid, newvalues):
4504 ''' Ensure the assignedto value in newvalues is used with the
4505 Fixer Permission
4506 '''
4507 if not newvalues.has_key('assignedto'):
4508 # don't care
4509 return
4511 # get the userid
4512 userid = newvalues['assignedto']
4513 if not db.security.hasPermission('Fixer', userid, cl.classname):
4514 raise ValueError, 'You do not have permission to edit %s'%cl.classname
4516 def init(db):
4517 db.issue.audit('set', assignedtoMustBeFixer)
4518 db.issue.audit('create', assignedtoMustBeFixer)
4520 So now, if an edit action attempts to set "assignedto" to a user that
4521 doesn't have the "Fixer" Permission, the error will be raised.
4524 Users may only edit their issues
4525 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4527 In this case, users registering themselves are granted Provisional
4528 access, meaning they
4529 have access to edit the issues they submit, but not others. We create a new
4530 Role called "Provisional User" which is granted to newly-registered users,
4531 and has limited access. One of the Permissions they have is the new "Edit
4532 Own" on issues (regular users have "Edit".)
4534 First up, we create the new Role and Permission structure in
4535 ``schema.py``::
4537 #
4538 # New users not approved by the admin
4539 #
4540 db.security.addRole(name='Provisional User',
4541 description='New user registered via web or email')
4543 # These users need to be able to view and create issues but only edit
4544 # and view their own
4545 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', 'Create', 'issue')
4546 def own_issue(db, userid, itemid):
4547 '''Determine whether the userid matches the creator of the issue.'''
4548 return userid == db.issue.get(itemid, 'creator')
4549 p = db.security.addPermission(name='Edit', klass='issue',
4550 check=own_issue, description='Can only edit own issues')
4551 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', p)
4552 p = db.security.addPermission(name='View', klass='issue',
4553 check=own_issue, description='Can only view own issues')
4554 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', p)
4556 # Assign the Permissions for issue-related classes
4557 for cl in 'file', 'msg', 'query', 'keyword':
4558 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', 'View', cl)
4559 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', 'Edit', cl)
4560 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', 'Create', cl)
4561 for cl in 'priority', 'status':
4562 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', 'View', cl)
4564 # and give the new users access to the web and email interface
4565 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', 'Web Access')
4566 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', 'Email Access')
4568 # make sure they can view & edit their own user record
4569 def own_record(db, userid, itemid):
4570 '''Determine whether the userid matches the item being accessed.'''
4571 return userid == itemid
4572 p = db.security.addPermission(name='View', klass='user', check=own_record,
4573 description="User is allowed to view their own user details")
4574 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', p)
4575 p = db.security.addPermission(name='Edit', klass='user', check=own_record,
4576 description="User is allowed to edit their own user details")
4577 db.security.addPermissionToRole('Provisional User', p)
4579 Then, in ``config.ini``, we change the Role assigned to newly-registered
4580 users, replacing the existing ``'User'`` values::
4582 [main]
4583 ...
4584 new_web_user_roles = 'Provisional User'
4585 new_email_user_roles = 'Provisional User'
4588 All users may only view and edit issues, files and messages they create
4589 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4591 Replace the standard "classic" tracker View and Edit Permission assignments
4592 for the "issue", "file" and "msg" classes with the following::
4594 def checker(klass):
4595 def check(db, userid, itemid, klass=klass):
4596 return db.getclass(klass).get(itemid, 'creator') == userid
4597 return check
4598 for cl in 'issue', 'file', 'msg':
4599 p = db.security.addPermission(name='View', klass=cl,
4600 check=checker(cl))
4601 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', p)
4602 p = db.security.addPermission(name='Edit', klass=cl,
4603 check=checker(cl))
4604 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', p)
4605 db.security.addPermissionToRole('User', 'Create', cl)
4609 Changes to the Web User Interface
4610 ---------------------------------
4612 Adding action links to the index page
4613 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4615 Add a column to the ``item.index.html`` template.
4617 Resolving the issue::
4619 <a tal:attributes="href
4620 string:issue${i/id}?:status=resolved&:action=edit">resolve</a>
4622 "Take" the issue::
4624 <a tal:attributes="href
4625 string:issue${i/id}?:assignedto=${request/user/id}&:action=edit">take</a>
4627 ... and so on.
4629 Colouring the rows in the issue index according to priority
4630 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4632 A simple ``tal:attributes`` statement will do the bulk of the work here. In
4633 the ``issue.index.html`` template, add this to the ``<tr>`` that
4634 displays the rows of data::
4636 <tr tal:attributes="class string:priority-${i/priority/plain}">
4638 and then in your stylesheet (``style.css``) specify the colouring for the
4639 different priorities, as follows::
4641 tr.priority-critical td {
4642 background-color: red;
4643 }
4645 tr.priority-urgent td {
4646 background-color: orange;
4647 }
4649 and so on, with far less offensive colours :)
4651 Editing multiple items in an index view
4652 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4654 To edit the status of all items in the item index view, edit the
4655 ``issue.item.html``:
4657 1. add a form around the listing table (separate from the existing
4658 index-page form), so at the top it reads::
4660 <form method="POST" tal:attributes="action request/classname">
4661 <table class="list">
4663 and at the bottom of that table::
4665 </table>
4666 </form
4668 making sure you match the ``</table>`` from the list table, not the
4669 navigation table or the subsequent form table.
4671 2. in the display for the issue property, change::
4673 <td tal:condition="request/show/status"
4674 tal:content="python:i.status.plain() or default"> </td>
4676 to::
4678 <td tal:condition="request/show/status"
4679 tal:content="structure i/status/field"> </td>
4681 this will result in an edit field for the status property.
4683 3. after the ``tal:block`` which lists the index items (marked by
4684 ``tal:repeat="i batch"``) add a new table row::
4686 <tr>
4687 <td tal:attributes="colspan python:len(request.columns)">
4688 <input type="submit" value=" Save Changes ">
4689 <input type="hidden" name="@action" value="edit">
4690 <tal:block replace="structure request/indexargs_form" />
4691 </td>
4692 </tr>
4694 which gives us a submit button, indicates that we are performing an edit
4695 on any changed statuses. The final ``tal:block`` will make sure that the
4696 current index view parameters (filtering, columns, etc) will be used in
4697 rendering the next page (the results of the editing).
4700 Displaying only message summaries in the issue display
4701 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4703 Alter the ``issue.item`` template section for messages to::
4705 <table class="messages" tal:condition="context/messages">
4706 <tr><th colspan="5" class="header">Messages</th></tr>
4707 <tr tal:repeat="msg context/messages">
4708 <td><a tal:attributes="href string:msg${msg/id}"
4709 tal:content="string:msg${msg/id}"></a></td>
4710 <td tal:content="msg/author">author</td>
4711 <td class="date" tal:content="msg/date/pretty">date</td>
4712 <td tal:content="msg/summary">summary</td>
4713 <td>
4714 <a tal:attributes="href string:?@remove@messages=${msg/id}&@action=edit">
4715 remove</a>
4716 </td>
4717 </tr>
4718 </table>
4721 Enabling display of either message summaries or the entire messages
4722 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4724 This is pretty simple - all we need to do is copy the code from the
4725 example `displaying only message summaries in the issue display`_ into
4726 our template alongside the summary display, and then introduce a switch
4727 that shows either the one or the other. We'll use a new form variable,
4728 ``@whole_messages`` to achieve this::
4730 <table class="messages" tal:condition="context/messages">
4731 <tal:block tal:condition="not:request/form/@whole_messages/value | python:0">
4732 <tr><th colspan="3" class="header">Messages</th>
4733 <th colspan="2" class="header">
4734 <a href="?@whole_messages=yes">show entire messages</a>
4735 </th>
4736 </tr>
4737 <tr tal:repeat="msg context/messages">
4738 <td><a tal:attributes="href string:msg${msg/id}"
4739 tal:content="string:msg${msg/id}"></a></td>
4740 <td tal:content="msg/author">author</td>
4741 <td class="date" tal:content="msg/date/pretty">date</td>
4742 <td tal:content="msg/summary">summary</td>
4743 <td>
4744 <a tal:attributes="href string:?@remove@messages=${msg/id}&@action=edit">remove</a>
4745 </td>
4746 </tr>
4747 </tal:block>
4749 <tal:block tal:condition="request/form/@whole_messages/value | python:0">
4750 <tr><th colspan="2" class="header">Messages</th>
4751 <th class="header">
4752 <a href="?@whole_messages=">show only summaries</a>
4753 </th>
4754 </tr>
4755 <tal:block tal:repeat="msg context/messages">
4756 <tr>
4757 <th tal:content="msg/author">author</th>
4758 <th class="date" tal:content="msg/date/pretty">date</th>
4759 <th style="text-align: right">
4760 (<a tal:attributes="href string:?@remove@messages=${msg/id}&@action=edit">remove</a>)
4761 </th>
4762 </tr>
4763 <tr><td colspan="3" tal:content="msg/content"></td></tr>
4764 </tal:block>
4765 </tal:block>
4766 </table>
4769 Setting up a "wizard" (or "druid") for controlled adding of issues
4770 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4772 1. Set up the page templates you wish to use for data input. My wizard
4773 is going to be a two-step process: first figuring out what category
4774 of issue the user is submitting, and then getting details specific to
4775 that category. The first page includes a table of help, explaining
4776 what the category names mean, and then the core of the form::
4778 <form method="POST" onSubmit="return submit_once()"
4779 enctype="multipart/form-data">
4780 <input type="hidden" name="@template" value="add_page1">
4781 <input type="hidden" name="@action" value="page1_submit">
4783 <strong>Category:</strong>
4784 <tal:block tal:replace="structure context/category/menu" />
4785 <input type="submit" value="Continue">
4786 </form>
4788 The next page has the usual issue entry information, with the
4789 addition of the following form fragments::
4791 <form method="POST" onSubmit="return submit_once()"
4792 enctype="multipart/form-data"
4793 tal:condition="context/is_edit_ok"
4794 tal:define="cat request/form/category/value">
4796 <input type="hidden" name="@template" value="add_page2">
4797 <input type="hidden" name="@required" value="title">
4798 <input type="hidden" name="category" tal:attributes="value cat">
4799 .
4800 .
4801 .
4802 </form>
4804 Note that later in the form, I use the value of "cat" to decide which
4805 form elements should be displayed. For example::
4807 <tal:block tal:condition="python:cat in '6 10 13 14 15 16 17'.split()">
4808 <tr>
4809 <th>Operating System</th>
4810 <td tal:content="structure context/os/field"></td>
4811 </tr>
4812 <tr>
4813 <th>Web Browser</th>
4814 <td tal:content="structure context/browser/field"></td>
4815 </tr>
4816 </tal:block>
4818 ... the above section will only be displayed if the category is one
4819 of 6, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16 or 17.
4821 3. Determine what actions need to be taken between the pages - these are
4822 usually to validate user choices and determine what page is next. Now encode
4823 those actions in a new ``Action`` class (see `defining new web actions`_)::
4825 from roundup.cgi.actions import Action
4827 class Page1SubmitAction(Action):
4828 def handle(self):
4829 ''' Verify that the user has selected a category, and then move
4830 on to page 2.
4831 '''
4832 category = self.form['category'].value
4833 if category == '-1':
4834 self.error_message.append('You must select a category of report')
4835 return
4836 # everything's ok, move on to the next page
4837 self.template = 'add_page2'
4839 def init(instance):
4840 instance.registerAction('page1_submit', Page1SubmitAction)
4842 4. Use the usual "new" action as the ``@action`` on the final page, and
4843 you're done (the standard context/submit method can do this for you).
4846 Debugging Trackers
4847 ==================
4849 There are three switches in tracker configs that turn on debugging in
4850 Roundup:
4852 1. web :: debug
4853 2. mail :: debug
4854 3. logging :: level
4856 See the config.ini file or the `tracker configuration`_ section above for
4857 more information.
4859 Additionally, the ``roundup-server.py`` script has its own debugging mode
4860 in which it reloads edited templates immediately when they are changed,
4861 rather than requiring a web server restart.
4864 .. _`design documentation`: design.html