Write a Command

Commands in Sharp are a powerful way to integrate functional processes in the content management. They can be used for instance to re-send an order to the customer, on synchronize pictures of a product, or preview a page...

Commands can be defined in an EntityList, in a Show Page or in a Dashboard. This documentation will take the EntityList case, but the API is very similar in all cases, as explained at the end of this page.

Generator for an 'Entity' command

php artisan sharp:make:entity-command <class_name> [--with-form]

Generator for an 'Instance' command

php artisan sharp:make:instance-command <class_name> [--with-form]

Write the Command class

First we need to write a class for our Command. It must extend the Code16\Sharp\EntityList\Commands\EntityCommand abstract class (for "entity commands", more on that below), and implement two functions.

First one is label(): string, and must return the text label of the Command, displayed to the user:

public function label(): string
{
    return 'Reload full list';
}

The second one, execute(array $data=[]): array handles the work of the Command itself:

public function execute(array $data=[]): array
{
    return $this->reload();
}

Command scope: instance or entity

The example above is an "entity" case, reserved to EntityLists: Command applies to a subset of instances, or all of them. To get the EntityList context (search, page, filters...), you can check $this->queryParams, just like in the EntityList itself.

To create an instance Command (relative to a specific instance, which can be placed on each EntityList row, or in a Show Page), the Command class must extend Code16\Sharp\EntityList\Commands\InstanceCommand. The execute method signature is a bit different:

public function execute($instanceId, array $params = []): array
{
    [...]
}

Here we get an $instanceId parameter to identify the exact instance involved. The rest is the same, except for authorization detailed below.

Add a Command form

The second parameter in the execute() function is an array named $data, which contains values entered by the user in a Command specific form. A use case might be to allow the user to enter a text to be sent to the customer with his invoice. In order to do that, we have first to write a buildFormFields() function in the Command class:

function buildFormFields(FieldsContainer $formFields): void
{
    $formFields
        ->addField(
            SharpFormTextareaField::make('message')
                ->setLabel('Message')
        )
        ->addField(
            SharpFormCheckField::make('now', 'Send right now?')
                ->setHelpMessage('Otherwise it will be sent next night.')
        );
}

The API is the same as building a standard Form (see Building an Entity Form).

Once this method has been declared, a form will be prompted in a modal to the user as he clicks on the Command. The optional public function formModalTitle(): string method may return the custom title of this modal, if needed.

Then, in the execute() method, you can grab the entered value, and even to handle the validation:

public function execute($instanceId, array $data= []): array
{
    $this->validate($data, [
        'message' => 'required'
    ]);

    $text = $data["message"];
    [...]
}

Initializing form data

You may need to initialize the form with some data; in order to do that, you have to implement the initialData() method:

protected function initialData(): array
{
    return [
        'message' => 'Some initial value'
    ];
}

For an Instance command, add the $instanceId as a parameter:

 protected function initialData($instanceId): array
 {
     [...]
 }

This method must return an array of formatted values, like for a regular Entity Form. This means you can transform data here:

protected function initialData($instanceId): array
{
    return $this
        ->setCustomTransformer('message', function($value, Spaceship $instance) {
            return sprintf('Message #%s:', $instance->messages_sent_count);
        })
        ->transform(
            Spaceship::findOrFail($instanceId)
        );
}

Note that in both cases (Entity or Instance Command), you can access to the EntityList querystring via the request.

You can tweak this in an optional buildCommandConfig() function:

public function buildCommandConfig(): void
{
    $this->configureConfirmationText('Sure, really?')
        ->configureDescription('This action will send a text message to your boss')
        ->configureFormModalTitle('Text message')
        ->configureFormModalButtonLabel('Execute');
}

Here is the full list of available methods:

configureConfirmationText(string $confirmationText): if set the Command will ask a confirmation to the user before executing
configureDescription(string $description): this text will appear under the Command label
configureFormModalTitle(string $formModalTitle): if the Command has a Form, the title of the modal will be its label, or $formModalTitle if defined
configureFormModalButtonLabel(string $formModalButtonLabel): if the Command has a Form, the label of the OK button will be $formModalButtonLabel
configurePageAlert(string $template, string $alertLevel = null, string $fieldKey = null, bool $declareTemplateAsPath = false): display a dynamic message above the Form; see detailed doc

Command return types

Finally, let's review the return possibilities. After a Command has been executed, the code must return a "command return" to tell to the front what to do next. There are six of them:

return $this->info('some text'): displays the entered text in a modal.
return $this->reload(): reload the current entity list (with context).
return $this->refresh(1)*: refresh only the instance with an id on 1. We can pass an id array also to refresh more than one instance.
return $this->view('view.name', ['some'=>'params']): display a view right in Sharp. Useful for page previews.
return $this->link('/path/to/redirect'): redirect to the given path
return $this->download('path', 'diskName'): the browser will download the specified file.
return $this->streamDownload('path', 'name'): the browser will stream the specified file.

* In order for refresh() to work properly, your Entity List's getListData() will be called, and $params will return all the wanted ids with specificIds(). Here's a code example:

function getListData()
{
    $spaceships = Spaceship::distinct();

    if($params->specificIds()) {
        $spaceships->whereIn('id', $this->queryParams->specificIds());
    }

    [...]
}

Declare the Command

Once the Command class is written, we must add it to the EntityList:

function getInstanceCommands(): ?array
{
    return [
        SpaceshipSendMessage::class
    ];
}

function getEntityCommands(): ?array
{
    return [
        SpaceshipReload::class
    ];
}

or to the Dashboard:

function getDashboardCommands(): ?array
{
    return [
        TravelsDashboardDownloadCommand::class
    ];
}

For the command itself, you can type a class name (as show in these examples), a class instance or a Closure.

You can optionally specify a command key. Sharp will use the command class name if it is missing as a default behavior, which should be ok in most cases.

function getInstanceCommands(): ?array
{
    return [
        'message' => SpaceshipSendMessage::class
    ];
}

Handle authorizations

Of course, it's often mandatory to add authorizations to a Command. Here's how to do that:

Authorizations for entity Commands

Implement the authorize(): bool function, which must return a boolean to allow or disallow the Command execution, based on any logic of yours. It can be for instance:

public function authorize(): bool
{
    return auth()->user()->hasGroup('boss');
}

Authorizations for instance Commands

For instance Commands we have to know the instance involved, which means the signature is different:

public function authorizeFor($instanceId): bool
{
    return Spaceship::findOrFail($instanceId)->owner_id == auth()->id();
}

Define an entity Command as primary

An EntityList can declare one (and only one) of its entity Commands as "primary". In this case, the command will appear at the top, right next to the creation button ("New..."). The idea is to provide more visibility to an important Command, but could also be to replace the creation button entirely (you need to remove the "create" authorization to achieve this).

function buildListConfig(): void
{
    $this->configurePrimaryEntityCommand(InviteNewUser::class);
}

A use case could be to provide a Command with a form for the "create" task, leaving the real Form only for update.

Commands for Show Page

Show Pages can only define instance commands (obviously); apart from that, the API is the same.

It's a common pattern to reuse the same instance commands in an EntityList and in a Show Page. One small difference is that reload() action is treated as a refresh().

Attach Commands to sections

One small difference between Commands in EntityList and in Show Page is that in the latter case it's possible to move the Command to a specific section (of the Show Page layout).

To achieve this, you must choose a unique key and attach it to the layout section, and use this key on instance commands declaration:

// In a SharpShow

protected function buildShowLayout(ShowLayout $showLayout): void
{
    $showLayout
        ->addSection('General', function (ShowLayoutSection $section) {
            // ...
        })
        ->addSection('Content', function (ShowLayoutSection $section) {
            $section
                ->setKey('content-section') // <- The key could be anything
                ->addColumn(8, function (ShowLayoutColumn $column) {
                    // ...
                });
        });
}

public function getInstanceCommands(): ?array
{
    return [
        'content-section' => [  // <- Use the same key here
            PreviewPostCommand::class,
        ],
        EvaluateDraftPostWizardCommand::class,
    ];
}

With that, the PreviewPostCommand will appear alongside the "Content" section.

Commands for Dashboard

Dashboard can use the power of Commands too. The API is very similar, here are the differences:

There is no Instance or Entity distinction; a command handler must extend Code16\Sharp\Dashboard\Commands\DashboardCommand.
A Dashboard Command can not return a refresh() action, since there is no Instance.

# Write a Command

# Generator for an 'Entity' command

# Generator for an 'Instance' command

# Write the Command class

# Command scope: instance or entity

# Add a Command form

# Initializing form data

# Configure the command (confirmation text, description, form modal title...)

# Command return types

# Declare the Command

# Handle authorizations

# Authorizations for entity Commands

# Authorizations for instance Commands

# Define an entity Command as primary

# Commands for Show Page

# Attach Commands to sections

# Commands for Dashboard