How do I make a form with a bunch of unrelated entities in Symfony2?

Question

I'm working on a log parser that uses a database table to "translate" log events into human-readable equivalents for reporting.

For example, a log entry like "start_application_minecraft" would get converted to "Started Minecraft".

I'm trying to make a web interface for adding/updating the display text, but I can't figure out how to get them into a Symfony Form object.

I have a LogEvent entity (with properties for ID, Text, and DisplayText), and I've created a Form Type that corresponds to these properties.

It works fine for modifying one event at a time, but I'd like to have them all on one page with a single Submit button to update everything. The problem is that all the documentation I can find on embedding Forms deals with entities that are related (e.g. a Category containing multiple Products), but in my case all of the entities I need to work with are completely unrelated. What's the best way to go about setting this up?

Answer 1

Use a Symfony 'Collection' form field type and use Doctrine to find the LogEvent entities you want and pass that to the Collection.

Example: http://symfony.com/doc/current/cookbook/form/form_collections.html

Reference: http://symfony.com/doc/current/reference/forms/types/collection.html

So, first you would make your LogEvent form type:

class LogEventType extends AbstractType
{
    public function buildForm(FormBuilderInterface $builder, array $options)
    {
        $builder->add('text');
    }

    public function setDefaultOptions(OptionsResolverInterface $resolver)
    {
        $resolver->setDefaults(array(
            'data_class' => 'My\Bundle\Entity\LogEvent',
        ));
    }

    public function getName()
    {
        return 'log_event';
    }
}

Then make your form type that holds the Collection of LogEvent entities:

class MultiLogEventType extends AbstractType
{
    public function buildForm(FormBuilderInterface $builder, array $options)
    {
        $builder->add(
            'logEvents', 'collection', array('type' => new LogEventType())
        );
    }

    public function getName()
    {
        return 'multi_log_event';
    }
}

Then in your Controller, create the form and pass your log events to it:

public function indexAction()
{
    // replace findAll() with a more restrictive query if you need to
    $logEvents = $this->getDoctrine()->getManager()
        ->getRepository('MyBundle:LogEvent')->findAll();

    $form = $this->createForm(
        new MultiLogEventType(),
        array('logEvents' => $logEvents)
    );

    return array('form' => $form->createView());
}

Then in your edit action you can loop through the log events and do whatever you need to:

public function editAction(Request $request)
{
    $em = $this->getDoctrine()->getManager();

    $editForm = $this->createForm(new MultiLogEventType());
    $editForm->handleRequest($request);

    if ($editForm->isValid())
    {
        foreach ($logEvents as $logEvent) {
            // perform any logic you need to here
            // (ex: removing the log event; $em->remove($logEvent);)
        }
        $em->flush();
    }

    return $this->redirect($this->generateUrl('log_event_edit'));
}

Answer 2

You can create a Form Type, which adds all the entities as children. IF you make your "data" an array, you can have an arbitrary number of form items.