I like the idea of placing the values in a config, but I don't like the idea
of the view helper reading from the config. It may be better for the view
helper to be injected with value early on, like perhaps in a bootstrap
resource (which works naturally with configs).
// in Bootstrap.php (untested)
protected function _initGoogleApi()
{
$this->bootstrap('view');
$view = $this->getResource('view');
$options = $this->getOptions('googleApi');
$apiKey = $options['apiKey'];
$view->googleApi()->setApiKey($apiKey);
return $apiKey;
}
--
Hector
On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 9:44 AM, J DeBord <[email protected]> wrote:
> What is the preferred approach to supply constant values to a View Helper?
>
> If a view helper requires configuration constants. For example, a google
> api key or amazon web services access keys, is it best to:
>
> A) Make the developer put these values in a Zend_Config object and then
> access the config object in the View Helper's constructor?
>
> B) Make the developer assign the values as view variables and access them
> with $this->view->var inside the view helper?
>
> C) Pass the variables to the view helper when it is called in the view
> script?
>
> I am not a fan of any of these choices, but if I had to pick one I'd go
> with A.
>
> I like the fact that A centralizes the constants in a relatively secure
> spot. They would be sitting next to database passwords, etc. But I don't
> like the constraints it places on the developer. Not only would Zend_Config
> need to be used, but the config object would either need to be stored in a
> registry, or created inside the view helper. Even if I create the
> Zend_Config object inside the view helper, I would still need to pass the
> constant params needed for Zend_Config...
>
> I don't like the idea of adding what could be sensitive information, the
> aws private key for example, to the view object, so that eliminates B and C.
>
> I think C is the worst of all because it adds an extra var to supply when
> calling the view helper.
>
> What other options are there if any? What would be acceptable dependencies
> for a Zend_View_Helper?
>
> To make things slightly more complicated, I guess there is the possibility
> that these "constant" values could change during the life of a single
> request or on a page by page basis, thus they would no longer be constant.
> This could happen if someone uses two or more AWS accounts for example. This
> could be dealt with, but would add complexity.
>
> I want to make decisions that result in the most flexible and easy to use
> view_helper possible.
>
> I am working on a Zend_View_Helper proposal
> http://framework.zend.com/wiki/display/ZFPROP/Zend_View_Helper_S3Link+-+Jason+DeBordand
> I think this is the only issue holding up the completion of the
> prototype code.
>
> The view helper I created to accomplish what is outlined in my proposal
> uses a Zend_Config object stored in Zend_Registry. While this works great
> and might be fine for my colleagues purposes, I am not sure it is a viable
> solution for a Zend Framework component.
>
> Thanks a lot,
>
> Jason
>
