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paul121 / farm_rei

Adds restricted-entry interval (REI) fields to Input Logs and Materials.
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Add a dashboard pane that lists restricted areas #3

Closed mstenta closed 4 years ago

paul121 commented 4 years ago

@mstenta I've taken a first pass at this by creating a View block of Input logs with active REIs. Any quick thoughts re: displayed fields, field order, etc?

rei_example

A hook_view_query_alter() was required to limit the logs to ones with an "active" REI, taking into accounting for the REI value. The alter is a one-liner, roughly: WHERE log.timestamp >= REQUEST_TIME - rei.value * 86400.

Implementing this with a view was really quite easy - especially considering the table renders with links to the log, areas and materials "for free". But now that I'm starting on adding this info to the map, I'm realizing I will need a separate helper function to make essentially the same query that Views is making.

I think it's worth keeping the View since it does add a lot "for free" (rendering the table, links to logs, areas, materials, etc), but before we commit to this, I want to make sure using a View won't be limiting in any way. If it is, then it would make sense to design the helper function so it can serve multiple purposes.

One thought I had was showing a "Restricted until" column, but it seems too complex to calculate a timestamp AND format it as a date string in the view itself. But maybe it would be simple enough for the view to render the "restricted until" timestamp, and then alter the view to format a date string before displaying on screen?

mstenta commented 4 years ago

@paul121 Awesome! Good idea to use hook_view_query_alter().

But now that I'm starting on adding this info to the map, I'm realizing I will need a separate helper function to make essentially the same query that Views is making.

Curious how you're thinking of approaching the map (#2) - and also curious if we could leverage Views for that as well.

It may require taking the hook_view_query_alter() to the next level (converting it into an actual Views filter plugin). We already use Views to generate the GeoJSON layer data for other map layers - so perhaps the "restricted areas" geometry could be done in the same way - by joining in the geometries of areas referenced by the input logs. Want to discuss those ideas over in #2 and/or in chat later today?

One thought I had was showing a "Restricted until" column, but it seems too complex to calculate a timestamp AND format it as a date string in the view itself. But maybe it would be simple enough for the view to render the "restricted until" timestamp, and then alter the view to format a date string before displaying on screen?

These could be Views field plugins provided by the module - which would make them selectable options when you are building the View in the UI.

paul121 commented 4 years ago

After chatting with @mstenta we decided to go forward with a custom views handler filter. I implemented this with options to filter Logs with an REI status of any, active, past, or planned. We're only using the active status right now, but exposing this filter to the UI would allow users to view past or planned REIs which could be a nice feature down the road.