python-zope.publisher 3.12.6-2 / usr / share / pyshared / zope / publisher / skinnable.txt

=========
Skinnable
=========

Requests can provide skins. But what exactly is a skin? At the code
level, a skin is just an interface which a request provides. Why do we
need skins? We can use skins for registering different adapters.

That's a little bit much use of the word skin. Let's explain it in more
detail. A skin is an interface which provides an interface. This
interface is called ISkinType. The zope.publisher right now provides
only one specific skin type interface used in the IBrowserRequest
implementation. This interface is called BrowserSkinType.

Since the zope server provides request factories for building a request,
each such request type could provide it's own skin type interface. This
ensures that we can register a skin type for each request.

Now let's look at a higher level. A skin is a concept which we can use
for providing different kinds of views, templates or other adapters
adapting a request. These skins are the key component for providing
different kind of application layers. A skin makes it possible for
an application to act very differently with each skin. Of course, that's
only the case at the interaction level where the request is involved.
But that's the case most of the time since we have a web application
server.

Another part of the skinnable concept is that an application can define
zero or more default skins. This is done with the IDefaultSkin
interface. Default skins can be defined for request interfaces or
implementations. Such a default skin can get overriden in a custom
setup. Overriding a skin can be done by using the defaultSkin directive
offered from zope.app.publication.zcml.

Why does a request need a default skin? If a request needs to provide
some pluggable concepts that require that a default adapter is
registered for a request, this adapter could be registered for the
default skin. If a project likes to use another pattern and needs to
register another request adapter, the project could register its own
skin and register the custom adapter for this new project based skin.
This is very handy and allows developers to skip a complete
default-skin-based setup for a given request.

In general, this means a request interface and the request class that
implements the request interface only provides the basic API but no
adapters if the request needs to delegate things to an adapter. For such
a request a default skin can get defined. This default skin can provide
all adapters which the request implementation needs to have. This gives
us the option to replace the default skin within a custom skin and
provide custom adapters.

Our exmple will define a full request and all its components from scratch.
it doesn't depend on IBrowserRequest. We'll use a JSON-RPC as sample like
the z3c.jsonrpc package provides.

Layers and Skins
----------------

We also use the term "layer" if we talk about skins. A layer or skin
layer is an interface registered as a ISkinType without a name. Zope
provides a traversal pattern which allows traversal to a skin within a
skin namespace called ``skin``. This allows traversal to a method called
``applySkin`` which will apply a registered named skin. This means if we
register an ISkinType with a name argument, we will register a skin. if
we register a ISkinType without a name just we register a layer. This
means, layers are not traversable ISkinType interfaces.

Let's start define a request:

  >>> from zope.publisher.interfaces import IRequest
  >>> class IJSONRequest(IRequest):
  ...     """JSON request."""

And we define a skin type:

  >>> from zope.publisher.interfaces import ISkinType
  >>> class IJSONSkinType(ISkinType):
  ...     """JSON skin type."""

A request would implement the IJSONRequest interface but not the request type
interface:

  >>> import zope.interface
  >>> from zope.publisher.base import BaseRequest
  >>> class JSONRequest(BaseRequest):
  ...     """JSON request implementation."""
  ...     zope.interface.implements(IJSONRequest)

Now our request provides IJSONRequest because it implement that interface:

  >>> from StringIO import StringIO
  >>> request = JSONRequest(StringIO(''), {})
  >>> IJSONRequest.providedBy(request)
  True


setDefaultSkin
--------------

The default skin is a marker interface that can be registered as an
adapter that provides IDefaultSkin for the request type. A default skin
interface like any other skin must also provide ISkinType. This is
important since applySkin will lookup for skins based on this type.

Note: Any interfaces that are directly provided by the request coming into
this method are replaced by the applied layer/skin interface. This is very
important since the retry pattern can use a clean request without any
directly provided interface after a retry gets started.

If a default skin is not available, the fallback default skin is applied
if available for the given request type. The default fallback skin is
implemented as an named adapter factory providing IDefaultSkin and
using ``default`` as name.

Important to know is that some skin adapters get registered as interfaces
and the fallback skins as adapters. See the defaultSkin directive in
zope.app.publication.zcml for more information.  It registers plain
interfaces as adapters which are not adaptable.  We have special code to
handle this case, which we will demonstrate below.

Each request can only have one (unnamed) default skin and will fallback to
the named (default) fallback skin if available.

Only the IBrowserRequest provides such a default fallback adapter. This
adapter will apply the IDefaultBrowserLayer if no explicit default skin
is registered for IBrowserRequest.

Our test setup requires a custom default layer which we will apply to our
request. Let's define a custm layer:

  >>> class IJSONDefaultLayer(zope.interface.Interface):
  ...     """JSON default layyer."""

To illustrate, we'll first use setDefaultSkin without a registered
IDefaultSkin adapter:

  >>> IJSONDefaultLayer.providedBy(request)
  False

If we try to set a default skin and no one exist we will not fail but
nothing happens

  >>> from zope.publisher.skinnable import setDefaultSkin
  >>> setDefaultSkin(request)

Make sure our IJSONDefaultLayer provides the ISkinType interface.
This is normaly done in a configure.zcml using the interface directive:

  >>> ISkinType.providedBy(IJSONDefaultLayer)
  False

  >>> zope.interface.alsoProvides(IJSONDefaultLayer, ISkinType)
  >>> ISkinType.providedBy(IJSONDefaultLayer)
  True

Now let's examine what can happen with our legacy case: an interface is
registered as an adapter.

  >>> from zope.publisher.interfaces import IDefaultSkin
  >>> sm = zope.component.getSiteManager()
  >>> sm.registerAdapter(
  ...     IJSONDefaultLayer, (IJSONRequest,), IDefaultSkin, name='default')
  >>> request = JSONRequest(StringIO(''), {})
  >>> IJSONDefaultLayer.providedBy(request)
  False
  >>> setDefaultSkin(request)
  >>> IJSONDefaultLayer.providedBy(request)
  True

What if the request already provides the interface?

  >>> IJSONDefaultLayer.providedBy(request)
  True
  >>> setDefaultSkin(request)
  >>> IJSONDefaultLayer.providedBy(request)
  True

Now let's define a default skin adapter which the setDefaultSkin can use. This
adapter return our IJSONDefaultLayer. We also register this adapter within
``default`` as name:

  >>> def getDefaultJSONLayer(request):
  ...     return IJSONDefaultLayer

  >>> zope.component.provideAdapter(getDefaultJSONLayer,
  ...     (IJSONRequest,), IDefaultSkin, name='default')

  >>> setDefaultSkin(request)
  >>> IJSONDefaultLayer.providedBy(request)
  True

When we register a default skin, without that the skin provides an ISkinType,
the setDefaultSkin will raise a TypeError:


  >>> from zope.interface import Interface
  >>> class IMySkin(Interface):
  ...     pass
  >>> zope.component.provideAdapter(IMySkin, (IJSONRequest,), IDefaultSkin)
  >>> setDefaultSkin(request)
  Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
  TypeError: Skin interface <InterfaceClass __builtin__.IMySkin> doesn't provide ISkinType

The default skin must provide ISkinType:

  >>> zope.interface.alsoProvides(IMySkin, ISkinType)
  >>> ISkinType.providedBy(IMySkin)
  True

setDefaultSkin uses the custom layer interface instead of IJSONDefaultLayer:

  >>> request = JSONRequest(StringIO(''), {})
  >>> IMySkin.providedBy(request)
  False

  >>> IJSONDefaultLayer.providedBy(request)
  False

  >>> setDefaultSkin(request)

  >>> IMySkin.providedBy(request)
  True

  >>> IJSONDefaultLayer.providedBy(request)
  False

Any interfaces that are directly provided by the request coming into this
method are replaced by the applied layer/skin interface. This is important
for our retry pattern which will ensure that we start with a clean request:

  >>> request = JSONRequest(StringIO(''), {})
  >>> class IFoo(Interface):
  ...     pass

  >>> zope.interface.directlyProvides(request, IFoo)
  >>> IFoo.providedBy(request)
  True

  >>> setDefaultSkin(request)
  >>> IFoo.providedBy(request)
  False


applySkin
---------

The applySkin method is able to apply any given skin. Let's define some custom
skins:

  >>> import pprint
  >>> from zope.interface import Interface
  >>> class ISkinA(Interface):
  ...     pass

  >>> zope.interface.directlyProvides(ISkinA, ISkinType)
  >>> class ISkinB(Interface):
  ...     pass

  >>> zope.interface.directlyProvides(ISkinB, ISkinType)

Let's start with a fresh request:

  >>> request = JSONRequest(StringIO(''), {})

Now we can apply the SkinA:

  >>> from zope.publisher.skinnable import applySkin
  >>> applySkin(request, ISkinA)
  >>> pprint.pprint(list(zope.interface.providedBy(request).interfaces()))
  [<InterfaceClass __builtin__.ISkinA>,
   <InterfaceClass __builtin__.IJSONRequest>,
   <InterfaceClass zope.publisher.interfaces.IRequest>]

And if we apply ISkinB, ISkinA get removed at the same time ISkinB get applied:

  >>> applySkin(request, ISkinB)
  >>> pprint.pprint(list(zope.interface.providedBy(request).interfaces()))
  [<InterfaceClass __builtin__.ISkinB>,
   <InterfaceClass __builtin__.IJSONRequest>,
   <InterfaceClass zope.publisher.interfaces.IRequest>]


setDefaultSkin and applySkin
----------------------------

If we set a default skin and later apply a custom skin, the default skin get
removed at the time the applySkin get called within a new ISkinType:

  >>> request = JSONRequest(StringIO(''), {})

Note, that our IMySkin is the default skin for IJSONRequest. We can aprove that
by lookup an IDefaultSkin interface for our request:

  >>> adapters = zope.component.getSiteManager().adapters
  >>> default = adapters.lookup((zope.interface.providedBy(request),),
  ...     IDefaultSkin, '')
  >>> default
  <InterfaceClass __builtin__.IMySkin>

  >>> setDefaultSkin(request)
  >>> IMySkin.providedBy(request)
  True

  >>> ISkinA.providedBy(request)
  False

Now apply our skin ISkinA. This should remove the IMySkin at the same time the
ISkinA get applied:

  >>> applySkin(request, ISkinA)
  >>> IMySkin.providedBy(request)
  False

  >>> ISkinA.providedBy(request)
  True


SkinChangedEvent
----------------

Changing the skin on a request triggers the ISkinChangedEvent event:

  >>> import zope.component
  >>> from zope.publisher.interfaces import ISkinChangedEvent
  >>> def receiveSkinEvent(event):
  ...     print "Notified SkinEvent for:", event.request.__class__.__name__
  >>> zope.component.provideHandler(receiveSkinEvent, (ISkinChangedEvent,))
  >>> applySkin(request, ISkinA)
  Notified SkinEvent for: JSONRequest