ffieldsfor

ffieldsfor is a term used in the context of automated form generation and schema-driven user interfaces. It refers to a utility or macro that enumerates the fields of a data model and prepares them for rendering in a form. The name is commonly interpreted as short for "fields for," signaling its role in producing fields for a given entity.

Origin and design

The concept arises in frameworks that separate data models from their presentation, enabling dynamic forms based on model metadata. Implementations vary by language, but typical designs provide a function or macro that accepts a model descriptor and optional filters, then returns an iterable collection of field specifications.

Functionality

A ffieldsfor call inspects the model’s field definitions, reading attributes such as field name, data type, required flag, validation rules, and default values. It can either render user interface elements directly or emit data structures (labels, input types, constraints) for use by a separate rendering layer. It supports localisation and custom field transformers to adapt outputs to specific locales or design systems.

Usage

In practice, developers use ffieldsfor to stay in sync with model changes, reducing manual form coding. A common pattern is to apply a filter to select relevant fields and to apply a transformation to adapt field labels or input types, ensuring consistency across forms and models.

See also

Schema-driven UI, form generation, model-driven design.