Re: What's the REAL DEAL with Perl $cgi->checkbox()

So, from the docs:

2. The optional second parameter (-checked) specifies that the checkbox is turned on by default. Synonyms are -selected and -on.

So, if you omit -checked, the box is unchecked. I'd say this is fairly straightforward, though I would have implemented it with a boolean evaluation myself.

The only way I can find to toggle checked-by-default is to have two seperate statements with logic , one WITH -checked and one without, which is more 2X the syntax I want to use.

Assuming you want a branch, there must be a test in any case. To handle the branching, you could use the ternary Conditional Operator with a list argument:

print checkbox(-name=>'checkbox_name',
               $checked ? (-checked=>1) : (),
               -value=>'ON',
               -label=>'CLICK ME');
[download]

And, to be fair, weird accumulated crufty behavior is exactly why CGI.pm has been removed from the Perl core.

#11929 First ask yourself `How would I do this without a computer?' Then have the computer do it the same way.

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Re^2: What's the REAL DEAL with Perl $cgi->checkbox() by Your Mother (Archbishop) on Feb 03, 2015 at 19:54 UTC
You probably know this but I want to further the discussion for ~~hysterical~~ historical consideration. FWIW, I don’t find this weird or crufty; it’s perfectly logical and consistent with HTML. `checked` is either there or not in an `input[type=checkbox]`. It’s not a key with a value, it’s just there. Giving it a value of `undef` or `0` is meaningless because it takes no value and you’re still giving it the “key” attribute. CGI being removed has more to do with there being better, c.f. more maintainable alternatives and not wanting to be seen as encouraging 1990s’ web dev practices out of the box. There is no package in any language that does what it does better or with more DWIWness. It’s just not a good way to do big code projects. If you know it well though it’s still an excellent, rapid choice for one-offs or tests. Wrapping in PSGI is easy now too. (To pedantic anonymonks itching to shoot: I know `checked="checked"`.)	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^3: What's the REAL DEAL with Perl $cgi->checkbox() by kennethk (Abbot) on Feb 03, 2015 at 21:22 UTC
I quite agree with all the above. By "weird accumulated crufty behavior" I didn't intend to say all this behavior was necessarily the Perl community's fault. The Web is a wildly different place than when people crafted in raw HTML, and modern frameworks are built around making GUI's, not publishing documents. The base technology hasn't changed, but the expectations have. #11929 First ask yourself `How would I do this without a computer?' Then have the computer do it the same way.	[reply]
Re^4: What's the REAL DEAL with Perl $cgi->checkbox() by misterperl (Friar) on Oct 16, 2015 at 21:01 UTC
Sorry a million pardons- I ALWAYS make a point of thanking kind monks who donate, with no expectations, their valuable time to assist me. I was looking over some past inquiries, found this one, and noted that although I read and gained insight into my issue, I had totally failed to thank each person who replied. I may ask some dumb questions at times, but I'm more than thankful for the answers. If any of my other inquiries went unthanked, it was unintentional. Most likely my boss sidetracked me mid-thank.. As penance I wish EACH of you a great weekend! Mr P	[reply]