Non-node base table support for calendar views using a date-argument

I'd like to get other tables working, too, but don't want to add it in until I quit getting bug reports on the current code.

I'm happy to have someone working on a fix for this, I just won't commit anything right away.

OK, added this in and did some testing to be sure it would work. This is great! Thanks!

hi,

i have both patches applied, and am now trying to get a CiviEvents date field to serve as the argument.

i have put the following in my own module, as well as in the civicrm.views.inc but neither seems to make it so the view allows a CiviEvent date to serve as the argument:

	$data['civicrm_event']['date_argument'] = array(
		'group' => t('Date'),
		'title' => t('Date'),
		'help' => t('Filter any Views date field by a date argument'),
		'argument' => array(
		  'handler' => 'date_api_argument_handler',
		  'empty name field' => t('Undated'),
		 ),
   );

Should this work?

thanks,
m

The code in #7 only tells the calendar module that civicrm would like to have the Date option in it's arguments when you create a CiviCRM Event view. There is still another step which is to write a date api argument handler for CiviCRM dates. Given that CiviCRM uses the datetime format in lieu of the int timestamp (i.e. 2009-05-01 14:00:00 vs 1234567890) used in Drupal the CiviCRM project wrote a handler to call strtotime() and convert the format and deal timezone issues (well timezone issues will be dealt with in a patch submitted this week). That handler, civicrm_handler_field_datetime, is a child implementation of views_handler_field_date

All that said I started to write a handler and have run up against a brick wall in the _date_api_fields() function. In order to call a custom module's hook_date_api_fields function the date field for the module has to use views_handler_field_date which, due to the aforementioned issue, the civicrm date fields cannot use.

To solve this I would like to propose the following change to line 47 of the field_api_date.inc file. Basically I propose using the is_a() function to determine if the handler is a child of the views_handler_field_date class. This function is php4 compliant. It was deprecated in 5.0-5.2 and undeprecated (is that a word:)) in 5.3

form
[code]
elseif ($handler_name == 'views_handler_field_date') {
[/code]

to
[code]
elseif (is_a($handler,'views_handler_field_date')) {
[/code]

I have yet to get any remaining issues fixed, but I do know this one will be a deal killer for CiviCRM Event/Calendar integration.

I'm not familiar with the is_a() function, but I am totally in agreement that there should be a way for you to use a custom handler, so I'm open to a patch if you want to write one.

But I would also be curious what you had to override in the basic handler to get it to work. Maybe the handler needs an update to make it more flexible.

Yea I realized not too long after posting this that you are likely correct about not needed to overwrite the handler. I had created the custom handler in an attempt to get around another issue, which I don't think i an issue any more.

I'll submit a patch, I'm assuming I should start another issue as the above patch is already incorporated into the 6.x branch?

here's the patch for #8
http://drupal.org/node/453688

Just to let everyone know, huge props are due jalama for pulling this together.
it works great!!

we now have CiviEvents showing up in the Drupal calendar using this patching info:
http://forum.civicrm.org/index.php/topic,6320.0.html

Very slick.
thanks again,
m

Karen,

I wanted to ensure that I answered your question for #10.

On the argument handler you are correct I did not need to override the basic handler provided by the DATE API.

For the field handler CiviCRM needs to override the basic handler because of 2 reasons.

1.) The basic handler is expecting an int timestamp and civi stores dates using the datetime format, essentially we are running the date through the strtotime() function.
2.) Civi does not have a timezone concept. Consequently Drupal is translating the time of events to be based on that of the timezone for the server, which is rarely correct.

Sorry if I left any confusion and wasted your time, I know you are crazy busy.

hi,
i just wanted to know if this has been committed to HEAD for D6? it does work as expected, and has allowed me to have CiviEvents showing in the Drupal calendar.
thanks,
m

The original patch was committed some time back. The re-opening is for another patch on another thread, so I'm re-closing this issue.