Forms API: HDI handle fields dynamically added from the client side?

(with scaffolding - only 20% is relevant)
looks like:

/**
 * Make a modification to a from.
 *
 * Note, this hook runs for every possible form!
 * Check to see if it's one we care about
 */
function relationship_form_alter($form_id, &$form) {
  // dsm($form);
  if (isset($form['type']) && $form['type']['#value'] .'_node_form' == $form_id) {
    debug("Adding relationship edit table to the edit form $form_id",2);
    // don't fully understand that check

    // check that we apply relationships to this type at all
    $active_node_types = variable_get('relationship_nodes',array());
    //drupal_set_message("relationships apply to ".print_r($active_node_types,1));
    if (! in_array($node->type, $active_node_types)) {return;} // Not a node type we deal with


    $node = $form['#node']; 
    
    # dsm($node);
    // As form alter is now called to create the structure of the form before
    // we even look at the submitted data, it's hard to manipulate the form 
    // based on what's just happened. http://drupal.org/node/37194
    // I need to check the submission to see if any new fields have appeared (via client insertion)
    // To know how my new version of the form will look.
    // relationship_read_form does this, so we'll call it now.
    relationship_read_form($node);
    
    $form['relationship'] = relationship_form(&$node);
    // the final return is not needed because $form is a reference.
  }
}

function relationship_read_form(&$node){
  debug("Reading submitted form values back into statements. Posted values are:",2);
  #debug_pre($_REQUEST['edit'],2);
  debug_pre($_REQUEST['edit']['statements'],2);
  #debug("Reading submitted form values back into statements. Current known node statements:");
  #debug_pre($node->statements);
  // form api doesn't recognise any fields added by the client (for security reasons) 
  // but I need to bypass that . Read directly from the submission
  $submitted_statements = $_REQUEST['edit']['statements'];
  
  if (is_array($submitted_statements) ) {
    foreach ($submitted_statements as $ix => $statement) {

      if ($statement && $statement['predicate'] && $statement['object']) {
        $statement['subject'] = ($statement['subject'])? $statement['subject'] : $node->nid;
        $statement['object']  = trim($statement['object']);
        $statement['title']   = trim($statement['title']);
        $statement['why']     = ($statement['why'])?$statement['why']:'user/'.$GLOBALS['user']->uid;
        // It's possible a 'sid' number or a 'discard' flag will be sent through here also. Keep it.

        $key = _relationship_hash_key($statement);
        if($key != $ix){ // re-index this item
          unset($node->statements[$ix]);
#            unset($_REQUEST['edit']['statements'][$ix]);
        }
        $node->statements[$key] = $statement;
        debug('Set up statement '.$key,3);
      }
    }
  }
  debug("Finished reading form. statements are now:".print_r($node->statements,1)."",2);
  return $node;
}

Basically I'm side-tracking during form_alter() to go fetch the values I want from the superglobal $_REQUEST.
Bypassing the form_api niceness and working the bog-standard old cgi way.

The node (which seems to be OK handled by reference) seems to accept the extra data OK.

I feel it's dodging some of the forms cleverness ... but it's needed to work for me. It seems forms_api is not capable of handling anonymous arrays (like edit[myfield][] , edit[myfield][] ) anymore. That used to resolve to :
$edit[myfield][1]
$edit[myfield][2]

and be accessable. Now it resolves to nothing :(

.dan.

http://www.coders.co.nz/