Package form
============
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Package form Decodes url.Values into Go value(s) and Encodes Go value(s) into url.Values.
It has the following features:
- Supports map of almost all types.
- Supports both Numbered and Normal arrays eg. `"Array[0]"` and just `"Array"` with multiple values passed.
- Slice honours the specified index. eg. if "Slice[2]" is the only Slice value passed down, it will be put at index 2; if slice isn't big enough it will be expanded.
- Array honours the specified index. eg. if "Array[2]" is the only Array value passed down, it will be put at index 2; if array isn't big enough a warning will be printed and value ignored.
- Only creates objects as necessary eg. if no `array` or `map` values are passed down, the `array` and `map` are left as their default values in the struct.
- Allows for Custom Type registration.
- Handles time.Time using RFC3339 time format by default, but can easily be changed by registering a Custom Type, see below.
- Handles Encoding & Decoding of almost all Go types eg. can Decode into struct, array, map, int... and Encode a struct, array, map, int...
Common Questions
- Does it support encoding.TextUnmarshaler? No because TextUnmarshaler only accepts []byte but posted values can have multiple values, so is not suitable.
- Mixing `array/slice` with `array[idx]/slice[idx]`, in which order are they parsed? `array/slice` then `array[idx]/slice[idx]`
Supported Types ( out of the box )
----------
* `string`
* `bool`
* `int`, `int8`, `int16`, `int32`, `int64`
* `uint`, `uint8`, `uint16`, `uint32`, `uint64`
* `float32`, `float64`
* `struct` and `anonymous struct`
* `interface{}`
* `time.Time` - by default using RFC3339
* a `pointer` to one of the above types
* `slice`, `array`
* `map`
* `custom types` can override any of the above types
* many other types may be supported inherently
**NOTE**: `map`, `struct` and `slice` nesting are ad infinitum.
Installation
------------
Use go get.
go get github.com/go-playground/form
Then import the form package into your own code.
import "github.com/go-playground/form/v4"
Usage
-----
- Use symbol `.` for separating fields/structs. (eg. `structfield.field`)
- Use `[index or key]` for access to index of a slice/array or key for map. (eg. `arrayfield[0]`, `mapfield[keyvalue]`)
```html
<form method="POST">
<input type="text" name="Name" value="joeybloggs"/>
<input type="text" name="Age" value="3"/>
<input type="text" name="Gender" value="Male"/>
<input type="text" name="Address[0].Name" value="26 Here Blvd."/>
<input type="text" name="Address[0].Phone" value="9(999)999-9999"/>
<input type="text" name="Address[1].Name" value="26 There Blvd."/>
<input type="text" name="Address[1].Phone" value="1(111)111-1111"/>
<input type="text" name="active" value="true"/>
<input type="text" name="MapExample[key]" value="value"/>
<input type="text" name="NestedMap[key][key]" value="value"/>
<input type="text" name="NestedArray[0][0]" value="value"/>
<input type="submit"/>
</form>
```
Examples
-------
Decoding
```go
package main
import (
"fmt"
"log"
"net/url"
"github.com/go-playground/form/v4"
)
// Address contains address information
type Address struct {
Name string
Phone string
}
// User contains user information
type User struct {
Name string
Age uint8
Gender string
Address []Address
Active bool `form:"active"`
MapExample map[string]string
NestedMap map[string]map[string]string
NestedArray [][]string
}
// use a single instance of Decoder, it caches struct info
var decoder *form.Decoder
func main() {
decoder = form.NewDecoder()
// this simulates the results of http.Request's ParseForm() function
values := parseForm()
var user User
// must pass a pointer
err := decoder.Decode(&user, values)
if err != nil {
log.Panic(err)
}
fmt.Printf("%#v\n", user)
}
// this simulates the results of http.Request's ParseForm() function
func parseForm() url.Values {
return url.Values{
"Name": []string{"joeybloggs"},
"Age": []string{"3"},
"Gender": []string{"Male"},
"Address[0].Name": []string{"26 Here Blvd."},
"Address[0].Phone": []string{"9(999)999-9999"},
"Address[1].Name": []string{"26 There Blvd."},
"Address[1].Phone": []string{"1(111)111-1111"},
"active": []string{"true"},
"MapExample[key]": []string{"value"},
"NestedMap[key][key]": []string{"value"},
"NestedArray[0][0]": []string{"value"},
}
}
```
Encoding
```go
package main
import (
"fmt"
"log"
"github.com/go-playground/form/v4"
)
// Address contains address information
type Address struct {
Name string
Phone string
}
// User contains user information
type User struct {
Name string
Age uint8
Gender string
Address []Address
Active bool `form:"active"`
MapExample map[string]string
NestedMap map[string]map[string]string
NestedArray [][]string
}
// use a single instance of Encoder, it caches struct info
var encoder *form.Encoder
func main() {
encoder = form.NewEncoder()
user := User{
Name: "joeybloggs",
Age: 3,
Gender: "Male",
Address: []Address{
{Name: "26 Here Blvd.", Phone: "9(999)999-9999"},
{Name: "26 There Blvd.", Phone: "1(111)111-1111"},
},
Active: true,
MapExample: map[string]string{"key": "value"},
NestedMap: map[string]map[string]string{"key": {"key": "value"}},
NestedArray: [][]string{{"value"}},
}
// must pass a pointer
values, err := encoder.Encode(&user)
if err != nil {
log.Panic(err)
}
fmt.Printf("%#v\n", values)
}
```
Registering Custom Types
--------------
Decoder
```go
decoder.RegisterCustomTypeFunc(func(vals []string) (interface{}, error) {
return time.Parse("2006-01-02", vals[0])
}, time.Time{})
```
ADDITIONAL: if a struct type is registered, the function will only be called if a url.Value exists for
the struct and not just the struct fields eg. url.Values{"User":"Name%3Djoeybloggs"} will call the
custom type function with 'User' as the type, however url.Values{"User.Name":"joeybloggs"} will not.
Encoder
```go
encoder.RegisterCustomTypeFunc(func(x interface{}) ([]string, error) {
return []string{x.(time.Time).Format("2006-01-02")}, nil
}, time.Time{})
```
Ignoring Fields
--------------
you can tell form to ignore fields using `-` in the tag
```go
type MyStruct struct {
Field string `form:"-"`
}
```
Omitempty
--------------
you can tell form to omit empty fields using `,omitempty` or `FieldName,omitempty` in the tag
```go
type MyStruct struct {
Field string `form:",omitempty"`
Field2 string `form:"CustomFieldName,omitempty"`
}
```
Notes
------
To maximize compatibility with other systems the Encoder attempts
to avoid using array indexes in url.Values if at all possible.
eg.
```go
// A struct field of
Field []string{"1", "2", "3"}
// will be output a url.Value as
"Field": []string{"1", "2", "3"}
and not
"Field[0]": []string{"1"}
"Field[1]": []string{"2"}
"Field[2]": []string{"3"}
// however there are times where it is unavoidable, like with pointers
i := int(1)
Field []*string{nil, nil, &i}
// to avoid index 1 and 2 must use index
"Field[2]": []string{"1"}
```
Benchmarks
------
###### Run on M1 MacBook Pro using go version go1.20.6 darwin/amd64
NOTE: the 1 allocation and B/op in the first 4 decodes is actually the struct allocating when passing it in, so primitives are actually zero allocation.
```go
go test -run=NONE -bench=. -benchmem=true ./...
goos: darwin
goarch: arm64
pkg: github.com/go-playground/form/v4/benchmarks
BenchmarkSimpleUserDecodeStruct-8 8704111 121.1 ns/op 64 B/op 1 allocs/op
BenchmarkSimpleUserDecodeStructParallel-8 35916134 32.89 ns/op 64 B/op 1 allocs/op
BenchmarkSimpleUserEncodeStruct-8 3746173 320.7 ns/op 485 B/op 10 allocs/op
BenchmarkSimpleUserEncodeStructParallel-8 7293147 180.0 ns/op 485 B/op 10 allocs/op
BenchmarkPrimitivesDecodeStructAllPrimitivesTypes-8 2993259 400.5 ns/op 96 B/op 1 allocs/op
BenchmarkPrimitivesDecodeStructAllPrimitivesTypesParallel-8 13023300 97.70 ns/op 96 B/op 1 allocs/op
BenchmarkPrimitivesEncodeStructAllPrimitivesTypes-8 643202 1767 ns/op 2977 B/op 35 allocs/op
BenchmarkPrimitivesEncodeStructAllPrimitivesTypesParallel-8 1000000 1202 ns/op 2978 B/op 35 allocs/op
BenchmarkComplexArrayDecodeStructAllTypes-8 172630 6822 ns/op 2008 B/op 121 allocs/op
BenchmarkComplexArrayDecodeStructAllTypesParallel-8 719788 1735 ns/op 2009 B/op 121 allocs/op
BenchmarkComplexArrayEncodeStructAllTypes-8 197052 5839 ns/op 7087 B/op 104 allocs/op
BenchmarkComplexArrayEncodeStructAllTypesParallel-8 348039 3247 ns/op 7089 B/op 104 allocs/op
BenchmarkComplexMapDecodeStructAllTypes-8 139246 8550 ns/op 5313 B/op 130 allocs/op
BenchmarkComplexMapDecodeStructAllTypesParallel-8 409018 3143 ns/op 5317 B/op 130 allocs/op
BenchmarkComplexMapEncodeStructAllTypes-8 208833 5515 ns/op 4257 B/op 103 allocs/op
BenchmarkComplexMapEncodeStructAllTypesParallel-8 523833 2182 ns/op 4258 B/op 103 allocs/op
BenchmarkDecodeNestedStruct-8 807690 1408 ns/op 344 B/op 14 allocs/op
BenchmarkDecodeNestedStructParallel-8 3409441 359.6 ns/op 344 B/op 14 allocs/op
BenchmarkEncodeNestedStruct-8 1488520 803.6 ns/op 653 B/op 16 allocs/op
BenchmarkEncodeNestedStructParallel-8 3570204 346.6 ns/op 653 B/op 16 allocs/op
```
Competitor benchmarks can be found [here](https://github.com/go-playground/form/blob/master/benchmarks/benchmarks.md)
Complimentary Software
----------------------
Here is a list of software that compliments using this library post decoding.
* [Validator](https://github.com/go-playground/validator) - Go Struct and Field validation, including Cross Field, Cross Struct, Map, Slice and Array diving.
* [mold](https://github.com/go-playground/mold) - Is a general library to help modify or set data within data structures and other objects.
License
------
Distributed under MIT License, please see license file in code for more details.