Angular Template Driven Forms

Working with existing/cloned/copied Angular App

• Clone or Download the project/app from Github or any other sources
• If using Visual Studio Code / Insiders, open Command panel/terminal from menu: View -> Terminal (shortcut key is CTRL + BackTick OR COMMAND + J)
• Go inside the project/app directory, command: cd _examples-angular-templateDrivenForm OR cd templateDrivenForm
• Run command: npm install to install project/app dependencies (node_modules)
• To Build and run Angular App, command: ng serve / npm start OR ng serve -o OR ng serve --open
• To change the port from 4200 to other port - type command: ng serve --port 5000
• To check the application in browser type path/URL: localhost:4200 / 5000

1 - Angular Forms - Introduction

1.1. Introduction to forms in Angular

• Forms are the main, critical building block of any modern front-end Web/Mobile application
• The real objective of forms is gathering data
• While dealing with Forms one should create an efficient and effective workflow, User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) which guide users properly
• In the context of Form, the Angular framework provides support for two-way data binding, change tracking, validation, and error handling

Forms are an important and vital part of any business applications, Forms are used to:

• Authentication
• Register / Login / Profile creation
• Submit request / Place an Order
• Pay Bills
• Schedule appointments
• Also to perform many other countless data entry operations/tasks

As Developers while dealing with Forms, we have to perform the following tasks:

• Data binding
• Change tracking
• Validation
• Visual feedback
• Error messages
• Form submission

1.2. Prerequisites to working with Angular Forms (Basic to Intermediate knowledge):

Basic familiarity with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, Angular 2/4/5/6 is a must.

• HTML - Markup
• CSS - Style, Formates
• JavaScript - Behaviour, Click, Validations
• Angular - Templates, Components, Data Binding, Modules, Services, etc.
• TypeScript basics - Advanced JS features (Class, Arrow Function, Spread Operator)
• Text Editor / Visual Text Editors

1.3. Setup the Angular development environment:

In this section, we will learn how to set up a local development environment to start developing Angular apps.

• Node, (website: https://nodejs.org/en)
• NPM, (Node Package Manager - comes inbuilt with Node)
• Angular CLI = Command Line Interface, Angular CLI (Command Line Interface) for angular (website: https://cli.angular.io/),
  • The quickest and easiest way of starting an Angular app is through the Angular CLI (Command Line Interface). It allows/helps the developer to build/generate building blocks of angular application like component, services, routings, modules, etc. with best practices quicker and easier)
• Text Editor
  • Visual Studio Code / Visual Studio Code Insiders (website: https://code.visualstudio.com)
  • Sublime Text,
  • Atom,
  • Brackets etc.

1.4. Anatomy / Mechanism / Concept behind Angular Forms:

Component Template Markup (.HTML view - Collects data) -> Class (.TS - Binds Data) -> Services (.TS Send Data) -> Server

1.5. Angular Forms Types/techniques/strategies/approaches:

1. Template Driven Forms:
   • Primarily depends on the component template (manual HTML)
   • Most of the code written in the component (.HTML) template file
   • Template-driven forms are useful for adding a simple form to an app, such as an email list, signup form, etc.
2. Reactive Model Driven Forms:
   • Primarily depends on the component class (dynamic)
   • Majority of code written in component .ts class file
   • Reactive forms are more robust, scalable, reusable, and testable

2 - Angular Template Driven Forms (TDFs)

In Template Driven forms, most of the logic/code resides in the .HTML/view/template file. The template is responsible for setting up the form, the validation, control, group etc.

2.1 Template Driven Forms (TDFs) - what is it all about?

• Template Driven Forms (TDFs) are easy to use and similar to AngularJs (Angular 1.x) forms
• TDFs are mainly/heavily relay and depends on Two Way Data Binding
• The ngModel directives take care of actual input field values and data changes
• TDFs most of the code is a manual template, so it consists of bulky (.HTML) code/markups and minimal component code
• ngForm directive along with ngModel directive automatically tracks the form and form elements state & validity

2.2 Drawback of TDF

• Unit testing is the biggest challenge (we need to run End2End test (e2e) with browser)
• Due to heavy markup in the template, readability decreases and markup code looks complex
• TDFs are suitable for simple scenarios only, Reactive forms are used for complex validations, unit test validations

2.3 Steps to create and use Template Driven Forms (TDFs):

1. Create/generate new Angular CLI project
2. Add a form HTML/markup
3. Binding the Data (ngForm and ngModel directives)
4. Tracking state and validity (Add validation using built-in validators)
5. Providing visual Feedback (Display meaningful messages-feedbacks)
6. Displaying error messages (Display validation errors)
7. Posting data to server/express server (Handle form submission using ngSubmit)

3 - Setting up new Angular project

1. First check angular cli installed version details on machine by using command at command prompt: ng -v or ng --version

   

    Image - Angular CLI version

2. If angular CLI not installed/available on machine (no version or error message displayed) then install it by using the command: npm install -g @angular/cli@latest
3. To update/upgrade angular CLI to the latest version, use following commands in sequence:
   • command: npm uninstall -g @angular/cli
   • command: npm cache verify or npm cache clean
   • command: npm install -g @angular/cli@latest
4. Generate/create a new Angular app/project with Angular CLI - for dealing with angular forms with the syntax: ng new appName or ng new project-name, command: ng new angular-forms-templatedriven (after creation check the newly generated folder structure)

   

    Image - Angular project/app folder structure

5. To run/serve the application, at command prompt type command: ng serve or ng serve --port 5000 (change the port number)
6. Go to the browser and load the application by typing address: http://localhost:4200/ or http://localhost:5000/
7. Add the Bootstrap framework to an application (CSS framework used to make cool/intuitive User Interface and look/feel)
   • Download bootstrap css to local machine from bootstrap website: https://getbootstrap.com/docs/4.1/getting-started/download/ into folder assets/library/bootstrap.min.css
   • Include bootstrap in application - index.html under head tag - <link rel="stylesheet" href="./assets/library/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-MCw98/SFnGE8fJT3GXwEOngsV7Zt27NXFoaoApmYm81iuXoPkFOJwJ8ERdknLPMO" crossorigin="anonymous" />
   • or you can include a CDN path in index.html under head tag
   • or else you can install bootstrap with npm command: npm install bootstrap and use it

   

    Image - Bootstrap website - installation options

8. To verify bootstrap included/working properly in an application, check in Browser fonts, etc changed or not?
   • Also in app.component.html just create any simple component like buttons or divs with bootstrap class:
     • <button class="btn btn-success">Success Button</button> or
     • <div class="lead">Lead Heading</div>
     • Right click on element and check in inspect element the bootstrap class and properties applied to respective elements

Syntax & Example: index.html

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">

  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>TemplateDrivenForms</title>
    <base href="/">

    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
    <link rel="icon" type="image/x-icon" href="favicon.ico">
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="./assets/library/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-MCw98/SFnGE8fJT3GXwEOngsV7Zt27NXFoaoApmYm81iuXoPkFOJwJ8ERdknLPMO" crossorigin="anonymous" />
  </head>

  <body>

    <app-root> </app-root>

  </body>

</html>

4 - Adding Form Markup-Template HTML

4.1. Create an enrollment form with bootstrap classes:

• In file app.component.html create a enrollment form
  1. Use bootstrap classes like form-group, form-control, form-check and form-check-input, etc. with div and input field respectively to create a form fields with standard look and feel
  2. Create a name and email input fields
  3. Create a Drop-Down menu with <select> tag and add/show drop down menu options with *ngFor structural directive
  4. Create a radio button group with <input type="radio"> to show/select Time preference
  5. Create a checkbox with <input type="checkbox"> to check/opt for promotional offer
• In app.component.ts class file
  1. Create a new property topics to store an array of topics and to display as a select drop-down menu options

Syntax & Example: app.component.html

<div class="container-fluid">
    <h1>Enrollment Form</h1>
    <hr />

    <form>

        <!-- name -->
        <div class="form-group">
            <label for="">Name</label>
            <input type="text" class="form-control">
        </div>

        <!-- email -->
        <div class="form-group">
            <label for="">Email</label>
            <input type="email" class="form-control">
        </div>

        <!-- phone -->
        <div class="form-group">
            <label for="">Phone</label>
            <input type="tel" class="form-control">
        </div>

        <!-- user can select the topics bind with array -->
        <div class="form-group">
            <select class="custom-select">
            <option selected>Choose Your Interested Topic</option>
            <option *ngFor="let topic of topics">{{ topic }}</option>
            </select>
        </div>

        <!-- radio button group -->
        <div class="mb-3">
            <label for="">Time Preference</label>
            
            <div class="form-check">
                <input type="radio" class="form-check-input" name="timePreference" value="morning">
                <label for="" class="form-check-label">Morning</label>
            </div>

            <div class="form-check">
                <input type="radio" class="form-check-input" name="timePreference" value="evening"> 
                <label for="" class="form-check-label">Evening</label>
            </div>

        </div>

        <!-- checkbox -->
        <div class="form-check mb-3">
            <input type="checkbox" class="form-check-input">
            <label for="" class="form-check-label">Send me promotional offers</label>
        </div>

        <!-- submit button -->
        <div>
            <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Submit</button>
        </div>

    </form>

</div>

Syntax & Example: app.component.ts

/* topics array */
topics = ['JavaScript', 'Angular', 'React', 'Vue'];

   

    Image - Bootstrap Registration Form

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    Image - Bootstrap Registration Form with Drop Down Menu *ngFor

5 - Binding Data with ngForm

5.1. Angular Form - Key concepts:

• FormsModule: Angluar template-driven forms are in their own module named FormsModule, to use the template driven form, we need to explicitly import {FormsModule} in our application module from @angular/forms

• ngForm: The ngForm is an instance of the FormGroup. The FormGroup represents the group of FormControl from HTML form tag, each form is a FormGroup because it will have at least one FormControl that gives us access to (ngSubmit) which can be bind to a method in our component and triggered when we submit the form. The NgForm directive supplements the form element with additional features.

• ngModel: We need the ngModel in the form input, and the input must be named too. [(ngModel)] follows [(banana in the box)] syntax and performs two-way binding for reading and writing input control values. If a [(ngModel)] directive is used, the input field takes an initial value from the bound component class and updates it back whenever any change to the input control value is detected (on keystroke and button press).

• ngModelGroup: ngModelGroup is useful and helps to create group and sub-groups within forms like ngModelGroup="address" -> and its sub child's like street, state, postal code, etc., ngModelGroup="person" -> and its sub child's name, age, gender, nationality etc., and so on

5.2. To start working with Angular Forms we need to follow some other steps:

• In app.module.ts module class file
  • import angular FormsModule and also include in imports array
• In file app.component.html the main markup file
  • As and When we use form tag, angular attaches its inbuilt ngForm directive to give/pass and manage valuable information of forms
  • ngForm directive denotes values of different fields/form-control and also values are valid or invalid

5.3. Template Reference Variable (TRF)

• Template Reference Variable (TRF) is used to get the complete reference of the ngForm directive, we can use: <form #userForm="ngForm">
  • Use interpolation to see/get form-control values entered: {{ userForm.value | json }}
  • By default angular does not track each and every form-controls, to track repsective field use ngModel directive with respective form field
  • Error will generate: ERROR Error: If ngModel is used within a form tag, either the name attribute must be set or the form control must be defined as 'standalone' in ngModelOptions
  • To resolve error we must need to use name attribute with every input form-control with ngModel : <input type="text" class="form-control" name="userName" ngModel>
    • Check the difference in user form.value object
    • Enter data in every form field and again verify userForm.value
• We can collect and send data to the server by using userForm.value but the better approach is to bind data to user defined model and send model data to the server

Syntax & Example: app.module.ts

import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { FormsModule } from '@angular/forms';

imports: [
    BrowserModule, 
    FormsModule
]

Syntax & Example: app.component.html

<div class="container-fluid">
    <h1>Enrollment Form</h1>
    <hr />

     <form #userForm="ngForm">

        <span class="lead"><strong>Forms Values : userForm.value :</strong></span> {{ userForm.value | json }} 
        <hr />

        <!-- name -->
        <div class="form-group">
            <label for="">Name</label>
            <input type="text" class="form-control" name="userName" ngModel>
        </div>

        <!-- email -->
        <div class="form-group">
            <label for="">Email</label>
            <input type="email" class="form-control" name="email" ngModel>
        </div>

        <!-- phone -->
        <div class="form-group">
            <label for="">Phone</label>
            <input type="tel" class="form-control" name="phone" ngModel>
        </div>

        <!-- user can select the topics bind with array -->
        <div class="form-group">
            <select class="custom-select" name="topic" ngModel>
            <option selected>Choose Your Interested Topic</option>
            <option *ngFor="let topic of topics">{{ topic }}</option>
            </select>
        </div>

        <!-- radio button group -->
        <div class="mb-3">
            <label for="">Time Preference</label>
            
            <div class="form-check">
            <input type="radio" class="form-check-input" name="timePreference" value="morning" ngModel>
            <label for="" class="form-check-label">Morning</label>
            </div>

            <div class="form-check">
            <input type="radio" class="form-check-input" name="timePreference" value="evening" ngModel> 
            <label for="" class="form-check-label">Evening</label>
            </div>

        </div>

        <!-- checkbox -->
        <div class="form-check mb-3">
            <input type="checkbox" class="form-check-input" name="subscribe" ngModel>
            <label for="" class="form-check-label">Send me promotional offers</label>
        </div>

        <!-- submit button -->
        <div>
            <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Submit</button>
        </div>

    </form>

</div>

   

    Image - Template Driven Form - ngModel error

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    Image - Form Model, FormControl/FormGroup - defualt values

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    Image - Form Model, FormControl/FormGroup - updated values

6 - Binding Data to a Model

• Here will try to create user defined model, as soon as user will enter data will update an instance of user model and send model data to the server
• Inside the app/project folder/directory generate a new class which acts as a model with the command: ng generate class User or ng g class User
• It will generate a new file named: user.ts, type in the different properties of user class like name, email, phone - as per fields used in the form
• User model is ready with us now create an instance of model in app.component.ts with new property named userModel which consists of user default details/information: userModel = new User('Dinanath', '[email protected]', 9892221165, 'default', 'morning', true);
• Custom userModel instance with data is ready in the class file now its time to bind userModel with enrollment form using interpolation {{ userModel | JSON }}
• To bind the userModel properties with form field use property binding denotes by a square bracket to the ngModel directive and userModel properties [(ngModel)]="userModel.name" and so on...
• Property data binding by square bracket only is one-way data binding [(ngModel] -> data flow from class to the view but not flows from view to the class
• So to implement/achieve two-way data binding use banana in the box ie [(ngModel)], two-way data binding sync model and view

Syntax & Example: user.ts

export class User {
  constructor(
    public name: string,
    public email: string,
    public phone: number,
    public topic: string,
    public timePreference: string,
    public subscribe: boolean
  ){}
}

Syntax & Example: app.component.ts

import { User } from './user';

userModel = new User('Dinanath', '[email protected]', 9892221165, 'default', 'morning', true);

Syntax & Example: app.component.html

<div class="container-fluid">
  <h1>Enrollment Form</h1>
  <hr />

  <form>

    <span class="lead"><strong>Forms Values : userForm.value :</strong></span> {{ userForm.value | json }} 
    <hr />

    <span class="lead"><strong>Forms Values : userModel data :</strong></span> {{ userModel | json }}
    <hr />

    <!-- name -->
    <div class="form-group">
      <label for="">Name</label>
      <!-- two way data binding used to update view and class both -->
      <input type="text" class="form-control" name="userName" [(ngModel)]="userModel.name">
    </div>

    <!-- email -->
    <div class="form-group">
      <label for="">Email</label>
      <input type="email" class="form-control" name="email" [(ngModel)]="userModel.email">
    </div>

    <!-- phone -->
    <div class="form-group">
      <label for="">Phone</label>
      <input type="tel" class="form-control" name="phone" [(ngModel)]="userModel.phone">
    </div>

    <!-- user can select the topics bind with array -->
    <div class="form-group">
      <select class="custom-select" name="topic" [(ngModel)]="userModel.topic">
      <option value="default">Choose Your Interested Topic</option>
      <option *ngFor="let topic of topics">{{ topic }}</option>
      </select>
    </div>

    <!-- radio button group -->
    <div class="mb-3">
      <label for="">Time Preference</label>
      
      <div class="form-check">
      <input type="radio" class="form-check-input" name="timePreference" value="morning" [(ngModel)]="userModel.timePreference">
      <label for="" class="form-check-label">Morning</label>
      </div>

      <div class="form-check">
      <input type="radio" class="form-check-input" name="timePreference" value="evening" [(ngModel)]="userModel.timePreference">
      <label for="" class="form-check-label">Evening</label>
      </div>

    </div>

    <!-- checkbox -->
    <div class="form-check mb-3">
        <input type="checkbox" class="form-check-input" name="subscribe" [(ngModel)]=userModel.subscribe>
        <label for="" class="form-check-label">Send me promotional offers</label>
    </div>

    <!-- submit button -->
    <div>
        <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Submit</button>
    </div>

  </form>

</div>

   

    Image - User Class - works as Data Model

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    Image - User Class - formvalue, modelvalue

---

   

    Image - User Class, form model, Two Way Data Binding

7 - Tracking state and validity

• As Validations are an important aspect of programming, before sending data to the server it's pretty important to validate the form data and show user respective visual feedback or error message
• Using ngModel in a form gives you more than just two-way data binding:
  • It also tells you if the user touched the control (state & activity),
  • If the value changed, or
  • If the value became valid/invalid (validity)
• The NgModel directive doesn't just track state:
  • It updates the control with special Angular CSS classes that reflect the state,
  • We can leverage/utilize those class names to change the appearance of the control

7.1. Angular classes used to track control state and validity:

Angular automatically attach classes like ng-invalid, ng-dirty, ng-touched to input fields

STATE	CLASS applied (if TRUE)	CLASS applied (if FALSE)
The control has been visited/clicked/touched (class will apply/change only on blur event, user need to navigate away from form control)	ng-touched	ng-untouched
The controls value has been changed (class will apply when user type something)	ng-dirty	ng-pristine
The controls value is valid	ng-valid	ng-invalid

• Add a #Template Reference Variable (#TRV) named #name to the Name <input> field and use it to display the input's CSS classes
  • Use interpolation to see/get form-control classes: {{ name.className }}
  • Right click on element and check in browser inspect element panel the respective angular state classes applied

Syntax & Example: app.component.html (to apply state and class)

<!-- name -->
<div class="form-group">
    <label for="">Name</label>
    <!-- two way data binding used to update view and class both -->
    <input type="text" #name required class="form-control" name="userName" [(ngModel)]="userModel.name">
</div>

<span class="text-primary"><strong>Angular Classes : name.className :</strong></span> {{ name.className }}

7.2. Angular classes and properties used to track control state and validity:

• With each of the state classes angular also provide an alternative associated state properties on the ngModel directive
  • properties names are the same as the class name, only ng- removed from it

CLASS	PROPERTY
.ng-untouched	untouched
.ng-touched	touched
.ng-pristine	pristine
.ng-dirty	dirty
.ng-valid	valid
.ng-invalid	invalid

• #name reference variable by default point to input element/field of DOM, by assigning #name="ngModel" will point to ngModel so all ngModel properties will be available to us
  • Use interpolation to see/get form-control properties: {{ name.touched }} {{ name.pristine }} {{ name.valid }}
  • Right click on element and check in browser inspect element panel the respective angular state classes applied with respective properties

Syntax & Example: app.component.html (to apply state and properties)

<!-- name -->
<div class="form-group">
    <label for="">Name</label>
    <!-- two way data binding used to update view and class both -->
    <input type="text" #name="ngModel" required class="form-control" name="userName" [(ngModel)]="userModel.name">
</div>

<span class="text-success"><strong>Angular ngModel properties used for input fields:</strong> touched - {{ name.touched }} <span class="text-warning">|</span> pristine - {{ name.pristine }} <span class="text-warning">|</span> valid - {{ name.valid }}</span>

   

    Image - Form - State class - default

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    Image - Form - State class - changed/upated/modified

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    Image - Form - State Properties - default

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    Image - Form - State Properties - changed/upated/modified

8- Validation with Visual Feedback

• A good user experience is to visually indicate to the user form field is valid/invalid while feeling up the form/entering the details
• Usually one can use attributes/properties like Required, Maxlength, Minlength and Pattern for form validation on form input fields
• We can use Angular inbuilt validation classes or can create a custom css class and use for indication

Note: bootstrap uses a class 'is-invalid' to show a red border around input fields

Syntax & Example: styles.css

/* create custom css class for indicating invalid visual border */
.form-control.ng-invalid.ng-touched {
  border: 1px solid coral;
  box-shadow: 1px 1px 5px 1px coral;
}

• Check if the name is invalid and also touched (something entered and removed) then only apply a bootstrap/custom class named 'is-invalid' but don't apply initially without touch:
• Apply pattern matching validation input only 10 digits mobile number - pattern="^\d{10}$"

Syntax & Example: app.component.html (apply validation class to show red border)

 <!-- name -->
<div class="form-group">
    <label for="">Name</label>
    <!-- two way data binding used to update view and class both -->
    <input type="text" #name="ngModel" required [class.is-invalid]="name.invalid && name.touched" class="form-control" name="userName" [(ngModel)]="userModel.name" placeholder="Name required*">
</div>

<!-- phone -->
<div class="form-group">
    <label for="">Phone</label>
    <input type="tel" #phone="ngModel" required pattern="^\d{10}$" [class.is-invalid]="phone.invalid && phone.touched"class="form-control" name="phone" [(ngModel)]="userModel.phone" placeholder="10 digits mobile number">
</div>

   

    Image - Form Default properties/class

---

   

    Image - Form field - show Red border

9 - Displaying Error Messages

• Its essential/advisable to show user visual red border with appropriate Error Messages/feedback

Note: Bootstrap class 'd-none' is used to hide/display:none for any element. We can use either '*ngIf' or 'class binding' or both to display error messages.

9.1. Showing single error with a class binding:

Syntax & Example: app.component.html

<!-- name -->
<div class="form-group">
    <label for="">Name</label>
    <!-- two way data binding used to update view and class both -->
    <input type="text" #name="ngModel" required [class.is-invalid]="name.invalid && name.touched" class="form-control" name="userName" [(ngModel)]="userModel.name" placeholder="Name required*">

    <!-- single error with a class binding -->
    <small class="text-danger" [class.d-none]="name.valid || name.untouched">* Name is required</small>
</div>

<!-- phone -->
<div class="form-group">
    <label for="">Phone</label>
    <input type="tel" #phone="ngModel" required pattern="^\d{10}$" [class.is-invalid]="phone.invalid && phone.touched"class="form-control" name="phone" [(ngModel)]="userModel.phone" placeholder="10 digits mobile number">

    <!-- single error with a class binding -->
    <small class="text-danger" [class.d-none]="phone.valid || phone.untouched">Enter 10 digits mobile number</small>
</div>

9.2. Showing group or multiple error messages: error property:

• Some times we come across a scenario where we need to apply multiple validations and also we need to show a different error message

Syntax & Example: app.component.html

<!-- phone -->
<div class="form-group">
    <label for="">Phone</label>
    <input type="tel" #phone="ngModel" required pattern="^\d{10}$" [class.is-invalid]="phone.invalid && phone.touched"class="form-control" name="phone" [(ngModel)]="userModel.phone" placeholder="10 digits mobile number">

    <!-- single error with a class binding -->
    <!-- <small class="text-danger" [class.d-none]="phone.valid || phone.untouched">Enter 10 digits mobile number</small> -->

    <!-- group or multiple error messages : error property -->
    <div *ngIf="phone.errors && (phone.invalid || phone.touched)">
        <small class="text-danger" *ngIf="phone.errors.required">* Phone is required</small>
        <small class="text-danger" *ngIf="phone.errors.pattern">* Phone number must be 10 digits</small>
    </div>
</div>

   

    Image - Class binding error messages

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    Image - Error property showing multiple/different errors

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    Image - Error property showing multiple/different errors

10 - Select control validation

Select option drop down menu validation with required and showing error message: we need to listen/check 'Blur'/'Change' event and verify option selected and accordingly set validation/show error messages:

Syntax & Example: app.component.html

<!-- user can select the topics bind with array -->
<div class="form-group">
    <select (blur)="validateChoosenTopic(topic.value)" (change)="validateChoosenTopic(topic.value)" #topic="ngModel" [class.is-invalid]="topicHasError && topic.touched" class="custom-select" name="topic" [(ngModel)]="userModel.topic">
        <option value="default">Choose Your Interested Topic</option>
        <option *ngFor="let topic of topics">{{ topic }}</option>
    </select>

    <small class="text-danger" [class.d-none]="!topicHasError ||topic.untouched">Please choose right topic</small>
</div>

Syntax & Example: app.component.ts

// class member to hold select option error state
topicHasError = true;

// select option validation
validateChoosenTopic(curValue) {
if (curValue === 'default') {
        this.topicHasError = true;
    } else {
        this.topicHasError = false;
    }
}

   

    Image - Topic Select Dropdown validation

11 - Form level validation

• Whenever we add the <form> tag/element in to the html page, angular automatically attaches the 'ngForm' directive to the form tag
• We can get the reference of the 'ngForm' directive by using #Template Reference Variable (#TRV), example: <form #userForm="ngForm">
• Form validation properties can be used for global level operations like enable/disable of 'SUBMIT' button etc.
• Use interpolation to see/get form-validation status: {{ userForm.form.valid }}

Syntax & Example: app.component.html

<form #userForm="ngForm">

  <span class="lead"><strong>Form Validation status : userForm.form.valid :</strong></span> {{ userForm.form.valid }} 

  <!-- submit button -->
  <div>
    <!-- form level validation to enable/disable button -->
    <button [disabled]="userForm.form.invalid || topicHasError" type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Submit</button>
  </div>

   

    Image - userForm.form.valid status - Success

---

   

    Image - userForm.form.valid status - false/invalid

12 - Submitting form data

1. Use 'novalidate' attribute to form tag to avoid/prevent browser default validations when will click on 'SUBMIT' button
   • <form #userForm="ngForm" novalidate>
2. Bind 'ngSubmit' event to the form tag which will trigger on 'SUBMIT' button
   • <form #userForm="ngForm" novalidate (ngSubmit)="onSubmit()">
3. Define onSubmit() event handler in app.component.ts class file

Syntax & Example: app.component.html

<form #userForm="ngForm" novalidate (ngSubmit)="onSubmit()">

Syntax & Example: app.component.ts

// handler for submit button
onSubmit() {
    console.log('submit button clicked');
    console.log(this.userModel);
}

4. To send data to the server we need to create/use 'enrolment service' with angular CLI by using the command: ng generate service enrollment or ng g s enrollment
   • enrollment.service.ts:
     • Import HttpClient module: import { HttpClient } from '@angular/common/http';
     • Invoke HttpClient in constructor as a local variable / Dependency injection:
       constructor(public _httpClient:HttpClient) { }
5. app.module.ts:
   • import HttpClientModule: import { HttpClientModule } from '@angular/common/http';
   • add to the imports array:
     imports: [ BrowserModule, FormsModule, HttpClientModule ],
6. enrollment.service.ts:
   • // create a variable which hold path to which will post the date
     _url = 'http://localhost:3000/enroll';
   • // create a method called enroll which will post the data to server
     enroll(user:User){ return this._httpClient.post<any>(this._url,user); }
7. app.component.ts:
   • The Post request will return response as an observable, so we need to subscribe to observables in app.component.ts
   • Import enrollment service: import { EnrollmentService } from './enrollment.service';
   • Invoke in constructor as a local variable / Dependency injection:
     constructor(public enrollmentService:EnrollmentService) { }
   • On submit button clicked i.e. in onSubmit() method subscribe to the observables:
     

Syntax & Example: app.module.ts

import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { FormsModule } from '@angular/forms';
import { HttpClientModule } from '@angular/common/http';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';

@NgModule({
  declarations: [
    AppComponent,
  ],
  imports: [
    BrowserModule, 
    FormsModule,
    HttpClientModule
  ],
  providers: [],
  bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule { }

Syntax & Example: enrollment.service.ts

import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
import { HttpClient, HttpErrorResponse } from '@angular/common/http';
import { User } from './user';

@Injectable({
  providedIn: 'root'
})
export class EnrollmentService {
  // create a variable which holds the path to which will post the date
  _url = 'http://localhost:3000/enroll';

  constructor(public _httpClient: HttpClient) { }

  // create a method called enroll which will post the data to the server
  enroll(user: User) {
    return this._httpClient.post<any>(this._url, user)
  }
}

Syntax & Example: app.component.ts

// handler for submit button
onSubmit() {
    console.log('submit button clicked');
    console.log(this.userModel);
    this.enrollmentService.enroll(this.userModel)
      .subscribe(
        data => console.log('Success!', data),
        error => console.error('Error!', error)
      )
  }

   

    Image - Submit - Check userModel value

13 - Create Express Server to Receive Form Data

1. At the root, besides the angular application folder create a new siblings folder named 'server' which consists of server-side code
2. Run the command: npm init --yes to create a package.json also bypass-surpass the questions with default answers (without giving answers to questions)
3. Install express and other dependencies with the command:
   npm install --save express body-parser cors
   
   • express: node web server
   • body-parser: middleware to read/send/pass form data (to handle form data)
   • cors: cross origin port/domain request (helps to make request through multiple ports/servers - cross origin resource sharing)

Syntax & Example: package.json

"dependencies": {
    "body-parser": "^1.18.3",
    "cors": "^2.8.4",
    "express": "^4.16.3"
}

4. Inside a server folder create a new file named 'server.js' and required logic
5. At command prompt/terminal run command: node server - will get output in terminal as 'Server running on localhost port: 3000'
6. in browser type path: 'http://localhost:3000/' - output - 'Hello from server!'

   

    Image - Node Server Running

7. add endpoint in server.js to which angular application will post data // add endpoint app.post('/enroll', function(req,res){ // req.body - contains user data send by the angular console.log(req.body); // send response res.status(200).send({'message': 'Data received'}); })
8. insert/add endpoint path to angular url variable in 'enrollment.service.ts' _url = 'http://localhost:3000/enroll';
9. restart the node server by command: node server
10. In angular application click on the submit button and check inspect element console as well as node console will get the message and user data as an output. for better usability its advisable to hide actual form/hide submit button / disable submit button etc. to avoid the extra click on submit button.

Syntax & Example: server.ts

// 1. imports/requires the packages
const express = require('express');
const bodyParser = require('body-parser');
const cors = require('cors');

// port
const PORT = 3000;

const app = express();

// handle the json data
app.use(bodyParser.json());

app.use(cors());

// test/check get request
app.get('/',function(req, res){
    res.send('Hello from server!');
})

// add endpoint
app.post('/enroll', function(req,res){
    // req.body - contains user data send by the angular
    console.log(req.body);
    // send response
    res.status(200).send({'message': 'Data received'});

    // to see errors 
    // res.status(401).send({'message': 'Data received'});
})

// listen to request
app.listen(PORT, function(){
    console.log('Server running on localhost port: ', PORT);
})

   

    Image - Template Driven Form - Submit Form data

---

   

    Image - Template Driven Form - Submit Form data with Node Server Response

14 - Error Handling

1. To catch error we need support of 'rxjs' operators

Syntax & Example: enrollment.service.ts

// to catch error
import { catchError } from 'rxjs/operators';
import { throwError } from 'rxjs';

// create a method called enroll which will post the data to the server
enroll(user:User){
    return this.httpClient.post`<any>`(this._url,user)
      .pipe(catchError(this.errorHandler)) //catch errors
}

errorHandler(error: HttpErrorResponse) {
  return throwError(error);
}

2. By defualt we log error to console its advisable to create a new data member/property named 'errorMessage' and bind to the view.

Syntax & Example: app.component.ts:

// store error in data member / property to bind to the view
error => this.errorMessage = error.statusText

3. Syntax & Example: app.component.html

<!--  errorMessage bind to the view -->
<div class="alert alert-danger" *ngIf="errorMessage">
    {{ errorMessage }}
</div>

4. in server.js change: res.status(200) to res.status(401).send({'message': 'Data received'});
5. restart node server, load angular application application, click on submit and check

15 - TDF and Reactive (Model Driven) Approach

• 'ngForm' directive gives us entire information (different properties/methods/objects/values used with form/form fields)
• To examine/understand just pass current form ie. #userForm parameter in submit button event handler function and check in inspect element/developer tools -> console panel:
• NgForm object -> form: FormGroup -> controls -> each and every form field is of type FormControl
• FormGroup and FormControl are building blocks of reactive forms
• Template Driven Form approach is behind the scene works as Model Driven approach where models are automatically created by angular

Syntax & Example: app.component.html:

<form #userForm="ngForm" novalidate (ngSubmit)="onSubmit(userForm)">

Syntax & Example: app.component.ts:

onSubmit(curForm) {
    console.log('current User Form reactive details: ', curForm);
}

   

    Image - Template Driven Form vs Module Driven/Reactive Form