Form <-> Model binding

[htammen]

In the comments of the blog about the new data package Ed Spencer mentioned that it is or will be possible to bind form data to a model (s. below).
I can´t find more details in the API docs. Is this feature already available?

2) Indeed - I prefer to do everything through the Model and just use the form for dumb data collection
3) Yes - if you configure a form with a Model it will ask the Model to validate itself, showing any errors on the appropriate field. This makes it easy to create very powerful validations

[mitchellsimoens]

Have you tried using the loadRecord method on the form? Sencha Touch and ExtJS 3 has this.

[htammen]

A model is more complex than a record. As far as I know a record is just a flat collection of fields. A model can furthermore contain associations. So a model can be a huge object tree.
BTW the Ext.data.Record class seem to have gone in Ext 4.

I know the model binding from Flex (BlazeDS). There you can exchange objects between frontend and backend and vice versa. Additionally there are tools that generate the frontend models from the backend models. So they are in sync at every time of development state. This makes life really easy.
Would be great to have something like that in ExtJS.

[mitchellsimoens]

According to the API docs for ExtJS 4... do this:

formpanel.getForm().loadRecord(rec);

Model and Record mean the same in ExtJS4/ST.

[htammen]

I´ve just had a look at the ExtJS 4 source code and I can´t imaging that this will work. The loadRecord method calls setValues and this method just tries to set the values of the form fields. So far it may work for fields and array. But I don´t see a way to have 1:1 relationships between two objects yet. On the other side I don't think that the reverse method udpateRecord does it's work in deep hierarchy.
Despite of my doubts I will give it a try.

[mitchellsimoens]

How is it making out for you?