Retrieving Data from the Request Object

To understand how we use data from the request object, let's return to the <csp:query> tag we looked at earlier. There are two key elements.

First, whenever a page is being constructed, the variable %request refers to the current %CSP.RequestOpens in a new tab object.

Second, the Data property is used to retrieve a value by name. For instance

%request.Data("FilmID",1)

would return the value of the FilmID name-value pair. The second parameter, 1, indicates that we want the first value for FilmID. (In some cases, such as multi-selection lists, multiple values can be returned.)

If you forget the second parameter you will not find any data. Also, it is a good idea to use the ObjectScript $Get function which guarantees a value will be returned even if a variable is not defined.

$Get(%request.Data("FilmID",1))

We use this within the CSP:QUERY tag as follows:

ShowTimes.csp

 <csp:query 
        name="Times" 
        classname="Cinema.Show" 
        queryname="ShowTimes" 
        P1='#($Get(%request.Data("FilmID",1)))#'>